The book centres on Ian Fleming the man, his contradictions and his public and private personality. It examines the man behind the myth and how in particular he managed (unsuccessfully at first) to create a film franchise that has lasted over fifty years. It considers Fleming's reputation as a writer, the 'formula method' he perfected and the formula's reliance on the recycling of real individuals and events as well as the occasional reliance on plagiarism. It uniquely accesses a number of closed and recently opened government files that shed light on previously unknown wartime operations such as the Air Ministry's top secret 'Operation Grand Slam', which was used in Goldfinger. Views: 10
Alpha Force are in the Caribbean, diving, when a sudden oil spill draws them into a new mission. All their skills — powerboating, scuba-diving and jetskiing — are needed when an underwater bomb explodes. And then an assassin strikes . . . Views: 10
"When I have a little money, I buy books. And if any is left, I buy food and clothing."--Desiderius ErasmusThose who share Erasmus's love of those curious bundles of paper bound together between hard or soft covers know exactly how he felt. These are the people who can spend hours browsing through a bookstore, completely oblivious not only to the passage of time but to everything else around them, the people for whom buying books is a necessity, not a luxury. A Passion for Books is a celebration of that love, a collection of sixty classic and contemporary essays, stories, lists, poems, quotations, and cartoons on the joys of reading, appreciating, and collecting books.This enriching collection leads off with science-fiction great Ray Bradbury's Foreword, in which he remembers his penniless days pecking out Fahrenheit 451 on a rented typewriter, conjuring up a society so frightened of art that it burns its books. This struggle--financial and... Views: 10
In 1944, three young men from a small town in West Virginia are among the American forces participating in D-Day, changing the fortunes of the war with one bold stroke. How is that moment aboard a Navy ship as it barrels toward the Normandy shore related to the death of an old man in an Appalachian nursing home seventy-two years later?In Sorrow Road, the latest mystery from Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Julia Keller, two stories—one set in the turbulent era of World War II and one in the present day—are woven together to create a piercingly poignant tale of memory and family, of love and murder.Belfa Elkins, prosecuting attorney in Acker's Gap, West Virginia, is asked by an old acquaintance to look into the death of her beloved father in an Alzheimer's care facility. Did he die of natural causes—or was something more sinister to blame? And that's not the only issue with which Bell is grappling: Her daughter Carla has moved back home. But... Views: 10
In AD376 large groups of Goths, seeking refuge from the Huns, sought admittance to the Eastern Roman Empire. Emperor Valens took the strategic decision to grant them entry, hoping to utilize them as a source of manpower for his campaigns against Persia. The Goths had been providing good warriors to Roman armies for decades. However, mistreatment of the refugees by Roman officials led them to take up arms against their hosts.
The resultant battle near Adrianopolis in AD378, in which Valens lost his life, is regarded as one of the most significant defeats ever suffered by Roman arms. The Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus called it the worst massacre since Cannae, nearly six hundred years previously. Modern historians have accorded it great significance both at a tactical level, due to the success of Gothic cavalry over the vaunted Roman infantry, and in strategic terms, often citing it as the beginning of the end for the Empire. Adrian Coombs-Hoar untangles the debate that... Views: 10
Acclaimed author and historian Alison Weir continues her epic Six Tudor Queens series with this third captivating novel, which brings to life Jane Seymour, King Henry VIII's most cherished bride and mother of his only legitimate male heir. Ever since she was a child, Jane has longed for a cloistered life as a nun. But her large noble family has other plans, and as an adult, Jane is invited to the King's court to serve as lady-in-waiting to Queen Katherine of Aragon. The devout Katherine shows kindness to all her ladies, almost like a second mother, which makes rumors of Henry's lustful pursuit of Anne Boleyn—also lady-in-waiting to the queen—all the more shocking. For Jane, the betrayal triggers memories of a hauntingl incident that shaped her beliefs about marriage. But once Henry disavows Katherine and secures Anne as his new queen—forever altering the religious landscape of England—he turns his eye to another: Jane herself. Urged... Views: 9
"A cornucopia of dazzling, sharp ideas set in rich, wry prose that rewards rumination with layers of delight. Provocative, erudite, inventive, resplendent." —Ken Liu, author of The Grace of KingsIn a future of near-instantaneous global travel, of abundant provision for the needs of all, a future in which no one living can remember an actual war...a long era of stability threatens to come to an abrupt end.For known only to a few, the leaders of the great Hives, nations without fixed location, have long conspired to keep the world stable, at the cost of just a little blood. A few secret murders, mathematically planned. So that no faction can ever dominate, and the balance holds. And yet the balance is beginning to give way.Mycroft Canner, convict, sentenced to wander the globe in service to all, knows more about this conspiracy the than he can ever admit. Carlyle Foster, counselor, sensayer, has secrets as well, and they... Views: 9
Terry Nation was one of the most successful writers for television to come out of Britain. Survivors, the show that was his vision of a post-apocalyptic England, so haunted audiences in the 1970s that the BBC revived it over thirty years on. Blake's 7 endures as a cult sci-fi classic and his most fearsome creations, the Daleks, ensured - and at times, eclipsed - the success of Doctor Who. Almost half a century after their first appearance, new additions to Dalek mythology continue to top the Saturday-night TV ratings. But while his genocidal pepper pots brought him notoriety and riches, Nation played a much wider role in British broadcasting's golden age. As part of the legendary Associated London Scripts, he wrote for Spike Milligan, Frankie Howerd and an increasingly troubled Tony Hancock, and was one of the key figures behind The Avengers, The Saint and The Persuaders! Now, The Man Who Invented the Daleks explores Nation's work's curious and contested origins, and sheds... Views: 9
Kim Philby was the most notorious British defector and Soviet mole in history. Agent, double agent, traitor and enigma, he betrayed every secret of Allied operations to the Russians in the early years of the Cold War.Philby's two closest friends in the intelligence world, Nicholas Elliott of MI6 and James Jesus Angleton, the CIA intelligence chief, thought they knew Philby better than anyone, and then discovered they had not known him at all. This is a story of intimate duplicity; of loyalty, trust and treachery, class and conscience; of an ideological battle waged by men with cut-glass accents and well-made suits in the comfortable clubs and restaurants of London and Washington; of male friendships forged, and then systematically betrayed.With access to newly released MI5 files and previously unseen family papers, and with the cooperation of former officers of MI6 and the CIA, this definitive biography unlocks what is perhaps the last great secret of the Cold War. Views: 9
As part of the specialist emergency response team, paramedic Samantha Moore has always been one of the boys, but now her biological clock has kicked in and she wants a baby—fast. Samantha begins her search for the perfect father...and discovers him right under her nose—her SERT partner, Alex. She doesn't realize that Alex has had feelings for her for a long time, and when he agrees to father her child the natural way, it creates an emotional connection between them. Samantha begins to see Alex as not only the perfect father, but as the perfect husband, too. Views: 9
