The Lifesavers
The Trailblazers of the Second World War Who Took Blood into Battle
$50.70
- Hardcover
416 pages
- Release Date
22 September 2026
Summary
The Lifesavers were a little-known band of men and women at the forefront of groundbreaking battlefield care in the Second World War.
As part of a new and pioneering service, unconventional and iconoclastic, they pushed and pulled blood from hundreds of thousands of donors into the veins of battle casualties all over the world. Deploying expert teams – officially the smallest units in the British Army – who risked their own lives to reach the wounded and sick, they transformed surviva…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780241744079 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 0241744075 |
| Author: | Roderick Bailey |
| Publisher: | Penguin Books Ltd |
| Imprint: | Viking |
| Format: | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages: | 416 |
| Release Date: | 22 September 2026 |
| Weight: | 654g |
| Dimensions: | 242mm x 166mm x 37mm |
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What They're Saying
Critics Review
‘A story destined to be told. A fascinating history of blood for the front line. Humbling, awe inspiring and life affirming.’ – Sue Black, author of All That Remains
‘The dazzling story of the heroic, extraordinary efforts by small groups of doctors to overcome every impediment to achieve a remarkable aim: to save lives by introducing blood transfusions on the battlefield … This account by a master historian is fresh and vital, history at its best.’ – Rob Lyman, author of Victory to Defeat
Bailey brings this story alive … riveting – Anne Sebba * Spectator *
Exemplary – Max Hastings on The Wildest Province * Sunday Times *
History more breathtaking than any thriller – Melissa Katsoulis on The Wildest Province * Daily Telegraph *
Bailey’s first book establishes him as a modern historian of great skill – M.R.D. Foot on The Wildest Province * Literary Review *
A tremendous work of scholarship – Jon Latimer on The Wildest Province * Daily Telegraph *
Excellent … Deserves to be regarded as definitive – Alan Judd on The Wildest Province * Spectator *
Inspiring … The great skill of this book is to demonstrate that war is both brutal and dizzyingly unpredictable – Sinclair McKay on Target: Italy * Daily Telegraph *
Precious testimony to our past … with an absolutely flawless series of sources – Angelo Paratico on Target: Italy * Corriere della Sera *
About The Author
Roderick Bailey
Roderick Bailey is a historian at the University of Oxford, specializing in the history of medicine and the study of war and conflict.
His previous books include the Sunday Times bestseller Forgotten Voices of the Secret War and, as an official SOE historian appointed by the Prime Minister, Target- Italy - The Secret War against Mussolini.
Away from academia, he has worked widely as an official observer of international elections in post-conflict and post-communist countries. In 2011, he deployed to Afghanistan as a British Army reservist and was awarded a Queen’s Commendation.
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