Robert Jeffrey – författare

There is barely a corner of the five great oceans where Clyde-built is not recognised as the ultimate shipbuilding accolade. As late as the 1950s, around a seventh of the total of the world’s sea going tonnage was built on the Clyde. It is not a particularly wide river, nor spectacularly long – it is certainly no Mississippi or Amazon – but its fame is legendary.From the many yards on its banks, north and south, en route from the gentle hills of Lanarkshire to the Firth of Clyde, came engineering innovation and fabled names in shipping – iconic vessels like the Cutty Sark and the Delta Queen, fearsome warships like the mighty Hood, and the cream of the world’s great liners, the Cunard Queens and the beautiful white Empress vessels. All that and cargo carrying workhorses that opened up the world.More recent times have seen the phoenix-like revival of Ferguson Shipbuilders, the last remaining yard on the Lower Clyde, saved from closure by industrialist Jim McColl and now investing in the hybrid technology of the future that has thrown a lifeline to this once great yard.This is the fascinating, often turbulent, story of a great river, its great ships and the folk who built them.

Scotland has a worldwide reputation for launching some of the greatest ships ever built, but far less is known about our pioneering work on aviation. Yet in the great industrial cities and remote islands across the country, men and women risked their reputations, resources and lives to advance experiments in flight. Before airliners crossed the Atlantic Ocean and bombers secretly flew into the NATO airbase at Machrihanish, pioneers of aviation worked in the unlikely surroundings of Kelvingrove Park in Glasgow among other places. Their humble flying crafts, made with wood and canvas, would become the luxurious jet-engined aircraft of today. Including the first flight over Everest, the construction of the most northerly airship station in mainland Britain and the experience of civilians and pilots during the Clydebank Blitz of 1941, Scotland's Wings is a glimpse into the dramatic and sometimes controversial adventures within Scottish aeronautics.In Scotland's Wings, Robert Jeffrey tells a fascinating history, highlighting innovators whose ideas heralded the modern age of transport and revealing how the airfields of previous years will once again be used to progress into a daring new age of travel.

Scotland has a worldwide reputation for launching some of the greatest ships ever built, but far less is known about our pioneering work on aviation. Yet in the great industrial cities and remote islands across the country, men and women risked their reputations, resources and lives to advance experiments in flight. Before airliners crossed the Atlantic Ocean and bombers secretly flew into the NATO airbase at Machrihanish, pioneers of aviation worked in the unlikely surroundings of Kelvingrove Park in Glasgow among other places. Their humble flying crafts, made with wood and canvas, would become the luxurious jet-engined aircraft of today. Including the first flight over Everest, the construction of the most northerly airship station in mainland Britain and the experience of civilians and pilots during the Clydebank Blitz of 1941, Scotland''s Wings is a glimpse into the dramatic and sometimes controversial adventures within Scottish aeronautics.In Scotland''s Wings, Robert Jeffrey tells a fascinating history, highlighting innovators whose ideas heralded the modern age of transport and revealing how the airfields of previous years will once again be used to progress into a daring new age of travel.

For decades, a war to control Glasgow's streets has been waged. On one side are some of the most violent and dangerous criminals in the world and, on the other, a police force with officers as hard as the gangsters, striving to keep the city safe. In GLASGOW CRIMEFIGHTER, legendary detective Les Brown tells the extraordinary and controversial inside story of his part in this conflict during his twenty-two years as a Glasgow detective. Throughout this time, he dealt with gangland bosses like Arthur Thompson and Tam McGraw, took on mobs of street fighters and helped in the hunt for Bible John. Compelling, hard-hitting and intensely human, GLASGOW CRIMEFIGHTER is a fascinating report from the frontline of a great city's battle against crime.

Barlinnie is one of the most notorious prisons in the world and for a hundred years it has held Glasgow''s toughest and most violent men, swept up from the city streets. Ten men died on its gallows in the infamous Hanging Shed, including serial killer Peter Manuel. It has sparked rooftop protests and cell block riots, and been home to godfathers of crime like Arthur Thompson Snr and Walter Norval. Barlinnie was also the scene of one of the most controversial experiments in penal history, the Special Unit, where the likes of Jimmy Boyle and Hugh Collins were at the centre of a fierce battle between those who see prison as retribution and those who regard it as a step on the road to redemption, even for the most evil killers. Paul Ferris, T C Campbell and gangleaders galore have languished behind its grim walls and, a hundred years on, Barlinnie still makes headlines. This is its fascinating, turbulent story.

Throughout an astonishing criminal career, Johnny Ramensky was the foremost safe-blower of his era. His exploits and audacious escapes from maximum security prisons also helped make him a household name - admired by some, notorious to others. But when the Second World War broke out, Ramensky joined the elite Commandos and his story became legend. Peacetime had brought Johnny Ramensky a hard upbringing in the Gorbals, a life of crime and long years in jail. War brought him the chance to serve his country and a new use for his expertise in explosives. Time after time he would show exceptional bravery as he was parachuted behind enemy lines to blow open the safes of Rommel, Goering and the German High Command. His mission was to secure documents vital to the war effort and it brought him the danger and excitement he had always craved. Gentle Johnny Ramensky is the remarkable story of a boy reared in poverty who became one of the world''s most extraordinary safe-blowers both as a criminal and as a war hero who wore the Green Beret with pride.

Walter Norval was a man marked by destiny to be a career criminal in one of Britain''s hardest cities. As a boy he grew up in a world of illegal betting, violent canal bank pitch-and-toss schools, sleazy dance halls, brothels and bars where the denizens of the slums in the north side of Glasgow slaked gargantuan thirsts and plotted murder and mayhem. Before he had reached his teens, close relatives had died as blood was spilled in the streets. As a youngster he ran ''messages'' for the toughest gangsters in the city and stood guard over the pots of cash in illegal gambling schools. It was a remarkable apprenticeship, dangerous and sometimes deadly. It honed a latent toughness and a talent for lawbreaking that saw him emerge in the Seventies as the first of a succession of Glasgow godfathers. Dressed in pinstriped style, he controlled his foot soldiers with fearsome fists and planned robberies with the attention to detail of a military general. He organised various Glasgow fighting factions into a single gang, which pulled off a spectacular series of robberies. But, unlike his successors, he abhorred drugs and drug-dealing.And, in a remarkable twist, he joined the anti-drugs war in later life. His story - told by the best-selling crime historian Robert Jeffrey - provides a fascinating insight into the making of a criminal mastermind, from boy to man.

Robert Jeffrey, author of the bestselling "Barlinnie Story" and other true crime books, now tells the remarkable story of the infamous Peterhead Prison in Scotland's far north-east. Built in the 1880s as part of an ambitious humanitarian plan to use convict labour to construct a 'harbour of refuge' on the town's wild, storm-battered coast, it became what some call Scotland's gulag. A cold and brutal place, it has held down the years some of Scotland's most violent criminals and most infamous prisoners, convicted of the most heinous of crimes. In the early days, convicts were controlled by men as hard as their charges. The wardens carried swords and were quick to use them if necessary. And when convict labour was used to build the harbour, they worked with rifles trained on them at all times. Peterhead's wardens were clearly not to be crossed. Throughout the history of the prison, riots and breakouts have made headlines, with the SAS involved in restoring order at one point.Peterhead also had the reputation of being so secure that escape was impossible, with the notable exception of Johnny Ramensky, the safeblower turned war hero who went back to his criminal ways and spent more than forty years of his life in prison, many of them in Peterhead. He became the first inmate to escape and repeated the exercise four more times, often for his own satisfaction and amusement, each time being recaptured after a short taste of freedom. "Peterhead - Scotland's Toughest Prison" tells the remarkable inside story of a truly grim institution with a fearsome reputation.

This book presents more hard hitting cases from the authors of "Glasgow Crimefighter". As legendary Glasgow detective Les Brown re-investigates cases from Stratford in east London to Wick, via Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Ayrshire and Renfrewshire, he finds that, often, the official police line doesn''t quite add up...The body of a young electrician is dragged from a harbour. The police say the death was an accident, but a mysterious man confesses to murder. What is the truth? A young Scotsman is found dead on the pavement near to a multi-story London car park. Did he jump or was he pushed? Then there''s the rape and strangling of 14-year-old Pamela Hastie and the killing of 11-year-old Tracy Waters...two of the most horrific and puzzling cases in West of Scotland crime. And the mystery of 12-year-old Moira Anderson''s death in Coatbridge, the strange case of rape at a holiday camp, and the disturbing facts of a series of unsolved murders of street prostitutes.These and many more Real Hard Cases are re-opened by Les Brown, in this intriguing new book co-written with Robert Jeffrey, author of a best-selling string of true crime titles, including "Glasgow''s Hard Men", "Gangland Glasgow" and "Glasgow''s Godfather".

When the Scottish Football League chairmen voted on the future of Rangers Newco in July 2012, most fans didn''t really expect that they would be dumped into Division Three. Many thought that hard-headed commercial realities would mean demotion to the First Division at worst. But when the decision was announced, the club had no option but to start a new football journey in the bottom tier of Scottish football. In Rangers FC - The Only Way Is Up, Lisa Gray captures the humour, the emotion and, of course, the football as the club sets out for an incredible season, visiting pastures new at Peterhead, Annan and Berwick amongst others. This is the inside story of both the team and the supporters as they adjusted to life in the Third Division - new players, new opposition and, of course, new pies. It has been an extraordinary season and this colourful account is a lasting memento of a unique season which will never be repeated.

Robert Jeffrey, author of the bestselling "Barlinnie Story" and other true crime books, now tells the remarkable story of the infamous Peterhead Prison in Scotland''s far north-east. Built in the 1880s as part of an ambitious humanitarian plan to use convict labour to construct a ''harbour of refuge'' on the town''s wild, storm-battered coast, it became what some call Scotland''s gulag. A cold and brutal place, it has held down the years some of Scotland''s most violent criminals and most infamous prisoners, convicted of the most heinous of crimes. In the early days, convicts were controlled by men as hard as their charges. The wardens carried swords and were quick to use them if necessary. And when convict labour was used to build the harbour, they worked with rifles trained on them at all times. Peterhead''s wardens were clearly not to be crossed. Throughout the history of the prison, riots and breakouts have made headlines, with the SAS involved in restoring order at one point.Peterhead also had the reputation of being so secure that escape was impossible, with the notable exception of Johnny Ramensky, the safeblower turned war hero who went back to his criminal ways and spent more than forty years of his life in prison, many of them in Peterhead. He became the first inmate to escape and repeated the exercise four more times, often for his own satisfaction and amusement, each time being recaptured after a short taste of freedom. "Peterhead - Scotland''s Toughest Prison" tells the remarkable inside story of a truly grim institution with a fearsome reputation.

High cliffs jutting out into the Atlantic and the North Sea, many hundreds of rocky skerries, deep sea lochs, dangerous unseen reefs, powerful tides and gales that batter the land fiercely from all points of the compass...Scotland has a coastline of immense beauty and danger, and its cruel sea has claimed many lives down the years. Disaster at sea is a poignant part of Scotland''s history, and in this chilling and awe-inspiring book, bestselling author Robert Jeffrey tells the compelling stories of the victims of the ocean deeps. Car ferries, fishing boats, troopers, pleasure yachts and Navy vessels of all sorts, including submarines, have gone to the bottom. And in brave attempts to save those in danger with lifeboats, many have died. Including the famous tales of the Princess Victoria, the ill-fated Kl3 submarines, the Longhope lifeboat and the Iolaire, Scotland''s Cruel Sea remembers the maritime tragedies that made headlines and became part of the folk memory of a seagoing nation.

This book presents more hard hitting cases from the authors of "Glasgow Crimefighter". As legendary Glasgow detective Les Brown re-investigates cases from Stratford in east London to Wick, via Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Ayrshire and Renfrewshire, he finds that, often, the official police line doesn't quite add up...The body of a young electrician is dragged from a harbour. The police say the death was an accident, but a mysterious man confesses to murder. What is the truth? A young Scotsman is found dead on the pavement near to a multi-story London car park. Did he jump or was he pushed? Then there's the rape and strangling of 14-year-old Pamela Hastie and the killing of 11-year-old Tracy Waters...two of the most horrific and puzzling cases in West of Scotland crime. And the mystery of 12-year-old Moira Anderson's death in Coatbridge, the strange case of rape at a holiday camp, and the disturbing facts of a series of unsolved murders of street prostitutes.These and many more Real Hard Cases are re-opened by Les Brown, in this intriguing new book co-written with Robert Jeffrey, author of a best-selling string of true crime titles, including "Glasgow's Hard Men", "Gangland Glasgow" and "Glasgow's Godfather".

Barlinnie is one of the most notorious prisons in the world and for a hundred years it has held Glasgow's toughest and most violent men, swept up from the city streets. Ten men died on its gallows in the infamous Hanging Shed, including serial killer Peter Manuel. It has sparked rooftop protests and cell block riots, and been home to godfathers of crime like Arthur Thompson Snr and Walter Norval. Barlinnie was also the scene of one of the most controversial experiments in penal history, the Special Unit, where the likes of Jimmy Boyle and Hugh Collins were at the centre of a fierce battle between those who see prison as retribution and those who regard it as a step on the road to redemption, even for the most evil killers. Paul Ferris, T C Campbell and gangleaders galore have languished behind its grim walls and, a hundred years on, Barlinnie still makes headlines. This is its fascinating, turbulent story.

Throughout an astonishing criminal career, Johnny Ramensky was the foremost safe-blower of his era. His exploits and audacious escapes from maximum security prisons also helped make him a household name - admired by some, notorious to others. But when the Second World War broke out, Ramensky joined the elite Commandos and his story became legend. Peacetime had brought Johnny Ramensky a hard upbringing in the Gorbals, a life of crime and long years in jail. War brought him the chance to serve his country and a new use for his expertise in explosives. Time after time he would show exceptional bravery as he was parachuted behind enemy lines to blow open the safes of Rommel, Goering and the German High Command. His mission was to secure documents vital to the war effort and it brought him the danger and excitement he had always craved. Gentle Johnny Ramensky is the remarkable story of a boy reared in poverty who became one of the world's most extraordinary safe-blowers both as a criminal and as a war hero who wore the Green Beret with pride.