Michael H. Coles

Most people go to Harvard Business School by way of a first rate undergraduate college. Michael Coles did it the hard way. In lieu of college, his educational odyssey to that door involved landing on an aircraft carrier in darkness, flying combat missions over Korea, breaking the sound barrier, and then teaching others to do the same. This is the story of that journey.

Praise for A BOYHOOD IN WARTIME BRITAIN"It is a very good account not only of civilian life in wartime Britain, but also of aspects of British society as seen by an young boy. ....intelligence, judgment and sense of humo(u)r come through." - WWII Reader"In this beautiful and quietly harrowing memoir, ... Author Coles neatly balances scrupulous scholarship with a deeply personal perspective. This book is destined to take its place among the finest up-close accounts of life during World War II." - LAURENCE SHAMES--------------------------------------------------------Collecting shrapnel from his front yard; identifying incoming bombers by their silhouettes; sleeping in the family bomb shelter - these were the everyday realities of a boyhood spent in the outskirts of London during the early 1940s. In this deeply personal and meticulously detailed account of growing up under the stresses, daily dangers and constant movement of unrestrained warfare, Michael Coles offers us a compelling portrait of the inspiring resilience of childhood.

The bold passage of three Nazi battle-cruisers through the English Channel in broad daylight in 1942. The improbable escape of Axis troops from Sicily in 1943. Hitler's most powerful battleship disabled by a a British midget submarine that had penetrated one of Norway's remotest fjords. The rise of the United States Navy to maritime supremacy during World War II. Through accounts of these and other scrupulously researched events, prize-winning author Michael Coles makes a compelling case for the crucial importance of naval power in modern warfare. ----------------------------------------------------- "An interesting collection of masterly essays dealing with carefully selected twentieth century naval episodes. Dispassionate, objective and very fair, the essays have been well written and are easily read." -- H. P. Willmott, widely published military historian, author, and former Senior Lecturer at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst