When the Second World War stopped for most, it still carried on for others as a shadow war consisting in tracking, finding and abducting Nazi criminals of war. Such is the story told in Hunting Eichmann, a book relating the efforts made to bring “the architect of the Holocaust” to justice. Our selection this month includes books dealing with the Warsaw Ghetto archives, the battle of the River Plate, Afghanistan before terrorism, and the revolt of the gladiators led by Spartacus. You can also read about what daily life was like in Eastern Europe during the Cold War, what the Western Front was like during WWI, and what it is like to live in the occupied territories of Palestine. And if you are interested in the Tudors or Antiquity, check out this month’s History Recent Picks.