'History as it should be written: as page-turning and compelling as the best thriller.'JAMES HOLLAND'A mesmerising account.'THE TIMES'Abel Smith takes us right into the heart of the drama. Utterly gripping.'AL MURRAY-Summer, 1940. Winston Churchill watches in horror as France falls to the Germans in just six weeks, completing the Nazi conquest of mainland Europe. He faces an urgent question: what will happen to the mighty French Navy? Under Hitler's control it presents a major threat, and could make the German advance unstoppable.With the Nazis closing in, Churchill orders Operation Catapult. By the end of one of the most agonising but necessary military operations of the war, the British will have destroyed a large part of the French Navy and nearly 1,300 French sailors will be dead.‘This was a hateful decision, the most unnatural and painful in which I have ever been concerned... But no act was ever more necessary for the life of Britain and for all that depended upon it.’WINSTON CHURCHILLBased on extensive new research and rediscovered eyewitness accounts, A Hateful Decision tells for the first time the full story of the British attack on the French fleet at Mers el Kébir, on 3 July 1940.As we pass between the men on the ground and the ratcheting tension in the European corridors of power, this riveting book brings to life Churchill’s darkest hour, and the act that demonstrated to the world how far Britain would go to win the war.-'Read this astonishing book on Churchill's darkest hour.'JOHN SWEENEY'A Hateful Decision reads like a thriller and is based on a mass of meticulous and original research. An invaluable contribution to the history of the Second World War.’JONATHAN DIMBLEBY'Meticulously researched and written with panache, A Hateful Decision sheds new light on one of the most compelling yet least known dramas of the Second World War. Authoritative and revelatory - a must read.’GILES MILTON

When Nicholas Winton cancelled his skiing holiday in favour of going to Prague to visit a friend, little did he know this decision would change the course of thousands of lives, including his own. As millions of Jewish families attempted to flee the growing clutches of the brutal Nazi war of terror, this twenty-nine-year-old stockbroker decided to act, pulling off one of the most remarkable rescue missions of the century. The British Oskar Schindler tells the story of this remarkable man's life and those around him who helped him to achieve all he did.

When Nicholas Winton cancelled his skiing holiday in favour of going to Prague to visit a friend, little did he know this decision would change the course of thousands of lives, including his own. As millions of Jewish families attempted to flee the growing clutches of the brutal Nazi war of terror, this twenty-nine-year-old stockbroker decided to act, pulling off one of the most remarkable rescue missions of the century. The British Oskar Schindler tells the story of this remarkable man’s life and those around him who helped him to achieve all he did.

"A journey through Fleming''s direct involvement in World War II intelligence and how this translated through his typewriter into James Bond''s world." —The Washington TimesSecret agent James Bond is among the best known fictional characters in history, but what most people don''t know is that almost all of the characters, plots, and gadgets come from the real life of Bond''s creator, Commander Ian Fleming. This book goes through the plots of Fleming''s novels—explaining the experiences that inspired them.Along with Fleming''s direct involvement in World War II intelligence, the book notes the friends who Fleming kept, among them Noel Coward and Randolph Churchill, and the influential people he would mingle with, including British prime ministers and American presidents. Bond is known for his exotic travel, most notably to the island of Jamaica, where Fleming spent much of his life. The desk in his Caribbean house, Goldeneye, was also where his life experiences would be put onto paper in the guise of James Bond. This book takes us to that island, and many other locales, as it traces the adventures of both 007 and the man who created him.

James Bond is possibly the most well known fictional characters in history. What most people don''t know is that almost all of the characters, plots and gadgets come from the real life experiences of Bond''s creator - Commander Ian Fleming. In this book, we go through the plots of Fleming''s novels explaining the real life experiences that inspired them. The reader is taken on a journey through Fleming''s direct involvement in World War II intelligence and how this translated through his typewriter into James Bond''s world, as well as the many other factors of Fleming''s life which were also taken as inspiration. Most notably, the friends who Fleming kept, among whom were Noel Coward and Randolph Churchill and the influential people he would mingle with, British Prime Ministers and American Presidents .Bond is known for his exotic travel, most notably to the island of Jamaica, where Fleming spent much of his life. The desk in his Caribbean house, Goldeneye, was also where his life experiences would be put onto paper in the guise of James Bond. As the island was highly influential for Fleming, it features heavily in this book, offering an element of escapism to the reader, with tales of a clear blue sea, Caribbean climate and island socialising. Ian Fleming might have died prematurely aged 56, but so much of him lives on to this day through the most famous spy in the world, James Bond.

'History as it should be written: as page-turning and compelling as the best thriller.'JAMES HOLLAND'A mesmerising account.'THE TIMES'Abel Smith takes us right into the heart of the drama. Utterly gripping.'AL MURRAY-Summer, 1940. Winston Churchill watches in horror as France falls to the Germans in just six weeks, completing the Nazi conquest of mainland Europe. He faces an urgent question: what will happen to the mighty French Navy? Under Hitler's control it presents a major threat, and could make the German advance unstoppable.With the Nazis closing in, Churchill orders Operation Catapult. By the end of one of the most agonising but necessary military operations of the war, the British will have destroyed a large part of the French Navy and nearly 1,300 French sailors will be dead.‘This was a hateful decision, the most unnatural and painful in which I have ever been concerned... But no act was ever more necessary for the life of Britain and for all that depended upon it.’WINSTON CHURCHILLBased on extensive new research and rediscovered eyewitness accounts, A Hateful Decision tells for the first time the full story of the British attack on the French fleet at Mers el Kébir, on 3 July 1940.As we pass between the men on the ground and the ratcheting tension in the European corridors of power, this riveting book brings to life Churchill’s darkest hour, and the act that demonstrated to the world how far Britain would go to win the war.-'Read this astonishing book on Churchill's darkest hour.'JOHN SWEENEY'A Hateful Decision reads like a thriller and is based on a mass of meticulous and original research. An invaluable contribution to the history of the Second World War.’JONATHAN DIMBLEBY'Meticulously researched and written with panache, A Hateful Decision sheds new light on one of the most compelling yet least known dramas of the Second World War. Authoritative and revelatory - a must read.’GILES MILTON

A series of violent and calculated murders, perpetrated across a six-day period in the heart of wartime London.A city plunged into utter darkness for fourteen hours at a time. An erratic and desperately charming RAF man with an overactive imagination and a penchant for lying. A tense and furious geopolitical background as the world reels from the effects of warfare. This is the world in which Gordon Cummins was hunted down, tried and convicted of the crimes of the Blackout Ripper, a serial killer who murdered four women in February 1942. But was he guilty?Murders in the Dark is a thrilling, forensic re-examination of one of the most notorious and brutal criminal cases London has ever been witness to. Gordon Cummins wouldn't be convicted today - prompting questions about the nature of justice, the changing elements of forensic investigations, and how preconceived notions of class and wealth can lead to often-fatal miscarriages of the law.

'History as it should be written: as page-turning and compelling as the best thriller.'JAMES HOLLAND'A mesmerising account.'THE TIMES'Abel Smith takes us right into the heart of the drama. Utterly gripping.'AL MURRAY-Summer, 1940. Winston Churchill watches in horror as France falls to the Germans in just six weeks, completing the Nazi conquest of mainland Europe. He faces an urgent question: what will happen to the mighty French Navy? Under Hitler's control it presents a major threat, and could make the German advance unstoppable.With the Nazis closing in, Churchill orders Operation Catapult. By the end of one of the most agonising but necessary military operations of the war, the British will have destroyed a large part of the French Navy and nearly 1,300 French sailors will be dead.‘This was a hateful decision, the most unnatural and painful in which I have ever been concerned... But no act was ever more necessary for the life of Britain and for all that depended upon it.’WINSTON CHURCHILLBased on extensive new research and rediscovered eyewitness accounts, A Hateful Decision tells for the first time the full story of the British attack on the French fleet at Mers el Kébir, on 3 July 1940.As we pass between the men on the ground and the ratcheting tension in the European corridors of power, this riveting book brings to life Churchill’s darkest hour, and the act that demonstrated to the world how far Britain would go to win the war.-'Read this astonishing book on Churchill's darkest hour.'JOHN SWEENEY'A Hateful Decision reads like a thriller and is based on a mass of meticulous and original research. An invaluable contribution to the history of the Second World War.’JONATHAN DIMBLEBY'Meticulously researched and written with panache, A Hateful Decision sheds new light on one of the most compelling yet least known dramas of the Second World War. Authoritative and revelatory - a must read.’GILES MILTON

When Nicholas Winton cancelled his skiing holiday in favour of going to Prague to visit a friend, little did he know this decision would change the course of thousands of lives, including his own. As millions of Jewish families attempted to flee the growing clutches of the brutal Nazi war of terror, this twenty-nine-year-old stockbroker decided to act, pulling off one of the most remarkable rescue missions of the century. The British Oskar Schindler tells the story of this remarkable man's life and those around him who helped him to achieve all he did.

When Nicholas Winton cancelled his skiing holiday in favour of going to Prague to visit a friend, little did he know this decision would change the course of thousands of lives, including his own. As millions of Jewish families attempted to flee the growing clutches of the brutal Nazi war of terror, this twenty-nine-year-old stockbroker decided to act, pulling off one of the most remarkable rescue missions of the century. The British Oskar Schindler tells the story of this remarkable man’s life and those around him who helped him to achieve all he did.

"A journey through Fleming''s direct involvement in World War II intelligence and how this translated through his typewriter into James Bond''s world." —The Washington TimesSecret agent James Bond is among the best known fictional characters in history, but what most people don''t know is that almost all of the characters, plots, and gadgets come from the real life of Bond''s creator, Commander Ian Fleming. This book goes through the plots of Fleming''s novels—explaining the experiences that inspired them.Along with Fleming''s direct involvement in World War II intelligence, the book notes the friends who Fleming kept, among them Noel Coward and Randolph Churchill, and the influential people he would mingle with, including British prime ministers and American presidents. Bond is known for his exotic travel, most notably to the island of Jamaica, where Fleming spent much of his life. The desk in his Caribbean house, Goldeneye, was also where his life experiences would be put onto paper in the guise of James Bond. This book takes us to that island, and many other locales, as it traces the adventures of both 007 and the man who created him.

James Bond is possibly the most well known fictional characters in history. What most people don''t know is that almost all of the characters, plots and gadgets come from the real life experiences of Bond''s creator - Commander Ian Fleming. In this book, we go through the plots of Fleming''s novels explaining the real life experiences that inspired them. The reader is taken on a journey through Fleming''s direct involvement in World War II intelligence and how this translated through his typewriter into James Bond''s world, as well as the many other factors of Fleming''s life which were also taken as inspiration. Most notably, the friends who Fleming kept, among whom were Noel Coward and Randolph Churchill and the influential people he would mingle with, British Prime Ministers and American Presidents .Bond is known for his exotic travel, most notably to the island of Jamaica, where Fleming spent much of his life. The desk in his Caribbean house, Goldeneye, was also where his life experiences would be put onto paper in the guise of James Bond. As the island was highly influential for Fleming, it features heavily in this book, offering an element of escapism to the reader, with tales of a clear blue sea, Caribbean climate and island socialising. Ian Fleming might have died prematurely aged 56, but so much of him lives on to this day through the most famous spy in the world, James Bond.

'History as it should be written: as page-turning and compelling as the best thriller.'JAMES HOLLAND'A mesmerising account.'THE TIMES'Abel Smith takes us right into the heart of the drama. Utterly gripping.'AL MURRAY-Summer, 1940. Winston Churchill watches in horror as France falls to the Germans in just six weeks, completing the Nazi conquest of mainland Europe. He faces an urgent question: what will happen to the mighty French Navy? Under Hitler's control it presents a major threat, and could make the German advance unstoppable.With the Nazis closing in, Churchill orders Operation Catapult. By the end of one of the most agonising but necessary military operations of the war, the British will have destroyed a large part of the French Navy and nearly 1,300 French sailors will be dead.‘This was a hateful decision, the most unnatural and painful in which I have ever been concerned... But no act was ever more necessary for the life of Britain and for all that depended upon it.’WINSTON CHURCHILLBased on extensive new research and rediscovered eyewitness accounts, A Hateful Decision tells for the first time the full story of the British attack on the French fleet at Mers el Kébir, on 3 July 1940.As we pass between the men on the ground and the ratcheting tension in the European corridors of power, this riveting book brings to life Churchill’s darkest hour, and the act that demonstrated to the world how far Britain would go to win the war.-'Read this astonishing book on Churchill's darkest hour.'JOHN SWEENEY'A Hateful Decision reads like a thriller and is based on a mass of meticulous and original research. An invaluable contribution to the history of the Second World War.’JONATHAN DIMBLEBY'Meticulously researched and written with panache, A Hateful Decision sheds new light on one of the most compelling yet least known dramas of the Second World War. Authoritative and revelatory - a must read.’GILES MILTON

A series of violent and calculated murders, perpetrated across a six-day period in the heart of wartime London.A city plunged into utter darkness for fourteen hours at a time. An erratic and desperately charming RAF man with an overactive imagination and a penchant for lying. A tense and furious geopolitical background as the world reels from the effects of warfare. This is the world in which Gordon Cummins was hunted down, tried and convicted of the crimes of the Blackout Ripper, a serial killer who murdered four women in February 1942. But was he guilty?Murders in the Dark is a thrilling, forensic re-examination of one of the most notorious and brutal criminal cases London has ever been witness to. Gordon Cummins wouldn't be convicted today - prompting questions about the nature of justice, the changing elements of forensic investigations, and how preconceived notions of class and wealth can lead to often-fatal miscarriages of the law.