Books

'Mystery, suspense, and action. It's all in this perfectly atmospheric story.' BOOKLIST, US

'An intense and emotional novel.' CHI Magazine, Italy

'If you enjoyed the Da Vinci Code you won't be able to put this one down.' MORGAN LLYWELYN, bestselling author of Lion of Ireland

In the time of Vespasian, just after Rome has crushed the Jewish Revolt, Julius Varro, a Roman questor, an investigating magistrate, is commissioned to investigate the story that a Jew rose from the dead after being crucified in Jerusalem.

Because the fast-growing Nazarene sect founded by the martyr's followers is becoming a threat to the stability of the region, there is much riding on debunking the story. Questor Varro has to deal with the evidence that goes back forty years, with most witnesses long dead and the living ones lying to protect themselves. But he is intent on producing a report that will demolish the claims of these religious fanatics.

His investigation stirs intrigue, religious passion, and violence, to say nothing of an attraction to a beautiful Jewish slave girl. Questor Varro's report methodically destroys the myth fueling the newborn Christian movement. But then an extraordinary event occurs that changes everything.

AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH, ITALIAN AND SPANISH EDITIONS AND AUDIOBOOK.

This novel has been a A BESTSELLER IN SPAIN AND ITALY, where it is equated with the classic Quo Vardis and the works of another Australian novelist, Colleen McCullough.

'A tough, gritty chronicle.' BOOKLIST, US

 

This fourth book in Dando-Collins’s unique series of definitive histories of individual Roman legions tells the story of Rome’s 3rd Gallica Legion, which put Vespasian on the throne and saved the life of the Christian apostle Paul.

Named for their leader, Mark Antony, these common Roman soldiers, through their gallantry on the battlefield, reshaped the Roman Empire and aided the spread of Christianity throughout Europe.

AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH AND POLISH EDITIONS AND AUDIOBOOK.

'A terrific read! Like a screenplay treatment for a hell of a movie.' WALL STREET JOURNAL, US

'Well written history - it reads like drama.' HISTORY IN REVIEW, US

'Highly recommended.' MAGILL BOOK REVIEW, US

'This interesting book will amaze you!' THE LONE STAR, US

'A gem of a tale.' AUGUSTA METRO SPIRIT, US

'One incredible story of adventurism gone wild.' CHARLESTON POST & COURIER, US

'Dando-Collins' efficient prose sweeps the reader along through the misadventure.' PROVIDENCE JOURNAL, US

Written by a master storyteller, Tycoon's War is the remarkable account of an epic imperialist duel — a violent battle of the capitalist, Cornelius Vanderbilt, America's richest man, versus the American adventurer, William Walker, and his army of American mercenaries.

It's Vanderbilt the streetwise, stop-at-nothing misogynist versus Walker the charismatic, racist psychopath. It's money versus ambition, and a monumental clash of egos, that resulted in the deaths of thousands of Americans and Central Americans caught up in the bitter war.

This incredible true story — impeccably researched and never before told in full—is packed with greed, intrigue, and some of the most hair-raising battle scenes ever written.

'Gripping.' NEW YORK DAILY NEWS, US

'A dark thriller. And a true story!' WALL STREET JOURNAL, US

'An exciting account from a passionate author who has done the necessary research.' KIRKUS REVIEWS, US

'Weaves an engrossing account. Well researched and enthralling.' DAVID P. COLLEY,  author of Decision at Strasbourg

'So well written, so comprehensive, and so personal to me - I have known some of these men and their families. Stephen Dando-Collins has done his homework.' ELODIE CALDWELL, daughter of escapee Reid F. Ellsworth

'Vividly chronicled by military historian Dando-Collins.' LIBRARY JOURNAL, US

'Masterful... Stephen Dando-Collins is a Cornelius Ryan (A Bridge Too Far), a Stephen Ambrose (Band of Brothers), for a new generation.' LT COLONEL DAVE GROSSMAN (US Army ret'd), bestselling author of On Combat and On Killing

THIS WAS THE GREATEST ALLIED POW ESCAPE OF WWII, with 250 American servicemen escaping their Nazi jailers.

The story opens in the stinking latrines of the Schubin camp as an American and a Canadian lead the digging of a tunnel which enabled a break involving 36 prisoners of war (POWs). The Germans then converted the camp to Oflag 64, to exclusively hold US Army officers, with more than 1500 Americans ultimately housed there. Plucky Americans attempted a variety of escapes until January, 1945, only to be thwarted every time.

Then, with the Red Army advancing closer every day, camp commandant Colonel Fritz Schneider received orders from Berlin to march his prisoners west. Game on! Over the next few days, 250 US Army officers would succeed in escaping east to link up with the Russians - although they would prove almost as dangerous as the Nazis - only to be ordered once they arrived back in the United States not to talk about their adventures. Within months, General Patton would launch a bloody bid to rescue the remaining Schubin Americans.

In The Big Break, this previously untold story follows POWs including General Eisenhower's personal aide, General Patton's son-in-law, and Ernest Hemingway's eldest son as they struggled to be free. Military historian and Paul Brickhill biographer Stephen Dando-Collins expertly chronicles this gripping story of Americans determined to be free, brave Poles risking their lives to help them, and dogmatic Nazis determined to stop them.

Now also available in Italian and Dutch editions.

'Dando-Collins expertly tells his fluid drama... A seasoned historian weaves a heartwarming story.' KIRKUS REVIEWS, US

'Absorbing.' LIBRARY JOURNAL, US

'Enthralling.' WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN

'A thrilling story of good triumphing over evil.' ROBERT SIMKO, Publisher and Editor, The Broadsheet, New York City

'Dando-Collins chronicles one of the most extraordinary but least known operations of the war.' PROFESSOR PHIL SAMPONARO, University of Texas at Brownsville

'Dando-Collins has done a remarkable job.' DAVID P. COLLEY, author of Decision at Strasbourg

'Stephen Dando-Collins can be relied on to tell engaging stories with verve.' PROFESSOR PETER STANLEY, University of NSW at Canberra

 

The true story of a little-known, yet remarkable World War II operation, which had all the hallmarks of a suicide mission.

Beginning with a crazy plan hatched by a suspect prince, and an even crazier reliance on the word of the Nazis, Operation Chowhound was devised. Between May 1 and May 8, 1945, 2,268 military units flown by the USAAF, dropped food to 3.5 million starving Dutch civilians in German-occupied Holland.

It took raw courage to fly on Operation Chowhound, as American aircrews never knew when the German AAA might open fire on them or if Luftwaffe fighters might jump them. Flying at 400 feet, barely above the tree tops, with guns pointed directly at them, they would have no chance to bail out if their B-17s were hit―and yet, over eight days, 120,000 German troops kept their word, and never fired on the American bombers. As they flew, grateful Dutch civilians spelled out "Thanks Boys" in the tulip fields below. Many Americans who flew in Operation Chowhound would claim it was the best thing they did in the war.

In this gripping narrative, author Stephen Dando-Collins takes the reader into the rooms where Operation Chowhound was born, into the aircraft flying the mission, and onto the ground in the Netherlands with the civilians who so desperately needed help. James Bond creator Ian Fleming, Hollywood actress Audrey Hepburn, as well as Roosevelt, Eisenhower, and Churchill all play a part in this story, creating a compelling, narrative read.

'Absorbing... Military history is the muscle of this book, with enough political sinews to give it coherence.' WASHINGTON TIMES, US

'A unique and splendidly researched story, following the trials and triumphs of Julius Caesar's Legio X-arguably the most famous legion of its day-from its activation to the slogging battle of Munda and from Thapsus, Caesar's tactical masterpiece, to the grim siege of the Jewish fortress of Masada. More than a mere unit account, it incorporates the history of Rome and the Roman army at the height of their power and gory glory. Many military historians consider Caesar's legions the world's most efficient infantry before the arrival of gunpowder. This book shows why. Written in readable, popular style, Caesar's Legion is a must for military buffs and anyone interested in Roman history at a critical point in European civilization.' T. R. FEHRENBACH, author of This Kind of War, Lone Star, and Comanches

'Dando-Collins has a grand, gripping story to tell here... This is certainly a vigorous and entertaining way to read Roman history.' BARNES & NOBLE editorial review, US

'The author makes the brutal realities of Classical Age wars easily read. Moreover, the book lets the reader understand why Caesar's legions were the world's most excellent and successful infantry.' StudyCorgi.com

A world first: a regimental history of a Roman legion. And it flows like a novel. Stephen Dando-Collins paints a vivid and definitive portrait of daily life in the Tenth Legion as he follows Caesar and his men along the blood-soaked fringes of the Empire. This unprecedented regimental history reveals countless previously unknown details about Roman military practices, Caesar's conduct as a commander and his relationships with officers and legionaries, and the daily routine and discipline of the legion.

From penetrating insights into the mind of history's greatest general to a grunt's-eye view of the gruesome realities of war in the Classical Age, this unique and riveting true account sets a new standard of exellence and detail to which all authors of ancient military history now aspire.

Following the example set by Robert Graves, author of I, Claudius and influential translator of Suetonius, in this work Dando-Collins uses modern military ranks for senior Roman officers, to make the work more accessible to the lay reader.

Also, some time ago Dando-Collins formed the opinion that the 10th Legion formed by Caesar in Spain went on to become the 10th Fretensis, contrary to the opinion of 19th century German historian Theodor Mommsen, whose views had been accepted by classical scholars with limited legion knowledge but have been discredited by a number of modern authorities. For a detailed explanation of Dando-Collins' reasoning in this regard see the section on the 10th Fretensis Legion in his Legions of Rome. 

First published in the US by Wiley in 2002, the breakthrough Caesar's Legion, the first book ever devoted to the history of a single legion, has since been published in numerous editions and many languages worldwide and continues to attract avid readers internationally.

AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH, ITALIAN, SPANISH, POLISH, PORTUGUESE, ALBANIAN, AND KOREAN EDITIONS, AND AUDIOBOOK.

Caesar's Legion sponsored three more successful legion histories by Dando-Collins - Nero's Killing Machine, Cleopatra's Kidnappers, and Mark Antony's Heroes, and several more Roman histories with strong legion links - Blood of the Caesars, The Ides, and The Great Fire of Rome. 

These works led to Dando-Collins being commissioned by Quercus of the UK to write Legions of Rome, the first ever comprehensive history of all Rome's imperial legions in one book - for fans who often ask, available historical information on the republican legions is just too limited to allow him to cover them, too. The widely successful Legions of Rome has become the go-to guide on the legjons.

You can read about all the above books on this website.

In 2019, Stephen again returned to Rome, with CALIGULA: The Mad Emperor of Rome, which is described by US columnist Ralph Benko as 'a small masterpiece.'

'If you are at all interested in the taking of Hawai'i, you need this book.' BARNES&NOBLE.COM, US

On a January afternoon in 1893, men hunkered down behind sandbagged emplacements in the streets of Honolulu, with rifles, machine guns, and cannon ready to open fire. Troops and police loyal to the queen of the sovereign nation of Hawaii faced off against a small number of rebel Honolulu businessmen—American, British, German, and an Australian from Tasmania who would soon take the lead in the coup. In between them stood hundreds of heavily armed United States sailors and marines. Just after 2:00 p.m., the first shot was fired, and a military coup began.

This is the true, tragic, and at times amazing story of the 1893 overthrow of Queen Liliuokalani of Hawaii and her government. It’s also the story of a five-year police state regime in Hawaii following the overthrow, an attempted counter-coup by Hawaiians in 1895, and of how Hawaii became a United States possession.

In Taking Hawaii, award-winning author Stephen Dando-Collins (Standing Bear Is a Person, Legions of Rome, Tycoon’s War) reveals previously little-known facts uncovered during years of research on several continents, in the most dramatic and comprehensive chronicle of the end of Hawaii’s monarchy ever published.

Using scores of firsthand accounts, this often minute-by-minute narrative also shows for the first time how the queen’s overthrow teetered on a knife’s edge, only to come about purely through bluff. Taking Hawaii reads like an exciting novel, yet this tale of a grab for power, of misjudgment and injustice, truly took place.

Judge for yourself whether you think the queen of Hawaii was wronged, or was wrong.

ALSO AVAILABLE IN AUDIOBOOK.

'The single most visually attractive book on the legions to appear in the English language in a hundred years... A magnificent summation to his work as the legions' foremost living historian.' ARTS AND LETTERS MONTHLY, US

'(Dando-Collins is) a noted historian of Rome's ancient armies.' EDWARD T. OAKES, First Things, The Institute on Religion and Public Life, New York City, US

'Bestselling expert author Stephen Dando-Collins has written ten books about ancient Rome, and is considered a world authority on Rome's legions.' FNAC ECOMMERCE, France

'Outstanding... I recommend this book for both its relevance as an overview and its readability.' Major Chris Buckham, THE MILITARY REVIEWER, UK

'600 pages stuffed with meticulous research and engaging narrative.' CURLED UP WITH A GOOD BOOK, US

'Illuminate(s) details of Roman history seldom found elsewhere.' Bryan Caswell, CONCERNING HISTORY, US

A NEW STATESMAN 'BOOK OF THE WEEK,' UK

The complete history of every Imperial Roman legion and what it achieved as a fighting force, by an award-winning historian.

In this landmark publication, Stephen Dando-Collins does what no other author has ever attempted to do: provide a complete history of every Imperial Roman legion.

Based on thirty years of meticulous research, he covers every legion of Rome in rich detail.

In the first part of the book, the author provides a detailed account of what the legionaries wore and ate, what camp life was like, what they were paid, and how they were motivated and punished.

Part two examines the histories of all the legions that served Rome for three hundred years starting in 30 BC.

The book's final section is a sweeping chronological survey of the campaigns in which the armies were involved, told from the point of view of the legions.

Featuring more than 150 maps, photographs, diagrams and battle plans, Legions of Rome is an essential read for ancient history enthusiasts, military history experts and general readers alike.

Available in UK, US, Spanish and Russian editions.