Robin Knight - Böcker

The stories in this collection have slipped on a sunbeam, skidded on the dew and sprinted fast as a fox to be here with you. Of course, they’re true, puffed on to the page with a hint of lavender and a gust of sage. They tell of Sussex: its sparkling seas; chalk giants; wise witches and crossdressing smugglers. Once you’ve heard them, you’ll know that when leaves skitter, it’s Puck, the sprite of Sussex, fighting with his sister the Fairy Queen. When you hear laughter in the forest, it’s Flint, the phantom highwayman making his escape, and when you run over the Downs, you’ll remember they were shaped by the Devil’s buttocks. These tales – specially chosen for the enjoyment of 7- to 11-year-old readers – sparkle with magic and explode with adventure. Not only will children love to read them, or listen to them being read, these stories will also stimulate an interest in the county and help children engage with their own surroundings.

Written originally in 1936–38 by Admiral Cumberlege as a record of his life, Salt Horse was never published. The original manuscript has been expertly edited and made readable in terms of language to a modern audience.  It now comprises chapters on Cumberlege’s naval career in the RN and Royal Australian Navy and also on the 1922–38 period when he lived year-round on two large sailing craft, cruising the coasts of France and Spain. Cumberlege writes with some verve. He has strong views, made numerous friends wherever he and his second wife Nora went, and lived a spirited, irreverent and fortunate existence in peace and war. Some of his stories (for instance, about WW1 in New Guinea, or about his 1905 lunch in Gibraltar as a young officer with Kaiser Wilhelm II) are historic and eye-catching. In many ways, the book describes a world, and a way of life, that has disappeared for ever.Salt Horse is complemented with a timeline, family tree and Introduction which trace Cumberlege’s background. An Afterword takes his life story from 1938–63 when he died. The numerous black-and-white images and short footnotes bring many of the people mentioned in the text to life.

Leaders collects in one place for the first time the remarkably personal and distinct stories from Pangbourne College of the courageous men and women in war and peace – accounts that are in danger of being forgotten today. Based on original research and neglected first-person accounts, it covers the period 1917-2020, with a particular emphasis on World War II, the Cold War, the Falklands War and contemporary conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.Leaders documents the courageous and singular actions during a century of peacetime, as well as profiling the outstanding Second World War heroes Mike Cumberlege, David Smiley, and GTS ‘Peter’ Gray. A chapter recounting amazing exploits in the world of international sport adds a separate dimension to the book. Authored by a former foreign correspondent and leading corporate writer, with a Foreword by a leading naval historian, the book has a global dimension and perspective. This is reinforced by the author’s years of investigatory work, his experience covering wars and his long-standing knowledge and understanding of the context.