With war against Germany looming, Britain pushed forward its carrier program in the late 1930s. In 1938, the Royal Navy launched the HMS Ark Royal, its first-ever purpose-built aircraft carrier. This was quickly followed by others, including the highly-successful Illustrious class. Smaller and tougher than their American cousins, the British carriers were designed to fight in the tight confines of the North Sea and the Mediterranean. Over the next six years, these carriers battled the Axis powers in every theatre, attacking Italian naval bases, hunting the Bismark, and even joining the fight in the Pacific. This book tells the story of the small, but resilient, carriers and the crucial role they played in the British war effort.

曾几何时，苏联大兵是世界上最令人毛骨悚然的东西，这支脚踏半个欧洲、从波罗的海管到太平洋的武装力量怎么倾刻之间崩溃了呢？本书对这支军队崩溃的原因、过程和结果作出了实质性的分析，始终把苏联政治、经济与军事联系起来论证，有一定的说服力。苏联解体了，俄罗斯还在，苏联军队崩溃了，俄罗斯军队还会强大起来，本书的见解对了解俄罗斯军队的现状也很有参考价值。
本书探讨了苏军由来及战争理论,苏联政治军事领导人的内心世界,苏联政权的政治和经济对苏军的影响、苏军垮台更深层的意义等问题。