Other books that might interest you

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  Hunting the Essex - A Journal of...

  Midshipman Allen Gardiner

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  In February 1813 the British frigate Phoebe set out on a secret mission that would involve sailing halfway around the world to attack American settlements in the Pacific Northwest. The United States, frustrated at the treatment of its shipping by the combatants in the Napoleonic Wars, had finally opened hostilities against the British in the previous June. From the American perspective the War of 1812 began with disasters in its invasion of Canada, but against all expectations the infant US Navy had scored significant victories at sea. The most strategically significant of these was the campaign by the frigate USS Essex, which had almost annihilated the lucrative British whaling trade in the south Pacific. Therefore, Phoebe was diverted to hunt down and destroy this highly successful commerce-raider. After an epic search, Phoebe tracked her prey to neutral Valparaiso where the American frigate was blockaded and,in a very bloody battle, eventually captured. The American captain, David Porter, published a self-serving account of his actions which ever since has mired the battle in controversy, so this British naval eyewitness account is an important counter-balance. It is one of the lesser-known campaigns of a war which is currently celebrating its bicentenary, but its inherent drama inspired the plot of Patrick O'Brian's novel The Far Side of the World, although in its movie adaptation Master & Commander the American frigate is transformed into a French privateer.

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  My Greenwich Village - Dave Bob...

  Terri Thal

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  Terri Thal was very much a part of the folk music world in 1960s Greenwich Village, New York. Few people know that she was 21-year-old Bob Dylan's first manager prior to his contract with Albert Grossman and Columbia Records. She also managed musician Dave Van Ronk (who was her husband), and others to include the Roche sisters, Paul Geremia and The Holy Modal Rounders. She booked performances at coffee houses, clubs and basket houses. On 6 September 1961, she recorded a set from a young Bob at The Gaslight Café – it is the first known live recording of his original songs - known to Dylan fans as the First Gaslight Tape! Terri took this 'audition' tape to clubs to try to get him gigs – and she still owns the original reel-to-reel tape! She had many friends in Greenwich Village including Suze Rotolo and a number of seminal 1960s folk musicians.
  When Dave Van Ronk first saw young Bob performing in a club in Greenwich Village he said 'I just heard this kid who's a fucking genius. You've got to hear him.' Within a few days I heard him play and agreed with Dave. Bob Dylan asked me, 'Would you get me gigs?'
  Terri Thal has two passions: folk music and social justice. This is a personal story of the world of folk music in 1960s New York written by a Jewish woman from Brooklyn who, although not a musician, was an intrinsic part of this scene. Terri describes Greenwich Village as a community that was supportive, musically exciting and one in which people had fun.Terri tells us what it was like to hang out in the Village coffee houses, to host folk singers like Tom Paxton and Phil Ochs who hung out at her apartment, and to be a manager. We hear her view and involvement of the 1960s socialist organizations, and how she later merged her professional work in not- for-profit agencies.

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  Foul Deeds & Suspicious Deaths...

  M. J. Trow

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  Discover the darker side of this scenic destination with over twenty true-crime tales, accompanied by photos and illustrations.   Its natural beauty attracts countless visitors—but notorious cases of murder, deceit, and pure malice have marked the long history of this apparently peaceful island. From crimes of passion to opportunistic killings and coldly premeditated acts of murder, the full spectrum of criminality is recounted here. For this journey into a bloody, neglected aspect of the past, Isle of Wight historian and crime writer M.J. Trow has selected over twenty notorious episodes that give a fascinating insight into criminal acts and the criminal mind.   He throws light into the shadowy world of the smugglers, pirates, and robbers who plagued the island’s early history. He recalls the escape attempts of Charles I from Carisbrooke Castle, the mysterious loss of the Mary Rose and HMS Royal George, and the scandalous conduct of Lady Worsley. In vivid, sometimes shocking detail, he reconstructs notable criminal cases, including the brutal murders that have marked the island’s more recent past. In addition, he delves into the history of the island’s three prisons—Albany, Parkhurst, and Camp Hill—which have housed many of Britain’s most violent criminals.

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  Stray Pebbles From The Shores Of...

  Elizabeth Porter Gould

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  A collection of poetry by the Boston poetess. Sections are nature, love, miscellaneous, sonnets and 'for my nieces and nephews'. - Summary by Lynne Thompson

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  Not Dark Yet - A Celebration of...

  Ewan Morrison

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  Published to mark John Herdman's 80th birthday in 2021.
  Writers, academics, publishers and literary figures from Britain, Europe and North America came together to celebrate Scottish novelist and critic, John Herdman.
  The cast of Not Dark Yet are John Herdman's contemporaries and friends, his students and readers.
  This celebration of John Herdman is witness to the strength of admiration that exists for this Scottish writer's work, a body of writing that extends over a period of seven decades.
  And seven decades is impressive — especially for a man who is only just turning eighty.

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  Cop Under Cover - My life in the...

  Johann van Loggerenberg

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  In the 1990s deep-cover police agent RS536 took on the Durban underworld as part of a new organised crime intelligence unit. He rubbed shoulders with drug lords, smugglers and corrupt cops, and was instrumental in busting an international drug ring and foiling a bank heist, among many other dangerous engagements. 
    
  But then, as the country’s new democracy birthed a struggle between the old and the new guard in the South African Police Service, his identity and his life came under threat. In this action-packed account, Johann van Loggerenberg describes how, as a young policeman, he worked closely with the investigative team of the Goldstone Commission to uncover the ‘third force’ – apartheid security forces that supplied weapons to the Inkatha Freedom Party to destabilise the country. 
    
  He also delves into how and why, at the height of state capture at the South African Revenue Service in 2014, he was falsely accused of being an apartheid spy, a lie that persists up to today. Here, finally, is the truth behind the deep-cover police agent RS536.

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