Between 1968 and 1975 Ballantine Books published an extensive series of military history books. This guide gives a brief background to the series, and lists all the titles and authors. Ballantine's Illustrated History of World War II, later re-titled Ballantine's Illustrated History of the Violent Century, was a series of paperback books printed in both the USA and UK. The series deals with all aspects of Twentieth Century conflict, and each volume has a wealth of detailed information and illustrations. Many of the titles were written by well-known military authors, including Anthony Farrar-Hockley and Peter Young. The Ballantine Publishing Group is a major American book publisher, now part of the Random House group. It was founded by Ian Keith Ballantine (1916-1995), a pioneering American publisher who had set up the distribution of Penguin Books in the United States during the Second World War. In 1945, with his wife Betty, he was involved in the formation of Bantam Books, becoming the first president of Bantam. The Ballantines formed Ballantine Books in 1952, and quickly gained a reputation as one of the leading publishers of paperback science-fiction and fantasy. Their military history series Ballantine's Illustrated History of World War II/the Violent Century consists of 156 titles. Each book is a 5¼ by 8¼ inch volume with around 160 profusely illustrated pages. Editor-in-Chief for the series was journalist, author and editor Barrie Pitt. After active service in both Europe and the Middle East during the Second World War, Barrie had written several successful military history books. He had also edited, under the overall editorship of Sir Basil Liddell-Hart, Purnell's History of the Second World War. This was a 96-instalment mass circulation series launched in 1966 at the Imperial War Museum. Barrie was therefore ideally qualified to become Editor-in-Chief of the Ballantine's Illustrated History series, and proved an unfailing source of support for the younger historians on the series. The 156 books in the Ballantine's Illustrated History of World War II/the Violent Century themselves are organised into six different colour-coded groups: the Campaign Series - Beige/khaki; the Battle Series - Red; the Weapon Series - Blue; the War Leader Series - Purple; the Politics In Action Series - Black; the Human Conflict Series - Yellow, plus two Special Colour Series titles. The full list of titles and authors is: Campaign Series - Beige/khaki 1 Afrika Korps: Kenneth J Macksey 2 The Raiders, Desert Strike Force: Arthur Swinson 3 Sicily, Whose Victory?: Martin Blumenson 4 Breakout, Drive to the Seine: David Mason 5 Defeat in Malaya, The Fall of Singapore: Arthur Swinson 6 France, Summer 1940: John Williams 7 Bomber Offensive, The Devastation of Europe: Noble Frankland 8 The Nuremberg Rallies: Alan Wykes 9 Japan, The Final Agony: Alvin D Coox 10 Normandy Bridgehead: H Essame 10 Liberation of the Philippines: Stanley Falk 11 Barbarossa, Invasion of Russia 1941: John Keegan 13 New Guinea, The Tide is Stemmed: John Vader 14 Guadalcanal, Island Ordeal: Graeme Kent 15 New Georgia, Pattern for Victory: D C Horton 16 Fall of the Philippines: Ward Rutherford 17 Schweinfurt, Disaster in the Sky: J Sweetman 18 Carpathian Disaster, Death of an Army: Geoffrey Jukes 19 Opening Moves 1914: John Keegan 20 Tanganyikan Guerilla, East Africa Campaign 1914-18: J R Sibley 21 Pacific Onslaught, 7th Dec 1941 / 7th Feb 1943: Paul Kennedy 22 Operation Torch, Anglo-American Invasion North Africa: Vincent Jones 23 Over the Hump, Airlift to China: William Koenig 24 The Winter War, Russia Against Finland: Richard W Condon 25 Pacific Victory: Paul Kennedy 26 Tobruk, The Siege: James W Stock 27 Six Day War: A J Barker 28 Bloodiest Victory - Palaus - America's Pacific Offensive 1944: Stanley Falk 29 Yom Kippur War: A J Barker Battle Series - Red 1 D-Day, Spearhead of Invasion: R W Thompson 2 Their Finest Hour, The Battle of Britain 1940: Edward Bishop 3 Stalingrad, The Turning Point: Geoffrey Jukes 4 Bastogne, The Road Block: Peter Elstob 5 The Siege of Leningrad: Alan Wykes 6 Battle for Berlin, The End of the Third Reich: Earl F Ziemke 7 Kursk, The Clash of Armour: Geoffrey Jukes 8 Tarawa, A Legend is Born: Henry I Shaw Jr 9 Airborne Carpet, Operation Market Garden: Anthony Farrar-Hockley 10 Pearl Harbor: A J Barker 11 Leyte Gulf, Armada in the Pacific: Donald MacIntyre 12 Okinawa, Touchstone to Victory: Benis M Frank 13 The Defense of Moscow: Geoffrey Jukes 14 Raid on St Nazaire: David Mason 15 Anzio, The Bid for Rome: Christopher Hibbert 16 Cassino: Dominick Graham 17 London's Burning: Constantine FitzGibbon 18 Kasserine, Baptism of Fire: Ward Rutherford 19 Battle of the Reichswald: Peter Elstob 20 Midway, The Turning Point: A J Barker 21 Battle of the Ruhr Pocket (WWII Series): Charles Whiting 22 Beda Fomm, The Classic Victory: Kenneth Macksey 23 Bir Hacheim, Desert Citadel: Richard Holmes 24 Salerno, Foothold in Europe: David Mason 25 Armoured Onslaught, 8th August 1918: Douglas Orgill 26 Vimy Ridge 1914-18: Kenneth Macksey 27 Rhine Crossing: James W Stock 28 Argonne 1918, The AEF in France: Barry Gregory 29 Rotterdam, Invasion of Holland: Wilhelmina Steenbeck 30 Ploesti, Oil Strike: John Sweetman 31 Zeebrugge, 23rd April 1918: James W Stock 32 Iwo Jima: Michael Russell 33 Dien Bien Phu: John Keegan Weapon Series - Blue 1 U-Boat, The Secret Menace: David Mason 2 Panzer Division, The Mailed Fist: K J Macksey 3 Aircraft Carrier, The Majestic Weapon: Donald MacIntyre 4 ME109: Martin Caidin 5 German Secret Weapons, Blueprint for Mars: Brian J Ford 6 Spitfire: John Vader 7 Commando: Peter Young 8 SS and Gestapo: Roger Manvell 9 Zero Fighter: Martin Caidin 10 The Luftwaffe: Alfred Price 11 The Guns, 1939-45: Ian V Hogg 12 Airborne: Charles MacDonald 13 PT Boats: Bryan Cooper 14 Pacific Hawk, Kittyhawks: John Ward 15 Tank Force, Allied Armor in World War II: Kenneth Macksey 16 Waffen SS, The Asphalt Soldiers: John Keegan 17 B29, The Superfortress: Carl Berger 18 Barrage, The Guns in Action: Ian V Hogg 19 Allied Secret Weapons, The War of Science: Brian J Ford 20 Rocket Fighter: William Green 21 T-34, Russian Armour; Douglas Orgill 22 Suicide Weapon: Alan Baker 23 Hitler's High Seas Fleet: Richard Humble 24 Mosquito, Wooden Wonder: Edward Bishop 25 Infantry Weapons: John Weeks 26 P51 Mustang, Bomber Escort: W N Hess 27 The Guns 1914-18: Alan Baker 28 Trench Fighting 1914-18: Charles Messenger 29 Flying Tigers, Chennault in China: Ron Heifernan 30 Lancaster Bombers: D B Tubbs 31 Merrill's Marauders: Alan Baker 32 German General Staff: Barry Leach 33 Japanese High Seas Fleet: Richard Humble 34 Chindits, Long Range Penetration: Michael Calvert 35 Condor Legion: Peter Elstob 36 Indestructible Jeep: D Denfeld & M Fry 37 Grenades & Mortars: Ian V Hogg 38 Wellington Bomber: Edward Bishop 39 Hitler's Bodyguards, SS Leibstandarte: Alan Wykes 40 B17, Flying Fortress: W N Hess 41 German Armour: Douglas Orgill 42 Midget Submarines: J Gleason & T Waldron 43 Gas: Ian V Hogg 44 DC3: Arthur Pearcy War Leader Series - Purple 1 Patton: Charles Whiting 2 MacArthur: Sydney L Mayer 3 Hitler: Alan Wykes 4 Stilwell: D D Rooney 5 Bradley: Charles Whiting 6 Mountbatten: Arthur Swinson 7 De Gaulle: Phillipe Masson 8 Göring: Roger Manvell 9 Eisenhower: Martin Blumenson 10 Tito: Phyllis Auty 11 Skorzeny: Charles Whiting 12 Slim: Michael Calvert 13 Mussolini: Christopher Hibbert 14 Himmler: Alan Wykes 15 Student: A H Farrar-Hockley 16 Churchill: David Mason 17 Goebbels: Alan Wykes 18 Lawrence of Arabia: Douglas Orgill 19 MacArthur in Japan: Sydney L Mayer 20 Guderian: John Keegan 21 Stauffenburg: G S Graber 22 Heydrich: Alan Wykes 23 Churchill 1914-18: David Mason 24 Yamashita: A J Barker 25 Rundstedt: John Keegan 26 Halsey: Benis M Frank 27 Rommel: J R Sibley & M Fry 28 Zhukov, Marshall of the Soviet Union: O Chaney 29 Montgomery: R Thompson 30 Tojo: Alvin D Coox 31 Stalin: Rose Tremain Politics In Action Series - Black 1 The Conspirators: (Pan/Ballantine Version) Roger Manvell 2 The Blackshirts, Fascism in Britain: David Shermer 3 The Reichstag Fire, Ashes of Democracy: R John Prichard 4 Rape of Ethiopia: A J Barker 5 Warsaw Rising: Gunther Deschner 6 Hitler Youth, The Duped Generation: H W Koch 7 Night of the Long Knives: Nikolai Tolstoy 8 Nuremberg Trials: Leo Kahn 9 The Fight for Freedom for Women: Rose Tremain 10 Berlin Blockade: John Man Human Conflict Series - Yellow 1 Olympiad 1936, Blaze of Glory for Hitler's Reich: Judith Holmes 2 Lidice, Sacrificial Village: John Bradley 3 Death Railway: Clifford Kinvig 4 Genocide, The Jews in Europe 1939-45: Ward Rutherford 5 Bloody Ulster: A J Barker Special Colour Series 1 Nazi Regalia: Jack Pia 2 SS Regalia: Jack Pia Although some of the titles in the series are now nearly 40 years old, the wealth of detail and sheer number of illustrating photographs makes them a valuable addition to your military library today. Information from eBay
Some more discussion on them here matey: http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/books-films-tv-radio/28348-macdonald-purnell-ballantine-history-ww2-books.html
Some more discussion on them here matey: http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/books-films-tv-radio/28348-macdonald-purnell-ballantine-history-ww2-books.html Thanks for that, didn't see it...........one for the Moderators.
Can it be possible to get scanned copies of these books? These are good books to read and understand.
I hope i can get scanned copies of these Ballantine books, these are really classic books to detail facts.