When ex-army officer Adam Scott's father passes away he leaves Adam a puzzling letter that leads him to a Swiss bank and a priceless 14th century icon.
International bestseller Jeffrey Archer picks up the sweeping story of the Clifton Chronicles with A Matter of Honor--featuring a bonus interview with author. It seems innocent enough. A disgraced British colonel bequeaths a mysterious letter to his only son. But the moment Adam Scott opens the yellowing envelope, he sets into motion a deadly chain of events that threatens to shake the very foundations of the free world. Within days, Adam's lover is brutally murdered and he's running for his life through the great cities of Europe, pursued not only by the KGB, but by the CIA and his own countrymen as well. Their common intent is to kill him before the truth comes out. While powerful men in smoke-filled rooms plot ever more ingenious means of destroying him, Adam finds himself betrayed and abandoned even by those he holds most dear. When at last he comes to understand what he is in possession of, he's even more determined to protect it, for it's more than a matter of life and death-it's a matter of honor. Only days before Britain declares war on Germany, Harry Clifton, hoping to escape the consequences of long-buried family secrets, and forced to accept that his desire to marry Emma Barrington will never be fulfilled, has joined the Merchant Navy. But his ship is sunk in the Atlantic by a German U-boat, drowning almost the entire crew. An American cruise liner, the SS Kansas Star, rescues a handful of sailors, among them Harry and the third officer, an American named Tom Bradshaw. When Bradshaw dies in the night, Harry seizes on the chance to escape his tangled past and assumes his identity. On landing in America, however, Bradshaw quickly learns the mistake he has made, when he discovers what is awaiting him in New York. Without any way of proving his true identity, Harry Clifton is now chained to a past that could be far worse than the one he had hoped to escape.
Featuring a bonus interview with the authorAdisgraced British colonel bequeaths a mysterious letter to his only son. The moment Adam Scott opens the yellowing envelope, he sets into motion a deadly chain of events.Within days, he's running for his life, pursued by the KGB, the CIA, and his own countrymen. Powerful men plot his destruction and Adam is betrayed and abandoned even by those he holds most dear. When he finally realizes what he possesses, he's even more determined to protect it, for it's more than a matter of life and death-- it's a matter of honor.
A Question of Honor is the gripping, little-known story of the refugee Polish pilots who joined the RAF and played an essential role in saving Britain from the Nazis, only to be betrayed by the Allies after the war. After Poland fell to the Nazis, thousands of Polish pilots, soldiers, and sailors escaped to England. Devoted to liberating their homeland, some would form the RAF’s 303 squadron, known as the Kosciuszko Squadron, after the elite unit in which many had flown back home. Their thrilling exploits and fearless flying made them celebrities in Britain, where they were “adopted” by socialites and seduced by countless women, even as they yearned for news from home. During the Battle of Britain, they downed more German aircraft than any other squadron, but in a stunning twist at the war’s end, the Allies rewarded their valor by abandoning Poland to Joseph Stalin. This moving, fascinating book uncovers a crucial forgotten chapter in World War II–and Polish–history.
The South African-born Chinese community is a tiny one, consisting of 10,000-12,000 members in a population of approximately 45 million. Throughout much of the history of this race-conscious country, this community has been ignored or neglected and officially classed along with people of mixed race or with Indians in the South African category of "Asiatic." Shaped by both external and internal forces, Chinese identities in South Africa are beginning to receive more media and scholarly attention as China's aid, trade, and investment in Africa grow and large numbers of new Chinese immigrants stream into South Africa and other African states. A Matter of Honour examines the shifting social, ethnic, racial, and national identities of Chinese South Africans over time. Using concepts of identity, ethnicity, race, nationalism, and transnationalism, and drawing on comparisons with other overseas Chinese communities, it explores the multilayered identities of the South African group and analyzes the ways in which their identities have altered with each generation. Yoon Jung Park's study breaks away from the often-narrow inquiries into ethnic and national identity in South Africa, offering valuable new perspectives on this shifting terrain of study. Book jacket.
This monograph entails a comparative study of two early modern urban centers in Transylvania (nowadays Romania): Cluj (Kolozsvar, Klausenburg) and Sibiu (Nagyszeben, Hermannstadt). It develops a new perspective on urban history in Transylvania, by filling the recent historiographical lacuna on early modern urban elites since not much has been written recently on early modern urban elites. This book attempts to combine traditional and modern research methods, by analyzing and comparing a large volume of unpublished data along three research lines. First, the historical background within which of the town elites in Cluj and Sibiu monopolized power are analyzed, including the development of town autonomy and governmental systems, the legal background of urban leadership, its continuity and the conditions under which the political urban elite acted in each town. Secondly, a thorough archontological and prosopographical research, with a special focus on marriage strategies and professional competence leads to a socio-political characterisation of the elites of Cluj and Sibiu. Finally, an attempt is made to provide insight into the representation and self-fashioning of these elites.
On the seventy-fifth anniversary, the authors of Pulitzer Prize finalist The Eleventh Day unravel the mysteries of Pearl Harbor to expose the scapegoating of the admiral who was in command the day 2,000 Americans died, report on the continuing struggle to restore his lost honor—and clear President Franklin D. Roosevelt of the charge that he knew the attack was coming. The Japanese onslaught on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 devastated Americans and precipitated entry into World War II. In the aftermath, Admiral Husband Kimmel, Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Fleet, was relieved of command, accused of negligence and dereliction of duty—publicly disgraced. But the Admiral defended his actions through eight investigations and for the rest of his long life. The evidence against him was less than solid. High military and political officials had failed to provide Kimmel and his Army counterpart with vital intelligence. Later, to hide the biggest U.S. intelligence secret of the day, they covered it up. Following the Admiral’s death, his sons—both Navy veterans—fought on to clear his name. Now that they in turn are dead, Kimmel’s grandsons continue the struggle. For them, 2016 is a pivotal year. With unprecedented access to documents, diaries and letters, and the family’s cooperation, Summers’ and Swan’s search for the truth has taken them far beyond the Kimmel story—to explore claims of duplicity and betrayal in high places in Washington. A Matter of Honor is a provocative story of politics and war, of a man willing to sacrifice himself for his country only to be sacrificed himself. Revelatory and definitive, it is an invaluable contribution to our understanding of this pivotal event. The book includes forty black-and-white photos throughout the text.
On 4 August 1914, Britain declared war on Germany, and entered the First World War. It may be tempting to view the conflict as inevitable, or to see British intervention as unavoidable, but the truth was not so simple. Britons had long loathed the prospect of a continental war, and were assured that their nation had a free hand in Europe. Yet, in the first days of August, the debate abruptly changed. This was not simply a question of war, the British Government insisted. Instead, it was a matter of honour. If Britain stayed neutral, her friends would never trust her again; the country’s prestige would plummet; the national honour would be destroyed. ‘National honour,’ David Lloyd George proclaimed, ‘is a reality, and any nation that disregards it is doomed!’ What did these ideas mean, and why did they resonate so effectively with the British public? As Twamley details in this study – based on his award-winning masters’ dissertation – the importance of national honour to the decision-makers of 1914 has been largely overlooked. It is now time to address such shortcomings in the debate, and to place Britain’s pivotal decision for war in its proper cultural and ideological context.
The monument to Isaac Brock (17691812) on Queenston Heights in Canada, as high as Nelsons column in London, pays tribute to the military commander of all troops opposing the American invasion of Canada during the War of 1812. Brocks service during the War of 1812 includes leading the capture of Detroit. He was killed on the morning of 13 October 1812, leading a company of the 49th Foot in a counter-attack on the American lodgement atop Queenston Heights. Although Brock died and his uphill charge against the American muskets failed, the invasion was repulsed soon afterwards. A Matter of Honour focuses on Brocks career as a military commander and also as a civil administrator for the government of Upper Canada. Early chapters deal with his life and military service up to 1791. The book also records his command of the 49th Regiment in the Low Countries and at Copenhagen up to his arrival in Canada in 1802. Brock spent more time in Canada than any other British general who fought in the War of 1812. He faced a difficult situation in Canada, defending a long frontier with meagre resources. However, he was renowned for his resourcefulness, inspiring leadership and ability to keep opponents off-balance