'The English have for centuries been a puzzle to the people of other countries', explains this guide produced for overseas forces stationed in England during the Second World War. The English and Their Country attempts to solve this puzzle, providing an account of English characteristics for confused guests.

This anthology provides a new approach, focusing on the best poems by the poets who were actually on the front line. It includes the most famous poets - Owen, Sassoon, Brooke - in greater than usual depth, plus rising stars such as Gurney and Blunden.

First printed in 1943, this book was produced to set out the 'simple safeguards, the common sense rules, and the good habits which we can make part and parcel of our everyday lives'. It offers advice on various topics, from eating and drinking to exercise and good health, to coping with 'sex problems'.

From bizarre propaganda posters to eccentric spies, from pigeon parachutes to the ventriloquist's dummy that saved his master's life, from tickle sticks to fly swats, this is proof that, as ever, the truth is stranger than fiction.