New Releases by Paul Dowswell

An accessible and thought-provoking introduction to the First World War and the Second World War, stunningly illustrated with dramatic contemporary photographs, paintings, posters and maps. This beautifully presented hardback book tells the story of both conflicts, from the trenches of the First World War to the battles and Blitz of World War Two. Please note this title is a combined volume containing Introduction to the First World War and Introduction to the Second World War.

The welcome given to refugees from fascist Europe is part of our fond nostalgia for Britain''s role in the Second World War, nestling in our imagination next to images of evacuees clutching teddy bears, and milkmen picking their way through bomb rubble during the Blitz. But there is a darker side to this story. Then, as now, there was great suspicion, resentment and fear towards new arrivals, much of it kindled by the tabloid press. Then, as now, politicians dealt with a reluctance to accommodate refugees by hiding behind bureaucratic hurdles and obfuscation. Many of the 10,000 Kindertransport children who arrived here in the late 1930s have warm memories of the kindness they were shown, but half a million refugees were refused entry and most of them died as a result. And those who were accepted found their troubles far from over. While Britain fearfully awaited invasion in 1940, 30,000 Jews were interned as ''enemy aliens'' and some were sent off to the colonies on dangerous and sometimes fatal voyages. Nor were Jews the only refugees clamouring for the thin gruel of public sympathy. Those fleeing fascism and civil war elsewhere in Europe found that whether they were met with kindness or hostility depended on the locals'' political affiliations and newspapers of choice. Interweaving personal testimonies with historical sources, Paul Dowswell casts a fresh eye on the wartime era, painting a vivid picture of what life was really like for Britain''s refugees.

Seconda guerra mondiale. Marijke vive nei Paesi Bassi. Yvie a Londra e Tomasz in Germania. Ma il desiderio di vivere, il rifiuto di arrendersi e la ribellione contro la malvagità impediscono loro – ragazzi che in circostanze normali sarebbero stati solo questo, ragazzi – di restare a guardare e lasciarsi sopraffare. Invece, essere giovani nel 1944 per loro significa combattere, rendere il mondo un posto migliore e darsi la possibilità di un futuro. La graziosa Marijke, armata solo della sua macchina fotografica, entra nella Resistenza olandese; Yvie impara l’arte della sopravvivenza a scuola e nella vita, in una Londra devastata dai crateri delle bombe, e Tomasz, condannato dai nazisti a lavorare in una fabbrica sotterranea delle bombe V2, si lancia in un’impresa coraggiosa che muterà la storia sua e di molti altri, fra cui il soldato tedesco Rolf. Una notte, nei boschi olandesi illuminati dagli incendi e attraversati dai convogli dell’occupazione nazista, si incrociano i destini di Marijke e Tomasz e poi quello di Yvie mentre le famigerate V2 piovono dal cielo a incenerire Londra.

Thrilling historical adventure set during the English peasants'' revolt of 1381, by Paul Dowswell, the author of Ausländer, and Wolf Children. It''s 1381 and the king, Richard II, has imposed a new tax on the people. In the village of Aylesford, Tilda and her ploughman father were already struggling to make ends meet. As serfs they have no rights to move freely or earn wages for their work. Tilda is desperate for a better life than the village can offer, so when the villagers begin to rebel she is swept up in the excitement. Tilda and her father travel to London with the others to petition the king, but the peaceful rebellion they hoped for soon ignites into violence, mayhem and treachery. Tilda''s fight for a better life is only just beginning... This page-turning adventure sheds new light on a period of history which is covered in the KS3 curriculum, and will have readers gripped from start to finish.

Eight true stories of daring breakouts from infamous institutions such as Alcatraz and Devil''s Island, detailing the risks the prisoners faced in attempting to make their escapes, including savage dogs, armed guards and shark-infested waters. Gripping and engaging for readers who prefer real life to fiction. The Usborne Reading Programme is a collection of over 300 reading books, graded in eight levels. Developed with reading experts.

Berlijn, 1945. Hitler is verslagen, maar de stad ligt in puin. Otto (16) zorgt samen met zijn zus Helene voor vier jonge kinderen. Hun ouders zijn omgekomen of opgepakt. Een van de kinderen wil zich aansluiten bij de Weerwolven, een strijdgroep van de Hitler Jugend. Kan Otto dit voorkomen? Vanaf ca. 15 jaar.

Moskou, 1941. De wereld van Misha (15) wordt verscheurd door de terreur van Stalin en de oprukkende legers van Hitler. Als zijn moeder verdwijnt, probeert Misha zich te redden met hulp van vader en zijn vriendin Valya. Vanaf ca. 15 jaar.

Ten true stories of survival against the odds: from shark attacks and blazing airships to exploding spacecraft and sinking submarines, these are real-life stories of people who have stared death in the face and lived to tell the tale. In hardcover format adapted from Usborne''s True Stories paperback series.

It is July 1945, Hitler''s Third Reich has fallen, and Berlin is in ruins. Living on the edge of survival in the cellar of an abandoned hospital, Otto and his ragtag gang of kids have banded together in the desperate, bombed-out city. The war may be over, but danger lurks in the shadows of the wreckage as Otto and his friends find themselves caught between invading armies, ruthless rival gangs and a strange Nazi war criminal who stalks them ... A climactic story of truth, friendship and survival against the odds, Wolf Children will thrill readers of Michael Morpurgo and John Boyne.

‘Charlie en Eddie’ is een jeugdboek van Paul Dowswell over de Eerste Wereldoorlog. Dit boek is geschreven in korte zinnen en makkelijke woorden, waardoor het ook heel geschikt is voor kinderen met leesproblemen. De broers Eddie en Charlie, 17 en 18 jaar oud, vinden een foto van twee Engelse soldaten op een strand in Frankrijk. Ze hebben het geweer met bajonet in de hand en staan op het punt zich te storten in het oorlogsgeweld. Wat Eddie en Charlie (nog) niet weten is dat de twee soldaten hun oud-ooms zijn, die in hun enthousiasme om de Duitsers te verslaan hebben getekend voor een zogenoemd vriendenbataljon. Wat als een romantische heldendaad begint, eindigt voor de twee rekruten in een nachtmerrie. Een aangrijpend boek van de auteur van Ausländer.

Dopo il nazismo di Ausländer. Dopo la Germania dell’Est del Ragazzo di Berlino. Un altro pezzo di storia raccontato magistralmente da Paul Dowswell: l’ultimo giorno della Prima guerra mondiale.

A new edition of Usborne''s fantastic reference book on the two most important conflicts of the 20th Century; World Wars 1 and 2. Provides detailed accounts of the causes and effects of each war, as well as describing their main battles, innovations and leaders.

"Is there really such a thing as a true ghost story? The strange tales in this book are all based on actual reports by people who believed they had been haunted by ghosts or poltergeists. You can make up your own mid after reading their stories ..."--Page [4] cover.

A write-in book which will allow children to pen their very own adventure story. With lots of hints and tips on how to create characters, plan plots, write dialogue and stage all-important action scenes, this book will start budding writers off with simple exercises, and build them up until they are racing through their own short stories.

ONE IN FIVE NEVER RETURNED. Every boy dreams of flying, but in war that dream can turn into a nightmare. Harry Friedman is the gunner of the Macey May, an American Flying Fortress stationed in East Anglia. The Second World War is raging and the Nazis have swept over Europe. The crews of every Flying Fortress face terrible odds on their bombing missions. To make it through alive, Harry will need luck on his side and courage ... Courage to keep going when he has watched close friends die. Courage to confront a terrible evil. And the courage to make it home from deep behind enemy lines. Nail-biting tension and compelling storytelling combine with Dowswell''s meticulous research to deliver a page-turner for fans of John Boyne, Morris Gleitzman and Marcus Zusak.

This volume contains stories about the men and women whose extraordinary courage has captured the imagination of millions. From spies to test pilots, doctors to explorers, it recounts their spirit, integrity or resolve in detail.

I tio gastkramande berättelser skildras här några av de mest välkända spionerna genom tiderna. Det handlar om gåtfulla dubbelliv, tillfälliga bekantskaper, skoningslös utpressning, vild flykt och utbyte av topphemlig information. Spionernas tillvaro är sällan lika glamourös som James Bond. De lever i ständig rädsla för att deras riktiga namn och identiteter ska avslöjas. De lämnar sina hemländer och riskerar fängelse, tortyr och avrättning för en chans att förändra historien. Serien Sanna historier tar med läsaren på äventyr ur verkliga livet. Se fler böcker i serien »

Sanna historier om andra världskriget berättar om några av de mest hjältemodiga, mest katastrofala och mest avgörande händelserna under andra världskriget. Paul Dowswell förmedlar en stark känsla av det lidande människor drabbades av, men också av det hjältemod som många visade under kriget. Berättelserna berör olika sidor av kriget, som de spektakulära sjöslagen mellan jättelika krigsfartyg och de stora sammandrabbningarna mellan arméer med hundratusentals man. Här beskrivs också dueller man mot man mellan fientliga prickskyttar, och det berättas om enskilda personers kamp när de ställdes inför en nästan säker död.

Historiska Media fortsätter sin ungdomssatsning, nu med Sanna historier om första världskriget. Boken består av tio berättelser med olika infallsvinklar på kriget 1914–1919. Tillsammans med Sanna historier om andra världskrigetfyller boken en lucka bland faktaböcker för unga. Böckerna riktar sig till ungdomar, till de som väljer böcker till ungdomar men även till vuxna som vill veta mer om några av 1900-talets stora händelser. Ur innehållet: – Änglarna vid Mons, september 1914. Fick verkligen brittiska soldater hjälp av änglar med pilbågar under slaget vid Mons? – Det tysta upproret, maj–juni 1917. Efter ännu ett lönlöst anfall vägrar halva den franska armén fortsätta strida. – Mardrömmar vid Belleau-skogen, 1918. Amerikanska trupper går med i kriget för att vända nederlag till seger. – Källaren i Pervyse, 1914–1918. Den märkliga historien om de två sjuksköterskorna vid fronten, Mairi Chisholm och Elsie Knocker.

Gevärspipor, murar, taggtråd, fängelsevakter och låsta dörrar borde vara tillräckliga hinder för att förhindra flykt. Men människors jakt på frihet till varje pris har ständigt lett till många rymningar och rymningsförsök. I Sanna historier om rymningar får vi ta del av hisnande flykthistorier, samtidigt som vi får en översikt över skilda tiders fängelser, politik och krig. Här får vi bland annat läsa om fången Frank Morris som beslutat sig för att visa omvärlden att Alcatraz inte var så rymningssäkert som det påstods. Eller historien om mönsterfången George Blake som på ett snillrikt sätt lyckas ta sig ut ur Wormwood Scrubs-fängelset i London. Den franska fångkolonin Djävulsön är en annan kuslig berättelse. Det är lätt att fly från ön, men att överleva i djungeln eller ute på det öppna havet är inte fullt så enkelt. Sanna historier om rymningar är den tredje boken i serien Sanna historier.

"As the world''s tallest mountain, Everest has held a special fascination for climbers ever since it was first discovered 150 years ago. Since then, over a thousand men and women have stood triumphant on its tiny summit. But the frozen bodies that litter its dizzy slopes tell another tale of tragedy, misfortune and reckless ambition." -- back cover.

Russia, 1940. Fifteen-year-old Misha''s life is about to transform when his father is offered a job in Stalin''s inner circle. They move into a luxurious apartment in the Kremlin, but doubts about the glorious new Russia quickly surface. Misha realises that the secret police can do whatever they like. His own mother is arrested and sent to prison, but Misha and his father daren''t complain. Then as German troops advance on Moscow, the atmosphere in the Kremlin ignites. Misha and a friend find themselves at the heart of a battle against the mighty state in this powerful evocation of one of the most turbulent places and periods of the 20th century, told by a master storyteller.

A collection of moving stories from the First and Second World War published in association with the Imperial War Museum. These twenty-two stories recount some of the most heroic, devastating and pivotal moments of the World Wars providing young readers with an insight into the human stories behind the conflicts. "A truly moving collection of tales. From spies and secret plots to snipers and zeppelin raids, it brings history alive with real heroes." - tbk Magazine

From shark attacks and blazing airships to exploding spacecraft and sinking submarines, find out what made the difference between life and death in these ten thrilling stories of survival. Gripping and engaging for readers who prefer real life to fiction.

A gripping collection of true stories of exploration and danger over the icy wastelands of Antarctica. Contains true life stories from the fated expedition of Captain Scott to Ernest Shackleton''s epic trek across the snow to save his stranded crew.

Eleven true-life stories of adventure and exploration on the world''s tallest mountain, including tales of tragedy, misfortune and reckless ambition. Gripping and engaging for readers who prefer real life to fiction.