In the original dustsheet. Black and red cloth binding with gilt title on the spine.

F.B.A. provides an in-depth photographic presentation of this item to stimulate your feeling and touch. More traditional book descriptions are immediately available.

A great book.

War infects everything it touches. For everyone, whether combatant or not, it is the most testing of times, when the old certainties and moral imperatives cannot be guaranteed. Life hangs by a gossamer thread and many people who would otherwise not keep diaries feel the need to record what they see, feel, and do. Arranged like a diary, The Secret Annexe tells many individual stories – some horrific, some hilarious – of many wars down the ages, with several compelling entries for each day of the year. The diarists come from every walk of life, from friend and foe, from anonymous foot-soldiers to those charged with orchestrating battle, from the Home Front to the Holocaust, from famous writers, political leaders and fighting men and women to ordinary working people enveloped by events over which they have little influence. Together they contribute to the most intimate insight into what’s been described as “the most exciting and dramatic thing in life”. Complementing the diary entries are comprehensive biographies and bibliographies of the diarists as well as summaries of each of the wars covered.

Review: This is an excellent book for anyone interested in history. You do not need to be interested in war as such, as it contains much which is outside of that arena. Covering an enormous range of fascinating people this is a wonderfully diverse collection and sheds new light on some famous people as well as introducing some you will never have heard of but who become companions in a fascinating sometimes horrifying but ultimately uplifting journey through a whole year on entries. Quite superb!

IRENE AND ALAN TAYLOR, editors of The Assassin’s Cloak, both worked as librarians before exploring other professions. Irene now works for the National Trust for Scotland and Alan is writer-at-large for the Sunday Herald, as well as writing for a range of other papers.