The Forgotten 500 by Gregory Freeman

The astonishing, never before told story of the greatest rescue mission of World War II—when the OSS set out to recover more than 500 airmen trapped behind enemy lines in Yugoslavia...

During a bombing campaign over Romanian oil fields, hundreds of American airmen were shot down in Nazi-occupied Yugoslavia. Local Serbian farmers and peasants risked their own lives to give refuge to the soldiers while they waited for rescue, and in 1944, Operation Halyard was born. The risks were incredible. The starving Americans in Yugoslavia had to construct a landing strip large enough for C-47 cargo planes—without tools, without alerting the Germans, and without endangering the villagers. And the cargo planes had to make it through enemy airspace and back—without getting shot down themselves.

Classified for over half a century for political reasons, the full account of this unforgettable story of loyalty, self-sacrifice, and bravery is now being told for the first time ever. The Forgotten 500:The Forgotten 500: The Untold Story of the Men Who Risked All for the Greatest Rescue Mission of World War II is the gripping, behind-the-scenes look at the greatest escape of World War II.

The Restoration of Rome by Peter Heather

In 476 AD, the last of Rome's emperors, known as "Augustulus," was deposed by a barbarian general, the son of one of Attila the Hun's henchmen. With the imperial vestments dispatched to Constantinople, the curtain fell on the Roman empire in Western Europe, its territories divided among successor kingdoms constructed around barbarian military manpower. 

But, if the Roman Empire was dead, Romans across much of the old empire still lived, holding on to their lands, their values, and their institutions. The conquering barbarians, responding to Rome's continuing psychological dominance and the practical value of many of its institutions, were ready to reignite the imperial flame and enjoy the benefits. 

As Peter Heather shows in dazzling biographical portraits, each of the three greatest immediate contenders for imperial power--Theoderic, Justinian, and Charlemagne--operated with a different power base but was astonishingly successful in his own way. Though each in turn managed to put back together enough of the old Roman West to stake a plausible claim to the Western imperial title, none of their empires long outlived their founders' deaths. Not until the reinvention of the papacy in the eleventh century would Europe's barbarians find the means to establish a new kind of Roman Empire, one that has lasted a thousand years.

A sequel to the bestselling Fall of the Roman Empire, The Restoration of Rome offers a captivating narrative of the death of an era and the birth of the Catholic Church.

Two new English books on Byzantium and Mediterranean history by a Greek

From Tornos News:

Greek historian and researcher Dr. Georgios Theotokis has contributed to the large volume of knowledge in the post-ancient Roman era, by releasing two titles in English: “Byzantine Military tactics in Syria and Mesopotamia in the 10th Century” and “A Military History of the Mediterranean Sea”, protothema.gr reports.

The dynamic and laborious researcher proved with his efforts that Greek intellectuals remain relevant in the international arena.

His first book was published by Edinburgh University Publications and the second by the world-renowned Dutch publishing house Brill.

The first book “The Byzantine Army Tactics in Syria and Mesopotamia in the 10th Century” has been in bookshops in Great Britain and the US since October.

For the release of the second (“A Military History of the Mediterranean Sea “), published internationally in July 2018, Theotokis collaborated with Turkish historian Aysel Yildiz.

Dr. Theotokas has the third book in the pipelines and is scheduled to be launched in bookstores across the UK and the US next February, while he has already signed a contract for three more books with English publishing houses.

Review: The Mediterranean World

The Mediterranean World: From the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Napoleon by Monique O'Connell

In The Mediterranean World, Monique O’Connell and Eric R Dursteler examine the history of this contested region from the medieval to the early modern era, beginning with the fall of Rome around 500 CE and closing with Napoleon’s attempted conquest of Egypt in 1798.

Twelve chapters dealing with different aspects in the history of this volatile region. The emphasis is on themes rather than a chronological history, and is designed for the lay-historian rather than the academic.

My personal favourite sections were on the medieval period - specifically "Medieval Frontier Societies". This is a period that is of interest to me, so a welcome addition to my own personal library.

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