"Informative, insightful and witty, this is recommended to military and civilian folk alike – a positive and enjoyable read."
Pennant Magazine - THE JOURNAL OF THE FORCES PENSION SOCIETY - Autumn 2024

“The Military Enthusiast gets a deep dive on WWII Commando and Chindit planning, training and fighting. A very interesting book on a key Officer of Special Operations in WWII.” Read the full review [link=https://www.argunners.com/mad-mike-a-life-of-brigadier-michael-calvert/]here[/link]
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Flypast - November 2024

"It is one of the very few accounts to have been written by one of ‘the many’ without whom ‘The Few’ could not have succeeded. The author joined up in late 1941 and was trained as an armourer, initially serving at a gunnery school. However, shortly before D-Day he joined a ‘Free French’ Spitfire squadron with which he served until the end of the war. The second half of this highly readable account is in effect a detailed history of the Free French Spitfire Wing during the last year of the war. That in itself is hugely welcome, but even more so is the description of the itinerant life of a 2nd Tactical Air Force fighter unit in the months after D-Day and the often-miserable conditions endured by the hardworking and ever faithful groundcrew. No less valuable is the earlier description of life for a working-class family in London during the inter-war years. A peach of a book that was unputdownable."
Andrew Thomas - Author and Historian

With so much talk recently about another Tolkien movie potentially in the works, it’s a good time to highlight this book. As it states on the jacket, ‘a great jumping off point for fans of his works…’ this book gives a huge insight into the man, Tolkien, explaining his formative years, friends, and family. What I would say about this book is that it’s both well-researched and easy to read. There are black and white photographs included too which always helps the reader get a better feel for the subject. There are also diagrams of the Elvin language. The fact that Tolkien not only entered into world-building for The Lord of The Rings, but also created new languages that scholars still teach today, tells us how invested he was in the story and the characters. If, like me, you were/are a fan of the movies and characters from Tolkien’s books, then allowing this one to sit on the shelf next to them would be entirely appropriate. Recommended.
For the Love of Books