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Under the Devils eye


armourersergeant

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glad i got mine from there then! and at the proper price, shame they have all sold out though

matt

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  • 3 weeks later...
When I have a little time in January I have two publishers to contact with regard to getting a new edition of 'Under the Devil's Eye' back out on the bookshelves.

ALAN

Thanks for the update, good luck getting it reprinted I look forward to reading it.

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'Under the Devils Eye, Britains Forgotten Army at Salonika 1915-18', by Wakefield and Moody.

I have just finished this book and can say that it is a welcome addition not just to my book collection but to the war and the subject of Salonika as well. Salonika is like many of the 'sideshows' an increasing area of interest to many that struggles for good books.

There are too few books to cover this area of the war and perhaps the best to date is Palmers 'Gardners of Salonika'. This deals with the war from all views and is heavy on the inter allied co-operation. Many others are from the twenties and are stooped in writing of the times and void of real/truthful information. In some respects they are the reading equivilent of eating cardboard.

So it was with both delight and trepidation that i welcomed the above book, especially when i learnt that one, and now both, authors were members of this forum.

They can rest easy. This book is packed with first hand accounts that add 'real' recollections to the narrative. Subjects covered are not just the fighting, which was intermitten in this theatre, but also Medical, air, logistics, recreation and much more.

Backing this up is a vast collection of maps that help visually translate the written word and not surprisingly given Alan Wakefields vocation, more than the average amount of photos. Again these images do not just capture the soldier in the front line but all aspects of the Salonika campaign. There is also an appendix of the divisions that fought out there , which i found helpful to refer to when reading the chapters of the offensives.

The chapters do well to split up the war in to managable sections and as i have mentioned already give an insight to all aspects of the life that the men and women endured out there. If the Bulgars were not on them then the climate was. It is good that the authors focused in part on the recreational and medical sides of the campaign as these areas were major parts of this war. The men rarely had leave away from Salonika and were forced to make there own and the climate made medical aid a very important part of the army.

My advice, whilst biased, is to get hold of a copy and learn something about a section of the 1914-18 war that passes many by.

Well done

Arm

Ps Printing error. In my copy the page headers for section 'Life behind the lines', goes to 'life in the front line' after one page! Having lost my page this puzzled me for a few minutes. It doesnt take much!

Well this great timing as i put in a thread asking about a good book on Salonika .Will have to chase one up now

Thanks and best MC

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Mine's well thumbed and sprouts numerous post-it notes for easy access to certain pages!

Keith

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  • 2 months later...

Just wondering if there is any news on a possible reprint?

Thanks

Alan

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Just wondering if there is any news on a possible reprint?

Thanks

Alan

+1

Simon

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I believe it is progressing slowly but nothing firm as yet.

There are a few copies available on-line. One at £100, one at £314 and one at just under £700

I could probably find one for £90 if anyone was that desperate.........

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I believe it is progressing slowly but nothing firm as yet.

There are a few copies available on-line. One at £100, one at £314 and one at just under £700

I could probably find one for £90 if anyone was that desperate.........

For £700 I'll re-write it.

:ph34r:

Simon

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Well folks, at last I have some good news for you all. I've been in conversation with Henry Wilson at Pen & Sword and it looks very likely that will produce the 2nd edition of the book. The volume is proposed for release ca. April - May next year. :D

ALAN

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Well folks, at last I have some good news for you all. I've been in conversation with Henry Wilson at Pen & Sword and it looks very likely that will produce the 2nd edition of the book. The volume is proposed for release ca. April - May next year. :D

ALAN

There goes my £700...but hurrah nonetheless!

Simon

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That must be a weight off your mind, Alan. I know how much you've wanted to see it back in print. Well done you!

Keith

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Hi Keith

I still won't believe it until:

1. I've signed a contract.

2. I have a newly published copy in my mits!!!

But I'm sure feeling very positive about it and so is Simon who is already saying he wants to alter parts of his chapters - not a lot going on in NZ obviously!!!

ALAN

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  • 2 weeks later...

Ha Ha!

Pretty busy actually!

No, I just want to polish it up a bit and maybe add a few touches from down here I have come across.

Might sell more down under then!

Cheers

Simon

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......I just want to polish it up a bit.......

Glossy paper, then?

Now, what about Fench or Greek editions to increase sales?

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Got a second hand one last week . 35 dollars great read well done both.MC

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Thanks MC, glad you enjoyed the book. You did very well finding one for $35.

Simon and I are very happy that a new edition will be out hopefully this time next year.

ALAN

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  • 1 year later...

Just to let folks know that the new edition of Undser the Devil's Eye is now available (published by Pen & Sword). So, no more need to pay potentially silly prices on Amazon for copies of the out of print 1st edition :thumbsup:

ALAN

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I feel quite humbled now that my copy was a review copy (ah, the Forum emoticons don't have the 'blush' one) -which I would never have intended to sell. (Though I might have well signed a cheque to Simon... 50/50 with Alan?) if it got the follow-on finished!)

The print run was clearly too small... Here I am getting alerts from the Naval and Military Press for books with a print run of 500 - (calm down people, they're WW2 books) so in the lottery of publishing, not seeing a good thing, etc. etc.

Every success with the new edition.

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Good news Alan, looking forward to getting a copy

ah, the Forum emoticons don't have the 'blush' one

Yes they do! :blush:

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Just to let folks know that the new edition of Undser the Devil's Eye is now available (published by Pen & Sword). So, no more need to pay potentially silly prices on Amazon for copies of the out of print 1st edition :thumbsup:

ALAN

Brilliant.... have been waiting ages for this.... but Amazon.co.uk does not seem to be showing the new edition....MG

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For those of us with the first edition, Alan told me at the Conference that the new one has slightly fewer illustrations but it contains a fair amount of additional and revised text. I may well get one, if only to take the pressure off the original, which is always my first port of call for Salonika info. It has so many post-it notes stuck into it at important points that it looks like a hedgehog these days! :lol:

Keith

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Best price this weekend that i can find is at the Book Depository, which is running a 10% extra discount from its already low prices. So available for £13.57 delivered.

The extra discount is only for a short period and requires a code from the front page of the site.

Keith

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Would you post the URL, please, Keith. I've Googled Book Depository and the best price I can find is ten quid more than you quoted and is actually more than P&S are offering it for, although they're charging postage on top.

Keith

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