Martin Kelly – författare

A STUNNING NEW AND COMPLETELY REVISED EDITION OF THE RICKENBACKER BIBLE FOR 2023'Knowing Martin and Paul Kelly's perfectionism and attention to detail it's no surprise that this is the ultimate and complete story of all things Rickenbacker.' - Johnny Marr'A wonderful history of my favourite guitar. The attention to detail is amazing!' - Roger McGuinn'There are few things more satisfying than the shimmer of an open chord played on a Rickenbacker through a Fender Deluxe Reverb amplifier. Martin and Paul have given us the definitive history of these magical instruments.' - Susanna HoffsRickenbacker Guitars is the highly anticipated follow up to Fender: The Golden Age, charting the story of one of the most important and influential guitar makers of all time. From George Beauchamp's invention of the world's first commercially viable electric guitar in 1931, through the company's heyday during the 1960s - when their instruments were favoured by The Beatles, The Byrds and The Who - and up to the continuing legacy of Rickenbacker today.This definitive collection features unprecedented access to the company archives, 350 beautifully photographed original instruments - including all 7 surviving Beatles owned Rickenbackers - and new interviews with legendary Rickenbacker players such as Roger McGuinn, Peter Buck, Susanna Hoffs, Johnny Marr, Mike Campbell, Geddy Lee and Paul Weller.Rickenbacker Guitars is the most comprehensive history of the brand to date and a must-have for all guitar enthusiasts.

First Published in 2015. Written in an accessible way and with colour images, this book looks at the role of Colonial rule in the Government within American History. Starting with the landing of Norseman Leif Eirksson in 1020 in North America, early explorers, Spanish and English colonization, the effect on the native American tribes, the four government structures of France, Spain, England the Netherlands. Then moving onto the developing colonies and the breaking away from Great Britain and the Acts of law that influenced change. Includes a timeline and sections for further reference.

First Published in 2015. Written in an accessible way and with colour images, this book looks at the role of Colonial rule in the Government within American History. Starting with the landing of Norseman Leif Eirksson in 1020 in North America, early explorers, Spanish and English colonization, the effect on the native American tribes, the four government structures of France, Spain, England the Netherlands. Then moving onto the developing colonies and the breaking away from Great Britain and the Acts of law that influenced change. Includes a timeline and sections for further reference.

According to conventional naval history, the Coastal Motor Boat was the brainchild of three enterprising young Royal Navy officers in the early stages of the First World War. This new book reveals that the truth was far more complex, and historically more significant. Research in previously unused family records shows that the shipbuilder John I Thornycroft played a pivotal role, building on his pre-war experience in the new sport of fast motor-boat racing, without which the technologically advanced CMB could never have been built.This book goes on to analyse the original role for which these boats were specifically designed – an attack on the German High Seas Fleet in its protected anchorages – and why the operation never took place. Later activities are covered but by the end of the war many regarded the CMB as a disappointment, if not a downright failure. This changed dramatically in 1919 with the RN’s intervention against the Bolsheviks, when CMBs spectacularly raided the Kronstad naval base following the single-handed sinking of the Russian cruiser Oleg by CMB.4. Although these operations have been written up many times previously, for the first time this book has had access to contemporary Soviet reports which throw much new light on these events and their significance.After the war, the Royal Navy lost interest in CMBs – unlike the Soviets who built large numbers of what were effectively copies – but the Thornycroft design continued to be built and operated by navies as far apart as those of Finland and China. Some of these saw action in the Second World War and these largely unreported actions are also covered.The story concludes with a description of the current project in Portsmouth Naval Base which aimed to build an exact replica of CMB.4. The information gleaned from this ‘experimental archaeology’ forms a fitting end to a book replete with new information and novel insights.