Description

Brought to you by Penguin

A GRIPPING AUTHORISED HISTORY OF THE DARING RED DEVILS THE TRAILBLAZERS OF THE PARACHUTE REGIMENT

The Parachute Regiment is Britains elite airborne infantry On the 80th anniversary of their first crucial campaign in Operation Torch in North Africa historian and broadcaster Mark Urban combines perspectives from German and British sources to tell the gripping stories of the men who had the resilience fitness and selfreliance to be Red Devils the name they were given by their German enemies

The Paras comprised everyone from circus performers to solicitors policemen to gravediggers Christian Jews and communists From recentlywidowed Colonel Geoffrey PineCoffin who had to leave his little boy to head to the front to Mike Lewis whose photographs became iconic images of war from those who survived to those who longed for a bloodbath and died in action Urban brings life to these men and their experiences exploring what drove them and covering their daring actions at DDay Arnhem and across the Second World War

Based on deep archival research and new material from the mens families and giving overdue recognition to the North African campaign this compelling account paints a true and moving picture of the heart of war

Mark Urban 2022 P Penguin Audio 2022