D'autres livres qui pourraient vous intéresser

• 

  Frontline and Experimental...

  Geoffrey Higges

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  The first Royal Navy pilot to fly transatlantic non-stop (in a Buccaneer) describes his thirty-five-year career in the Fleet Air Arm and as an Empire Test Pilot. The spectacle of Alan Cobham’s Flying Circus and the Fleet at anchor in Weymouth inspired the author’s lifelong passion for aeroplanes, flying and the Royal Navy. World War Two provided the opportunity to fulfil his ambition and at eighteen he volunteered for the Fleet Air Arm as a pilot. Training in Canada began a Naval flying career that spanned thirty-years. Front line squadron service, embarked on aircraft carriers was followed by qualification as a flying instructor. Selection for the Empire Test Pilots School at Farnborough and qualification as an experimental Test Pilot changed the direction of his naval career. In all he flew nearly one hundred types of aircraft and carried out close to a thousand deck landings. Initial flight testing of several new naval aircraft, as well as research flying in support of the development of aircraft such as the English Electric Lightning and Concorde added to a unique career. Such a long and varied period of flying was not without the inevitable mishaps. A near catastrophic catapult launch of a new naval aircraft, the jamming of the power control system in a research aircraft and hazardous flying through tropical storms at supersonic speeds to determine safety factors for Concorde’s intended Far East route were some of the dangers of flying at the cutting edge. As pilot, he flew the first Royal Naval aircraft to cross the Atlantic non-stop without in-flight refuelling or navigational aids. He describes the fascinating ten-day flight from Croydon to Rangoon across Europe, the Middle East, Pakistan and India to deliver a Percival Provost trainer to the Burmese Air Force.Praise for Frontline and Experimental Flying with the Fleet Air Arm “Follow Higgs from one cockpit/conference room/country to another. You’ll be as surprised as he is that he lived to tell about some of these adventures.” —Speedreaders “This hefty [book] chronicles . . . a life crammed with flying all types of aircraft, mostly shipboard, and the inevitable mishaps. . . . A good read, particularly for those of us who soak up anything to do with ships and aircraft. The shipboard accounts of catapult trials, amongst other sections, are gripping, and the times in Singapore and the Far East add to the appeal, as do the various accounts of life alongside the Americans. Geoffrey Higgs flew nearly 100 different types of aircraft in his career and his love of flying shines through the pages.” —Alan Rawlinson

  Voir livre

• 

  Foul Deeds & Suspicious Deaths...

  M.J. Trow

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  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.

  Voir livre

• 

  Missing - The Need for Closure...

  Richard van Emden

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  The story of one British mother’s desperate search for her son’s remains after he was killed in action during World War I.   In May, 1918, Angela and Leopold Mond received a knock on the front door. It was the postman delivering the letter every family in the United Kingdom dreaded: the notification of a loved one’s battlefield death—in their case their eldest child, their son, Lieutenant Francis Mond.   The Royal Flying Corps pilot, along with his Observer, Lieutenant Edgar Martyn, had been shot down over no man’s land in France, both killed instantly. Yet there was one comfort: both bodies had been recovered. There would, at the very least, be a grave to visit after the war.   However, no news followed. Angela Mond wrote to the Imperial War Graves Commission asking for further details, but no one knew where the bodies were buried. There was an initial trail, but from that last sighting both men had simply disappeared.   So begins the story detailed in Missing. Angela, a wealthy, well-connected 48-year-old mother of five and a socialite from London’s West End, embarked on an exhaustive quest to find her son that took her to the battlefields and cemeteries of France and into correspondence with hundreds of French civilians and British and German servicemen. She even bought the ground on which her son’s plane had crashed and erected a private memorial to Francis, a memorial that survives to this day.   During the Great War, more than 750,000 servicemen and women had been killed. Half of them had no known grave, leaving many families desperate for solace. This is just one of those heartbreaking stories.

  Voir livre

• 

  Moguls - The Lives and Times of...

  Michael Benson, Craig Singer

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Groundbreaking pioneers of the Hollywood Dream Factory, Joseph and Nicholas Schenck may not have been household names like the Warner brothers or Louis B. Mayer, but they were infinitely more powerful, influential—and ruthless. A pair of Russian immigrants with giant ambitions, the Schencks turned their small nickelodeon business in New York's Bowery into a partnership with Loew's movie theaters and a controlling interest in three major studios: MGM, 20th Century Fox, and United Artists. They painted the silver screen silver, laid the foundations for the all-powerful studio system, and ruled a global movie empire from their Gatsby-sized mansions on the East and West coasts. The Schencks had become moguls.Their story is the stuff of legends—and their scandals are among the greatest stories Hollywood never told. This riveting, behind-the-scenes account reveals many surprising truths.From the earliest days of silent films and the swinging era of the Roaring Twenties, through the Golden Age of the studio system and the patriotic call of WWII, to the Red Scare paranoia of the McCarthy years, the history of the Schenck brothers is the story of Hollywood itself—and the enduring power of the American Dream. Moguls is a must-listen for film fans, history buffs, and anyone who loves the movies.

  Voir livre

• 

  Overcoming Hate Through Dialogue...

  Özlem Cekic

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Overcome Hatred with Coffee and ConversationÖzlem Cekic, creator of #dialoguecoffee, turned hate mail and threats from racists and religious extremists into productive, bridge-building conversations—and you can, too.When Özlem Cekic became the first Muslim MP in the Danish Parliament, her email inbox was inundated with hate mail and threats, and her gut reaction was to delete and ignore each abusive message. But eventually, she decided to take a risk. She started replying to each message and inviting the senders to meet and engage in dialogue over coffee. And with time, understanding, and patience, she began to make a difference, both in the lives of those who hated her before even meeting her, and in her own life.Discover the journey behind the Dialogue Coffee Ted Talk with over a million viewers. In Overcoming Hate Through Dialogue learn the answers to questions like:● Where do negative emotions like anger, frustration, and hatred come from?● Can conversations break down prejudices and create change and understanding?● What happens when we start looking for things we have in common instead of focusing only on our differences?

  Voir livre

• 

  King John Henry III and...

  John Paul Davis

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  In 1204, the great Angevin Empire created by the joining of the dynasties of Henry II of England and his queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine, was fragmenting. At its height, the family landholdings had been among the largest the world had ever seen. From the border of England and Scotland in the north to south of the Pyrenees, it seemed there was nowhere in Europe destined to escape Plantagenet control.  Yet within five years of his accession, King John’s grip on the family holdings was loosening. Betrayal against his father and brother, the murder of his nephew, and breaking promises made to his supporters were just some of the accusations levelled against him. When Philip II conquered Normandy, the chroniclers believed that an ancient prophecy was fulfilled: that in this year the sword would be separated from the sceptre. For the first time since 1066, England’s rule over the ancestral land was over.  For John, troubles on the continent were just the beginning of a series of challenges that would ultimately define his reign. Difficult relations with the papacy and clergy, coupled with rising dissent among his barons ensured conflict would not be limited to the continent. When John died in 1216, more than half of the country was in the hands of the dauphin of France. Never had the future of the Plantagenet dynasty looked more uncertain.  As the following pages will show, throughout the first eighteen years of the reign of Henry III, the future direction of England as a political state, the identity of the ruling family and the fate of Henry II’s lost empire were still matters that could have gone either way. For the advisors of the young king, led by the influential regent, William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke, the effects of John’s reign would be long and severe. Successful implementation of the failed Magna Carta may have ensured his son’s short-term survival, yet living up to such promises created arguably a more significant challenge.  This is the story of how the varying actions of two very different kings both threatened and created the English way of life, and ultimately put England on the path to its Lost Civil War.

  Voir livre