{"title":"Stephen M Cullen","description":"\u003cp\u003eDive into the gritty world of Stephen M. Cullen, where crime, mystery, and suspense intertwine. Perfect for fans of Ian Rankin and Mark Billingham, explore his gripping novels.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"in-search-of-the-real-dad-s-army-book-stephen-m-cullen-9781848842694","title":"In Search of the Real Dad's Army","description":"What was the Home Guard? Who were the men and women who served in it?  And what can be said of their real role and significance once the popular myths have been stripped away? Despite the fame of the Home Guard - of Dad's Army - the true story of this wartime organization tends to be neglected. The myths obscure the reality. Stephen Cullen's aim in this thoroughgoing new study is to cut through the misunderstandings in order to reassess the Home Guard and its contribution to Britain's war effort - and to deepen our understanding of the men and women who were members of it. He sets the Home Guard in the long historical context of domestic defence planning, then focuses on the preparations made before the outbreak of the Second World War. In detail he traces the changing role of the Home Guard during its wartime existence as it adapted to meet the multitude of challenges it faced - from civil defence and intelligence gathering to training for guerrilla warfare. Using vivid eyewitness testimony and oral history, he takes a grassroots look at the men - and women - from all ages and social backgrounds who made up this national defence force. The equipment, uniforms, weapons and vehicles they used and the field defences they manned are described as their role developed over the course of the war. He also examines the evolution of popular views of the Home Guard from wartime days to the present - the notion of the People's Army, the thinking of early Home Guard commentators like George Orwell, and the writings of more recent historians who have sought to explain an organization that retains such an extraordinary hold on the popular imagination.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49512782627089,"sku":"GOR007588274","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50038927261969,"sku":"GOR007169124","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50916229447953,"sku":"GOR014121847","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1848842694.jpg?v=1751313831"},{"product_id":"world-war-ii-vichy-french-security-troops-book-stephen-m-cullen-9781472827753","title":"World War II Vichy French Security Troops","description":"A detailed study into the significant but little-known arm of the Axis security machinery in occupied Europe  the Vichy French Security Troops, the collaborators who hunted the Resistance.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49627437990161,"sku":"GOR009582982","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49734055297297,"sku":"NGR9781472827753","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51328891486481,"sku":"CIN1472827759VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1472827759.jpg?v=1751084391"},{"product_id":"fay-taylour-the-world-s-wonder-girl-book-stephen-m-cullen-9781399099387","title":"Fay Taylour, 'The World's Wonder Girl'","description":"The first full biography to explore the complex and controversial life story of the most successful female motorsports champion ever.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49752814846225,"sku":"NGR9781399099387","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":52468378042641,"sku":"CIN1399099388VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53101559349521,"sku":"GOR013411712","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1399099388.jpg?v=1751146549"},{"product_id":"amateur-armies-book-stephen-m-cullen-9781526734433","title":"Amateur Armies","description":"Amateur Armies examines the military and social history of volunteer armies around the western world from the failed French invasion of South Wales in 1797 to the disastrous anti-Communist invasion of the Bay of Pigs in Cuba in 1961.  It brings together some fascinating military actions across more than a century and a half of history and explores the social and political context in the countries involved. Stephen Cullen's absorbing and original book is the first general survey of the role of amateur armies during the period.  Included are chapters on a series of wars in which militias played critical parts. In each case, their actions and effectiveness are described as is the background from which they came, and the social and political circumstances in which they operated. This pioneering study offers a valuable insight into each of the amateur armies covered and opens up an important and hitherto neglected aspect of military history.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50745626853649,"sku":"GOR014056275","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1526734435.jpg?v=1751117491"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/collections\/author-books-by-stephen-m-cullen.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}