Isaac Newton had an extraordinary idea. He believed the physical universe and everything in it could be described in exact detail using mathematical relationships. He formulated a law of gravity that
Oriana entered service in 1995. Built by Meyer Werft in Germany and named by HM The Queen, she was an instant success, the QE2 of the P&O Line. Today she is a beloved modern classic. Oriana’
An ancient Scots law says that the head of any dead whale found on the Scottish coast automatically becomes the property of the king, and the tail the property of the queen. The Scots excel at elephan
This collection presents some wonderful tales of ordinary Londoners, but their stories are far from ordinary. They tell of the mighty river, the streets, and the hills of London. But you’ll also find
When Hitler ordered the north of Nazi-occupied Norway to be destroyed in a scorched earth retreat in 1944, everything of potential use to the Soviet enemy was destroyed. Fifty thousand people were for
Katanga 1960-63 tells, for the first time, the full story of the Congolese province that declared independence and found itself at war with the world. The Congo had no intention of allowing the renega
In June 1943, SOE’s Prosper resistance circuit in France led by Major Francis Suttill suddenly collapsed. Was it deliberately betrayed by the British as part of a deception plan to make the Germ
SOE agent Violette Szabó was one of the most incredible women who operated behind enemy lines during World War II. The daughter of an English father and French mother, and widow of a French arm
The White Star Line’s Oceanic was the largest ship in the world in 1899 when she was launched as the company’s "Ship of the Century." She was the company’s last express lin
The murder of the Princes in the Tower is the most famous cold case in British history. Traditionally considered victims of a ruthless uncle, there are other suspects too often and too easily discount
With a plot to grace any comic opera, the 1859-1872 "Pig War" broke out when an American living on a quietly disputed island in the Gulf of Georgia shot a British pig. The nearby Vancouver I
Norman Cross was the site of the world’s first purpose-built prisoner-of- war camp constructed during the Napoleonic Wars. Opened in 1797, it was more than just a prison: it was a town in itself, with
This book tells the amazing story of Newcastle upon Tyne’s history from earliest times to the modern day. Some of the most pivotal moments in the city’s history are recalled, including rebellions, int
The double act has been at the heart of British entertainment for over 150 years, yet there has never been a book detailing how this form of comedy continues to develop. From music hall turns such as
Our image of workhouses has often been coloured by the writings of authors such as Charles Dickens. But what was the reality? Where exactly were all these institutions located? And what happened to th
After the guns fell silent in May 1945, Stalin installed secret police services in the satellite countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Trained by his NKVD—a predecessor of the KGB—offic
To tie in with the release of Live and Let Die, Roger Moore agreed to keep a day-by-day diary throughout the film’s production, which would be published just ahead of the premiere in July 1
Mata Hari is revealed here in all of her flawed eccentricity; a woman whose adult life was a fantastical web of lies, half-truths and magnetic sexuality that captivated men. Following the death of a y
The Orient Line’s beginnings can be traced back to 1797. Created for the purpose of operating a fleet of steamships between London and the Australian Colonies, it was a venture into the unknown, its s
Few countries have subjected themselves to more introspection than the UK in the last three years. The decisions to leave the EU, not to destroy the UK via a breakaway by Scotland, and to create a vir
John Nicholson was born in Dublin and sent to India as a child-soldier at the age of 16. He fought in the first Anglo-Afghanistan war, the two Anglo-Sikh wars and the Great Mutiny, dying in the thick
Why did London have to wait so long for a main line railway beneath its streets? For a few years in the mid-nineteenth century, Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s broad gauge Great Western trains ran from Read
Since the Luftwaffe’s 1940 Eagle Day attack on Britain, aerial warfare and its accompanying technology has changed almost beyond recognition. The piston engine was replaced by the jet and the pi
When Spitfire at War first appeared in 1974, it enjoyed critical acclaim, for the aircraft had never been described in such terms and detail before. It was followed by a second volume in 1985 and a th
This book presents an analysis of how Napoleon turned the ragged armies of the French Revolutionary Wars into the most efficient and professional military body in Europe at the time. All aspects of hi
On 21 December 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 from Frankfurt to Detroit was destroyed by a bomb, killing all 243 passengers and 16 crew. Large sections of the aircraft crashed onto residential areas of Locke
From the early 1930s until the end of that decade, long-distance air travel was the preserve of the flying-boat, which transported well-heeled passengers in ocean-liner style and comfort across the oc
John ‘Goldfinger’ Palmer was a multi-millionaire kingpin of the British underworld, who would go on to mastermind a criminal empire to dwarf any crook of his generation. Palmer hit the big time in 198
This nostalgic book follows the story of the last class-divided passenger ships that carried travellers from point to point. Not port-filled cruise ships, in those final years, spanning the 1940s thro
Communicating in the chaos of war is complicated, but vital. Signals intelligence makes it possible. In World War I, a vast network of signals rapidly expanded across the globe, spawning a new breed o
BRIXMIS (British Commander-in-Chief’s Mission to the Group Soviet Forces of Occupation in Germany) is one of the most covert elite units of the British Army. They were dropped in behind "en
"Fake news." "Psycho." "Enemy of the people." The insults President Donald Trump and the media hurl at each other are, in fact, nothing new. Over many centuries, jou
One of Britain’s most loved cruise ships, Aurora entered service in 2000. Built by Meyer Werft and named by HRH The Princess Royal, she was specifically designed for the British cruise market an
The invention of the airplane was the dawn of a new way of traveling, its potential quickly realized as aircraft were developed to carry mail, and then passengers, over distances that would previously
1217: Commoner-turned-earl’s-man Edwin Weaver joins the earl’s army as it marches for the Kent coast to defend the realm against an invading French fleet. But when a series of accidents pu
Roughly 30,000 years ago, something incredible happened, changing the world forever: an ape-like creature painted a story onto a cave wall. This became the most important invention for that species. I
The breaking of the Enigma machine is one of the most heroic stories of World War II and highlights the crucial work of the codebreakers of Bletchley Park, which prevented Britain’s certain
This is the story of two single-handed non-stop round-the-world voyages: Robin Knox-Johnston’s in 1968/9 and Ellen MacArthur’s in 2004/5. Although there were similarities (both voyages started and fin
From the untold magic (and fear) of an uncle’s VHS recording of Close Encounters of The Third Kind to childhood crushes on Christopher Reeve, bedroom remakes of Return of The Jedi, meeting Darth
