Jonathan Dimbleby

THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER2025 marks the 80th anniversary of VE Day. Read and remember the history that led to this important moment.'This book is his best yet . . . Dimbleby’s work is in a different league, told with such skill and judgment' Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday TimesA gripping and authoritative account of the year that sealed the fate of the Nazis, from the bestselling historianJune 1944: In Operation Bagration, more than two million Red Army soldiers, facing 500,000 German soldiers, finally avenged their defeat in Operation Barbarossa in 1941. The same month saw the Allies triumph on the beaches of Normandy, but, despite the myths that remain, it was the events on the Eastern Front that sealed Hitler's fate and destroyed Nazism. In his new book, bestselling historian Jonathan Dimbleby describes and analyses this momentous year, covering the military, political and diplomatic story in his evocative style. Drawing on previously untranslated German, Russian and Polish sources, we see how sophisticated new forms of deception and ruthless Partisan warfare shifted the Soviets’ fortunes, how their triumphs effectively gave Stalin authority to occupy Eastern Europe and how it was the events of 1944 that enabled Stalin to dictate the terms of the post-war settlement, laying the foundations for the Cold War . . .'Mr. Dimbleby is a sure-footed guide to the labyrinthine military operations along a front line that extended nearly 2,000 miles, from the Baltic to the Black Sea' Wall Street Journal'Terrific . . . a tour de force' Sir Richard Evans'Military history at its very best' Keith LoweSunday Time Bestseller, June 2024

En mesterlig fortælling om den største militære operation i historien og det mest afgørende slag i 2. Verdenskrig: Hitlers invasion af Sovjetunionen i juni 1941. Formålet med Operation Barbarossa var at udrydde sovjetisk kommunisme, likvidere jøderne og skabe lebensraum for det tyske herrefolk. Hvis det var lykkedes for Hitler at indtage Sovjetunionen, havde han haft Europas skæbne i sine hænder, men i stedet førte operationen til tilintetgørelsen af Det Tredje Rige. I løbet af seks måneders krigsførelse blev intet mindre end seks millioner mennesker dræbt, såret eller registreret som savnede, mens soldater på begge sider begik hårrejsende overgreb uden sammenligning i krigshistorien. Jonathan Dimbleby fortæller ikke kun om selve slaget, men også om det politiske og diplomatiske spil der ledte til dette vendepunkt i krigen. Han giver levende beskrivelser af de almindelige mænd og kvinder, der kæmpede ved fronten eller kom i vejen for invasionen. Dimbleby trækker på helt nyt arkivmateriale, bl.a. fra hidtil lukkede russiske arkiver, når han beskriver, hvordan Sovjetunionen ødelagde Hitlers chance for at realisere visionen om et Tusindårsrige.

A SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER'The best single-volume account of the Barbarossa campaign to date' Andrew Roberts, author of Churchill: Walking with Destiny'A page-turning descent into Hell and back . . . this fresh and compelling account of Hitler's failed invasion of the Soviet Union should be on everyone's reading list for 2021' Dr Amanda Foreman, author of A World on Fire_______________________________The largest military operation in history. The turning point of the Second World War. The most important year of the twentieth century. Operation Barbarossa, Hitler's invasion of Russia in June 1941, aimed at nothing less than a war of extermination to annihilate Soviet communism, liquidate the Jews and create Lebensraum for the German master race. But it led to the destruction of the Third Reich, and was cataclysmic for Germany with millions of men killed, wounded or registered as missing in action. It was this colossal mistake -- rather than any action in Western Europe -- that lost Hitler the Second World War. Drawing on hitherto unseen archival material, including previously untranslated Russian sources, Jonathan Dimbleby puts Barbarossa in its proper place in history for the first time. From its origins in the ashes of the First World War to its impact on post-war Europe, and covering the military, political and diplomatic story from all sides, he paints a full and vivid picture of this monumental campaign whose full nature and impact has remained unexplored. Written with authority and humanity, Barbarossa is a masterwork that transforms our understanding of the Second World War and of the twentieth century._______________________________'Superb. . . stays with you long after you have finished' Henry Hemming, bestselling author of Our Man in New York'A chilling account of war at its worst' Bear Grylls

Author of an acclaimed history of the Battle of the Atlantic during World War Two (OUP 2016), Jonathan Dimbleby now offers a compelling account of the largest military operation not only of World War Two but of all time--the invasion of Russia by Nazi Germany in 1941. Often seen as the turning point of the war in Europe, Operation Barbarossa turned allies into mortal enemies, triggering the atrocities that would characterize the Holocaust. Historians have spent generations puzzling over Barbarossa. For Hitler and the other Nazi leaders, who began planning the invasion even as the pact with the Soviets was in full force, the invasion would annihilate communism, eradicate inferior races, and provide the German people (and military) with resources that would guarantee not just survival but global domination. What followed was catastrophe. Between June, when the invasion began, and December 1941, when it stalled, some six million men were killed, wounded, or registered as missing in action. Soldiers on both sides committed atrocities on a scale that few events in the history of warfare can rival. When German commanders were forced to retreat, it was clear to the world clear that the German war machine was not only not infallible but fatally weakened. Once the invasion began to falter, it all but guaranteed the Germans would eventually lose the war. Operation Barbarossa has been much written about in histories of World War Two. However, no single general-audience book focused purely on the operation dominates the field, either covering only aspects of what was a massive undertaking or simply outdated. Moreover, Dimbleby's book makes ample use of memoirs, diaries, and letters, along with unpublished and untranslated correspondence from newly opened Russian archives. It promises to become the standard general history of Operation Barbarossa.

Creating Change for Vulnerable Teens tells the story of Tish Feilden and Jamie's Farm - a network of therapeutic farms dedicated to transforming the lives of disadvantaged children. Documenting Tish's experiences of working with truly remarkable teens who have faced huge challenges in their lives, the book describes how the farms help young people to thrive academically, socially and emotionally. She shares the approaches they have pioneered, including the critical importance of trust, of looking behind the behaviour and of really connecting with the desires and hopes of young people. If you have an interest in supporting vulnerable children or young people, this book provides a wealth of inspiration and ideas you can use, whatever the setting.

"The only thing that ever really frightened me during the war was the U-boat peril," wrote Winston Churchill in his monumental history of World War II. His fear was shared by many. The North Atlantic was arguably the true front of the war for Europe, and the stakes there were terrifyingly high. Had Germany succeeded in cutting off the supply of American ships, England might not have held out. In a cable to Churchill in May 1941, Franklin Roosevelt put it plainly, "I believe the outcome of this struggle is going to be decided in the Atlantic and unless Hitler can win there he cannot win anywhere in the world in the end." Hitler knew what was at stake. The shipping lanes of the Atlantic became the main target of the Kriegsmarine operations early in the war. Between 1940 and 1945 the death rate there was higher than in any other theater of the entire war, for both sides. The enemy was always and constantly there and waiting, lying just over the horizon or lurking beneath the waves. The conflict consisted of not one battle but hundreds, ranging from hours to days in duration, and forcing both sides into constant innovation and white-knuckled, nightmarish second-guessing, trying desperately to gain the advantage of every encounter. Some of this took place in treacherous seas with mountainous swells, in water so cold that survival in it could be counted in mere minutes. Jonathan Dimbleby's The Battle of the Atlantic offers a detailed and immersive account of this massive and decisive campaign, placing it within the context of the war as a whole. Dimbleby delves into the politics on both sides of the Atlantic, revealing the role of Bletchley Park and the complex and dynamic relationship between America and England. He uses contemporary diaries and letters from leaders and sailors to chilling effect, evoking the lives and experiences of those who fought. This is the definitive account of the longest battle of World War II.

1 July 1997 marked the end of British rule of Hong Kong, whereby this territory was passed into the hands of the People's Republic of China. In 1992, Chris Patten, former chairman of the Conservative Party, was appointed Hong Kong's last governor, and was the man to oversee the handover ceremony of this former British colony. Within the last five years of British rule, acclaimed journalist Jonathan Dimbleby was given unique access to the governor which enabled him to document the twists and turns of such an extraordinary diplomatic, political and personal drama. As Governor, Patten encouraged the necessary expansion of Hong Kong's social welfare system, striving to reconcile the basic rights and freedom of over 6 million people with the unpredictable imperatives of Beijing. Drawing on the insights of a host of senior figures, the author places the crisis in both its human and historical contexts, and presents some startling arguments about the conduct of British foreign policy on Hong Kong before and during Patten's tenure.

'Majestic. Truly gripping' Andrew RobertsThe Battle of the Atlantic was the single most important - and longest - campaign of the Second World War. If Britain lost this vital supply route it lost the war. In Jonathan Dimbleby's brilliant and dramatic new account we see how this epic struggle for maritime mastery played out, from the politicians and admirals to the men on and under the sea and their families waiting at home. Filled with haunting and hair-raising stories of chases, ambushes, sinkings, stalkings, disasters and rescues, The Battle of the Atlantic is a monumental work of history as it was lived and fought.'Recounts the horror and humanity of life on those perilous oceans' Independent'Dimbleby moves with skill from scene to scene, eavesdropping on the great statesmen like Churchill, the merchant seamen who carried out their orders, the U-boat commanders who tried to sink them and the families of those who lost their lives at sea' Mail on Sunday

"The only thing that ever really frightened me during the war was the U-boat peril," wrote Winston Churchill in his monumental history of World War Two. Churchill's fears were well-placed-the casualty rate in the Atlantic was higher than in any other theater of the entire war. The enemy was always and constantly there and waiting, lying just over the horizon or lurking beneath the waves. In many ways, the Atlantic shipping lanes, where U-boats preyed on American ships, were the true front of the war. England's very survival depended on assistance from the United States, much of which was transported across the ocean by boat. The shipping lanes thus became the main target of German naval operations between 1940 and 1945. The Battle of the Atlantic and the men who fought it were therefore crucial to both sides. Had Germany succeeded in cutting off the supply of American ships, England might not have held out. Yet had Churchill siphoned reinforcements to the naval effort earlier, thousands of lives might have been preserved. The battle consisted of not one but hundreds of battles, ranging from hours to days in duration, and forcing both sides into constant innovation and nightmarish second-guessing, trying desperately to gain the advantage of every encounter. Any changes to the events of this series of battles, and the outcome of the war-as well as the future of Europe and the world-would have been dramatically different. Jonathan Dimbleby's The Battle of the Atlantic offers a detailed and immersive account of this campaign, placing it within the context of the war as a whole. Dimbleby delves into the politics on both sides of the Atlantic, revealing the role of Bletchley Park and the complex and dynamic relationship between America and England. He uses contemporary diaries and letters from leaders and sailors to chilling effect, evoking the lives and experiences of those who fought the longest battle of World War Two. This is the definitive account of the Battle of the Atlantic.

It was the British victory at the Battle of El Alamein in November 1942 that inspired one of Winston Churchill's most famous aphorisms: 'This is not the end, it is not even the beginning of the end, but it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning'. And yet the significance of this episode remains unrecognised. In this thrilling historical account, Jonathan Dimbleby describes the political and strategic realities that lay behind the battle, charting the nail-biting months that led to the victory at El Alamein in November 1942. It is a story of high drama, played out both in the war capitals of London, Washington, Berlin, Rome and Moscow, and at the front in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Morrocco and Algeria and in the command posts and foxholes in the desert. Destiny in the Desert is about politicians and generals, diplomats, civil servants and soldiers. It is about forceful characters and the tensions and rivalries between them. Drawing on official records and the personal insights of those involved at every level, Dimbleby creates a vivid portrait of a struggle which for Churchill marked the turn of the tide - and which for the soldiers on the ground involved fighting and dying in a foreign land. Now available in paperback in time, Destiny in the Desert, which was shortlisted for the Hessell-Tiltman prize 2012-13, is required reading for anyone with an interest in the Desert War.

The author crosses eight time zones and covers 10,000 miles in an attempt to get to the beating heart of the Russia. This is a personal odyssey and a mesmerizing account of a country undergoing economic, cultural and political change.