His books include Operation Compass 1940 (Osprey, 2000), Tobruk 1941 (Osprey, 2001), Deception in War (John Murray, 2001), Alamein (John Murray, 2002), Burma: The Forgotten War (John Murray, 2004) and 1812: War with America (Harvard University Press, 2007) which won a Distinguished Book Award from the Society for Military History and was shortlisted for the George Washington Book Prize.
[1][2] Born in Prestatyn, Wales, Latimer was educated at Christleton County High School, Chester.
[1] In 2003, he became an honorary research fellow at his alma mater (by this time Swansea University) and was appointed as a part-time lecturer in history on the BA (Hons) degree scheme 'War and Society'.
He spent periods attached to regular battalions in Northern Ireland (1989), Australia (1991–2) and as an intelligence officer (1992–3).
[1][3] His book, Buccaneers of the Caribbean: How Piracy Forged an Empire was published posthumously in April 2009.