Biography & Autobiography: Historical, Political & Military

A FORMER NEW ZEALAND PRIME MINISTER CANDIDLY REVIEWS HIS LIFE AND THE STATE OF THE NATION

In Crossing the Lines, Brent Coutts brings to light the previously untold history of New Zealand homosexual soldiers in World War II, drawing on the experiences of ordinary men who lived through extraordinary times.

A personal account of WWI from the diaries of a Gisborne farm boy, shaped into a gripping narrative by the diarist's grandson 100 years later. Follow Alick as he moves from his last night on the farm in early 1916, through enshipment and training, then off to the battle fields of... France and Belgium, occupied Germany and back home. His treasured diaries covered the tedium, the mud, the fear and sorrow, the discomfort, the periods of leave and the letters from those back home. See the war unfold through Alick's eyes and learn about his and his companions' attitudes to the army, to female company, to the enemy soldiers, to the hospitality provided by people under pressure, to the war itself. And after the drama and tragedy of war, comes the return home and the efforts required to make a living while remaining steadfastly silent about the traumas of those terrible years - an unseen fight that continued and affected generations to come.
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Bolton's account starts with his long march to the West Wing as Trump and others woo him for the National Security job. The minute he lands, he has to deal with Syria's chemical attack on the city of Douma, and the crises after that never stop. As he says in the opening pages,... "If you don't like turmoil, uncertainty, and risk; all the while being constantly overwhelmed with information, decisions to be made, and sheer amount of work; and enlivened by international and domestic personality and ego conflicts beyond description, try something else." The conflicts, ego and otherwise, are all there-from the upheaval in Venezuela, to the erratic and manipulative moves of North Korea's Kim Jong Un. But so too is the story of a chaotic White House and of a President with his own set a rules. "The differences between this presidency and previous ones I had served were stunning," writes Bolton, who served Reagan, and George HW Bush and George W. Bush. His account makes that clear.
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The #1 New York Times bestselling author delivers a startlingly fresh portrait of Winston Churchill and London during the Blitz.