Commando

A photo-packed memoir by the Ramones guitarist and “true iconoclast” (Publishers Weekly). Raised in Queens, New York, Johnny Ramone founded one of the most influential rock bands of all time, but he never strayed from his blue-collar roots and attitude. He was truly imbued with the angry-young-man spirit that would characterize his persona both on and off stage. Through it all, Johnny kept the band focused and moving forward, ultimately securing their place in music history by inventing punk rock. The Ramones were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002—and two years later, Johnny died of cancer, having outlived two other founding members. Revealing, inspiring, and told on his own terms, this memoir also features Johnny’s assessment of the Ramones’ albums; a number of eccentric Top Ten lists; rare historical artifacts; and scores of personal and professional photos, many of which have never before been published. “Feels like a conversation with Johnny.” —The Boston Globe

E’mon Lauren’s poems take artifacts, language, and ephemera from life on Chicago’s Southside and Westside to create a manifesto of survival and growth. These poems from Chicago’s first Youth Poet Laureate grapple with sexism, racism, love, and class with a style that announces Lauren as a poet to watch. Commando is an aesthetic stick up, hallelujahs in a handbag with a handgun. The first collection from the city's first youth poet laureate is a manifesto for a solider at war.

Always marked out for high rank, Robert Laycock came into his own when selected to raise 8 Commando, a new ‘crack’ unit early in the Second World War. After training, 7, 8 and 11 Commandos were sent to the Middle East in early 1941 and all became Layforce under Laycock’s command. Layforce was disbanded after Crete fell. Laycock took part in the abortive raid on Rommel’s HQ. As commander of the Special Service Brigade Laycock played an important role in the Sicily landings and at Salerno. In October 1943 he succeeded Mountbatten as Chief of Combined Operations, coordinating combined services operations and training and attending Allied conferences. In later life Laycock became Governor of Malta and Colonel of the SAS. In this long overdue biography, the author reveals the detail of this fine soldier’s character and superb military record.

It is indeed remarkable, since the archives of the Second World War must have been pillaged, ransacked, burrowed into, and turned over almost as thoroughly as Monte Cassino itself, that no book has been written about one of the strangest units created during that or any other conflict. The unit was called Ten Commando - and the shroud of secrecy that enveloped it at the time has scarcely been un-wrapped by the passge of the years. Ten Commando was composed entirely of men who came from Germany and from Nazi-occupied countries such as Holland, Poland, and France. Secrecy was vital, for if an Axis agent infiltrated into Ten Commando he could do untold harm. If a member of Ten Commando were capture and his unit identified, the rules of the Geneva Convention were unlikely to worry the captors. This overwhelming need for absolute secrecy was so well instilled in the men of Ten Commando that, until now, little was known about their daring exploits behind enemy lines, including coordination of resistance fighters and sabotage. The result of Ian Dear’s painstaking research is a remarkable book indeed and a worthy tribute to an incredibly brave group of cladestine soldiers who belong near the top of the WWII Roll of Honor.

This is the story of Brigadier Peter Young (1915-1988), a highly decorated soldier who was one of the founding members of 3 Commando, rising during WWII from 2 Lt to Brigadier in the space of 6 years. His battle honours include Vaagso, Dieppe, Sicily, Italy, Normandy and Burma. A career soldier, he returned to his parent regiment, the Beds and Herts, after the war and subsequently spent time in Palestine where he commanded the 9th Regiment of the Arab Legion under Glubb Pasha. After Suez he returned to England, retiring from the Army in 1959. He founded the War Studies Department at RMA Sandhurst during the 60s, intending to create there a intellectual centre along the lines of a university faculty for the study of military history and to that end gathered around him some of the finest military historians of the day including Richard Holmes, David Chandler and John Adair amongst others. He was instrumental in the forming of The Sealed Knot and is reverred in re-enactment circles. To publicise a book he had written about the English Civil War he organised a publicity stunt which evolved rapidly into the first re-enactment society: The Sealed Knot. An avid war-gamer, his name is legendary in war-gaming circles. 'The Brig' is still a well-known personality even among those too young ever to have met him.

When the Royal Marines Commandos returned to a chaotic Helmand in the winter of 2008, they realised that to stand any chance of success they would need to pursue an increasingly determined Taliban harder than ever before. This time they were going to hunt them down from the air. With the support of Chinooks, Apaches, Lynx, Sea Kings and Harriers, the Commandos became a deadly mobile unit, able to swoop at a moments notice into the most hostile territory. From huge operations like the gruelling Red Dagger, when 3 Commando Brigade fought in Somme-like mud to successfully clear the area around the capital of Helmand, Lashkar Gar, of encroaching enemy forces, to the daily acts of unsupported, close-quarters 360-degree combat and the breath-taking, rapid helicopter night assaults behind enemy lines - this was kind of battle that brought Commando qualities to the fore. As with the Sunday Times bestselling 3 Commando Brigade, ex-Marine Lieutenant Colonel Ewen Southby-Tailyour brings unparalleled access to the troops, a soldier's understanding of the conflict and a visceral sense of the combat experience. This is the real war in Afghanistan as told to him by a hand-picked band of young fellow marines as they encounter the daily rigours of life on the ground in the world's most intense war zone.

"A special acknowledgment goes to Madonna Yancey for writing the manuscript for the front of this publication"--P.4.

In the dark days of 1940, Prime Minister Winston Churchill showed his belief in ultimate victory by ordering the raising of the elite Commandos to ‘break the intolerable shackles of defeat.’ Having proved their worth in numerous raids and operations in the Mediterranean they and their American counterparts, the Rangers, were automatic choices for the most demanding and vital missions of the D-Day Landings in June 1944. These included the capture of key ports, enemy coastal defenses and the securing of vulnerable open flanks. rnrnThe tasks allotted to the Rangers included the seizure of Pointe du Hoc while No 4 Commando took the port of Ouisterham and 47 Royal Marine Commando that of Port-en-Bessin. These daring actions and many others are vividly described in this superb book written by a highly experienced battlefield tour expert and the author of many acclaimed guide books. Indeed each chapter concludes with invaluable tour notes for those who wish to visit these historic sites. It was only thanks to thorough planning, specialist training, inspiring leadership and, above all, the courage of the men involved that these missions were successfully achieved – but at great cost.