Our pick of the latest military history books

Talking Pictures TV talkingpicturestv.co.uk SKY 328 | FREEVIEW 82 FREESAT 306 | VIRGIN 445 The Rescue Squad (1963) (Saturday 1 November, 10am) Family. Director: Colin Bell. Starring: Christopher Brett

From rapidly evolving roles to new technologies, historian and airpower expert John Curatola discusses how fighter planes shaped the Second World War

Fulfilling his dream, our writer takes the controls of a Spitfire, Britain’s most iconic aircraft, which first took to the skies nearly 90 years ago

Capturing the immediacy of fighting and the writhing bodies of soldiers, as well as keeping narrative clarity, proved enormously difficult for painters depicting battles before the advent of photography. Michael Hall reveals how they rose to the challenge

30 OCTOBER THURSDAY