Simon Parkin – författare

More than any other entertainment medium, video games offer the chance for us to participate in a world beyond the ordinary. Whether you are playing as a supersonic hedgehog, an athletic archeologist, or a moustachioed Italian plumber, video games allow their players to inhabit spaces where the usual parameters of existence do not apply. The medium's history is chronicled through the individual stories of the most iconic video games. Beginning in the early 1970s, the book charts five decades of the pixel revolution. The story of each game is accompanied by trivia and quotations, and illustrated with photographs, screenshots and artworks. This celebratory reference and up-to-date history will enthral any video games aficionado. Chronicles the history of gaming through an analysis of the world's most-iconic and best-loved games. Expert analysis of the story of each game, accompanied by fascinating trivia, memorable quotes, and information on the year of publication and where the game can be played today. Includes titles across all platforms, including arcade, console, PC, online and handheld games. Charts five decades of video game evolution, from Computer Space to Fortnite and Elden Ring. Illustrated with over 1000 action screenshots, game artworks and photographs

FINALIST FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL WRITING 2025An Economist Book of the Year'An astonishing story brilliantly told . . . It is as moving as it is gripping to read'Jonathan Dimbleby, author of Endgame 1944'A richly researched and meticulously observed account of a little-explored corner of 20th-century history'Guardian'A fantastically well-researched history of science and sacrifice saturated in drama'iWINNER OF THE CBHL LITERATURE AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN HISTORYIn the summer of 1941, German troops surrounded the Russian city of Leningrad - now St Petersburg - and began the longest blockade in recorded history. By the most conservative estimates, the siege would claim the lives of three-quarters of a million people. Most died of starvation.At the centre of the embattled city stood a converted palace that housed the greatest living plant library ever amassed - the world's first seed bank. After attempts to evacuate the collection failed, and as supplies dwindled, the scientists responsible faced a terrible decision: should they distribute the specimens to the starving population, or preserve them in the hope that they held the key to ending global famine?Drawing on previously unseen sources, The Forbidden Garden of Leningrad tells the remarkable and moving story of the botanists who remained at the Plant Institute during the darkest days of the siege, risking their lives in the name of science.'A compelling account . . . a remarkable work of literary exhumation. The first full account of the Plant Institute in any language, it's a fitting testimony to an extraordinary project and the bravery of the ordinary individuals who kept it going'Daily Telegraph'A beautifully written account of one of the most extraordinary and little-known episodes of the Second World War - a scientific feat and act of collective self-sacrifice the consequences of which continue to be felt today'Adam Higginbotham, author of Challenger'A gripping, original and important story of courage and science in wartime'Roland Philipps, author of A Spy Named OrphanEditBuild

A FINALIST FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL WRITING 2025& THE ROYAL SOCIETY SCIENCE BOOK PRIZE 2025'An astonishing story brilliantly told . . . It is as moving as it is gripping to read'Jonathan Dimbleby, author of Endgame 1944'A richly researched and meticulously observed account of a little-explored corner of 20th-century history'Guardian'A fantastically well-researched history of science and sacrifice saturated in drama'iWINNER OF THE CBHL LITERATURE AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN HISTORYIn the summer of 1941, German troops surrounded the Russian city of Leningrad - now St Petersburg - and began the longest blockade in recorded history. By the most conservative estimates, the siege would claim the lives of three-quarters of a million people. Most died of starvation.At the centre of the embattled city stood a converted palace that housed the greatest living plant library ever amassed - the world's first seed bank. After attempts to evacuate the collection failed, and as supplies dwindled, the scientists responsible faced a terrible decision: should they distribute the specimens to the starving population, or preserve them in the hope that they held the key to ending global famine?Drawing on previously unseen sources, The Forbidden Garden of Leningrad tells the remarkable and moving story of the botanists who remained at the Plant Institute during the darkest days of the siege, risking their lives in the name of science.'A compelling account . . . a remarkable work of literary exhumation. The first full account of the Plant Institute in any language, it's a fitting testimony to an extraordinary project and the bravery of the ordinary individuals who kept it going'Daily Telegraph'A gripping, original and important story of courage and science in wartime'Roland Philipps, author of A Spy Named Orphan

'Extraordinary yet previously untold true story . . . meticulously researched . . . it's also taut, compelling, and impossible to put down' Daily Express The police came for Peter Fleischmann in the early hours. It reminded the teenager of the Gestapo's moonlit roundups he had narrowly avoided at home in Berlin. Now, having endured a perilous journey to reach England - hiding from the rampaging Nazi thugs at his orphanage, boarding a Kindertransport to safety - here the aspiring artist was, on a ship bound for the Isle of Man, suspected of being a Nazi spy. What had gone wrong?In May 1940, faced with a country gripped by paranoia, Prime Minister Winston Churchill ordered the internment of all German and Austrian citizens living in Britain. Most, like Peter, were refugees who had come to the country to escape Nazi oppression. They were now imprisoned by the very country in which they had staked their trust. Painstakingly researched from dozens of unpublished first-hand accounts and previously classified documents, The Island of Extraordinary Captives tells, for the first time, the story of history's most astonishing internment camp and of how a group of world-renown artists, musicians and academics came to be seen as 'enemy aliens'. The Island of Extraordinary Captives is the story of a battle between fear and compassion at a time of national crisis. It reveals how Britain's treatment of refugees during the Second World War led to one of the nation's most shameful missteps, and how hope and creativity can flourish in even the most challenging circumstances.

WINNER OF THE WINGATE PRIZE'Vivid and moving' Max Hastings, Sunday Times'Excellent . . . a powerful tribute' GuardianIn the summer of 1940, faced with national paranoia, Prime Minister Winston Churchill ordered the internment of all German, Austrian and Italian citizens living in Britain. Most were refugees who had fled Nazi oppression. They now faced imprisonment by the country in which they had staked their trust. Among the inmates of Hutchinson Internment Camp, on the Isle of Man, were world-renowned artists, musicians and intellectuals: despite their unjust captivity, they remained resilient, transforming their prison into an artistic and academic community. Meticulously researched and grippingly recounted, The Island of Extraordinary Captives tells the story of history's most remarkable group of prisoners - and how they found hope even in the most challenging of circumstances.'Riveting . . . an account of cinematic vividness' New York Times Book Review'Eye-opening, insightful and brilliantly written' Daily Mirror

'Compelling' Sunday Times'A triumph' Daily Mirror'Gripping' Jonathan Dimbleby1941. The Battle of the Atlantic is a disaster. Thousands of supply ships ferrying vital food and fuel from North America to Britain are being torpedoed by German U-boats. Britain is only weeks away from starvation - and with that, crushing defeat.In the first week of 1942 a group of unlikely heroes - a retired naval captain and a clutch of brilliant young women - gather to form a secret strategy unit. On the top floor of a bomb-bruised HQ in Liverpool, the Western Approaches Tactical Unit spends days and nights designing and playing wargames in an effort to crack the U-boat tactics. As the U-boat wolfpacks continue to prey upon the supply ships, the Wrens race against time to save Britain.With novelistic flair, investigative journalist Simon Parkin shines a light on Operation Raspberry and these unsung heroines in this riveting true story of war at sea. 'History writing at its best' Booklist'Splendid . . . Simon Parkin's book rips along at full sail and is full of personality and personalities' Sunday Express'Vivid, engaging' New Yorker

This book constitutes revised selected papers from the refereed conference proceedings of the 11th International Workshop on Socio-Technical Aspects in Security and Trust, STAST 2021, held in conjunction with ESORICS, the European Symposium on Research in Computer Security, as a virtual event, in October 2021.The 10 full papers included in this book were carefully reviewed and selected from 25 submissions. They were organized in topical sections as follows: web and apps; context and modelling; and from the present to the future.