A House For Spies: SIS Operations into Occupied France from a Sussex Farmhouse


Edward Wake-Walker - 2011
     From 1941 to 1944, Bignor Manor, a farmhouse in Sussex provided board and lodging for men and women of the French Resistance before they were flown by moonlight into occupied France. Barbara Bertram, whose husband was a conducting officer for the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), became hostess for these daring agents and their pilots during their brief stopovers in their house. But who were these men and women that passed through the Bertram’s house? And what activities did they conduct whilst in France that meant that so many of them never returned? Edward Wake-Walker charts the experiences of numerous agents, such as Gilbert Renault, Christian Pineau and Marie-Madeleine Fourcade, and the networks of operatives that they created that provided top-secret intelligence on German defences and naval bases, U-boats, as well as Hitler’s devastating new weapons, the V-1 and V-2 flying bombs. A House For Spies provides fascinating insight into the lives of SIS agents and their Lysander pilots who provided invaluable intelligence to Allied forces. This is a much-forgotten aspect of the Second World War that is only now being told by Edward Wake-Walker. “Utterly fascinating, very moving and funny. I couldn't have enjoyed it more.” — Hugh Grant “Edward Wake-Walker's meticulously researched chronicles of desperate resistance, audacity, duty, determination and daring are a valuable addition to the history of World War II” — Bel Mooney, Daily Mail “It kept me up at night as I wanted to know what happened to all the various characters [brought] so admirably back to life” — Russell England, Director of Bletchley Park: Codebreaking's Forgotten Genius and Operation Mincemeat

Ted and Ann: The Mystery of a Missing Child and Her Neighbor Ted Bundy


Rebecca Morris - 2011
    Fascinating!" —Ann Rule, New York Times Bestselling Author"While Ted Bundy might be the greatest evil enigma ever, author Rebecca Morris strips away the layers of the greatest mystery of his life—what was his connection to the disappearance of Ann Marie Burr? This is an astonishing achievement, the missing piece that readers of crime have long sought. Bravo for Morris!" —Gregg Olsen, New York Times Bestselling AuthorAt age three he was using knives to frighten his teenage aunt. By fourteen he was a thief, animal abuser, and peeping tom who liked to pull little girls into the woods to scare them.Ted Bundy killed at least thirty-five girls and women, and possibly hundreds. Was his first victim eight-year-old Ann Marie Burr who disappeared from their Tacoma, Washington, neighborhood in 1961?Her body was never found and there were no clues, just two tenacious detectives who spent the rest of their lives trying to solve the case.Was Bundy telling the truth when he told a hypothetical story about killing Ann and dumping her into a muddy pit?With new information about Ted Bundy's childhood, interviews with those who knew him best, and the memories of the Burr family, Ted and Ann is the story of one the 20th century's most fascinating cold cases.Rebecca Morris is an award-winning journalist who has worked in radio and television news in New York City; Portland, Oregon; and Seattle, Washington. A native Oregonian, her reporting has appeared in The Seattle Times, The Oregonian, People, Entertainment Weekly, New York Newsday, American Theatre, and many other publications. She lives in Seattle.

Brady and Hindley: Genesis of the Moors Murders


Fred Harrison - 1986
    The victims were five children aged between 10 and 17—Pauline Reade, John Kilbride, Keith Bennett, Lesley Ann Downey and Edward Evans—at least four of whom were sexually assaulted. The murders are so named because two of the victims were discovered in graves dug on Saddleworth Moor, with a third grave also being discovered there in 1987, over 20 years after Brady and Hindley's trial in 1966. The body of a fourth victim, Keith Bennett, is also suspected to be buried there, but despite repeated searches it remains undiscovered.The police were initially aware of only three killings, those of Edward Evans, Lesley Ann Downey and John Kilbride. The investigation was reopened in 1985, after Brady was reported in the press as having confessed to the murders of Pauline Reade and Keith Bennett. Brady and Hindley were taken separately to Saddleworth Moor to assist the police in their search for the graves, both by then having confessed to the additional murders.

Rock Monster: My Life with Joe Walsh


Kristin Casey - 2018
    At once envious, glamorous, debauched and disturbing, it’s her long and winding journey from life in the fast lane to sobriety and redemption.Set in the late-eighties and nineties, these are some of Walsh’s darkest years, from spiraling addiction to a stunning comeback with the Eagles’ Hell Freezes Over tour. Loaded with true stories never before heard, Rock Monster is essential reading for classic rock fans and anyone touched by addiction. Kristin Casey pulls no punches, sharing gritty details with self-awareness, humor, and affection. Sharply written, bold and incisive, it’s the worldly-wise tome only an ex-addict, ex-stripper, and ex-rock-chick could give us.In the tradition of women-in-rock survivor tales—by Marianne Faithful, Crystal Zevon, or Mackenzie Phillips—Kristin Casey pulls a veil on the enduring myth of the lifestyle’s glamorous decadence. Rock Monster is a sexy, crazy, cautionary tale of two addicts in love without a single relationship skill.

Bruny


Heather Rose - 2019
    Daesh has a thoroughfare to the sea and China is Australia's newest ally. When a bomb goes off in remote Tasmania, Astrid Coleman agrees to return home to help her brother before an upcoming election. But this is no simple task. Her brother and sister are on either side of politics, the community is full of conspiracy theories, and her father is quoting Shakespeare. Only on Bruny does the world seem sane. Until Astrid discovers how far the government is willing to go.Bruny is a searing, subversive, brilliant novel about family, love, loyalty and the new world order.

Jumping from Helicopters: A Vietnam Memoir


John Stillman - 2018
    Quickly falling in love with the rush of being a paratrooper with the 101st Airborne, he believed his service would honorably help the South Vietnamese protect their country from the ruthless communist North and their Southern allies. But once in the volatile jungles of Vietnam, the merciless hunting and killing of the enemy, constant threat of landmines and booby traps, ambushes that could easily backfire, and deaths of his comrades made Stillman question how any man—if he survived—could ever return to his life as he’d known it. Written with John’s daughter, Lori Stillman, Jumping from Helicopters is a vivid and moving memoir that unearths fifty years of repressed memories with stunning accuracy and raw details. Interwoven with the author’s own journal entries and including thirty-five photographs, it is a story that will open your eyes to what these brave young men witnessed and endured, and why they returned facing a lifetime of often unspoken unrest, persistent nightmares, and forced normalcy, haunting even the strongest of soldiers.

Scattered Rays of Light: The Incredible Survival Story of The Kotowski Family During WW2 (Holocaust Survivor Memoir, World War II Book 1)


Dovit Yehudit Yalovizky - 2020
    Immediate danger of destruction. Tiny rays of hope.Yaakov was the youngest son of the Kotowskis, a well-to-do Jewish family in the small Polish town of Skulsk, who enjoyed the respect and admiration of local Jews and Christians alike.The quiet life of the family was disrupted abruptly when Nazi Germany invaded Poland.Soon, its members were deported to a faraway village where they suffered horrific torments at the hands of the Germans and their collaborators.The head of the family, who was blessed with sharp instincts, grasped what was about to take place and instructed his children to disperse in different directions, in the hope that at least some of them would be able to survive.This is the fascinating story of the Kotowski family, who was thrown deep into the flames that lit the fire that exterminated six million Jews, and yet, over half of the ten-member family managed to flee the blazing inferno against all odds.

Bowraville


Dan Box - 2019
    In Bowraville, all three of the victims were Aboriginal. All three were killed within five months, between 1990 and 1991. The same white man was linked to each, but nobody was convicted.More than two decades later, homicide detective Gary Jubelin contacted Dan Box, asking him to pursue this serial killing. At that time, few others in the justice system seemed to know – or care – about the murders in Bowraville. Dan spoke to the families of the victims, Colleen Walker-Craig, Evelyn Greenup and Clinton Speedy-Duroux, as well as the lawyers, police officers and even the suspect involved in what had happened. His investigation, as well as the families’ own determined campaigning, forced the authorities to reconsider the killings. This account asks painful questions about what ‘justice’ means and how it is delivered, as well as describing Dan’s own shifting, uncomfortable realisation that he was a reporter who crossed the line.Praise for the Bowraville podcast:'It is a gripping true crime tale and an essay on racism; a challenge to the lies Australia tells itself about its treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people told through the voices of three Aboriginal families who have been indisputably let down … The podcast has galvanised the public in a way that two decades of print and television reporting on the Bowraville murders have not.’ The Guardian 'A masterful example of crime reporting which forensically details the worst of human nature, inexplicably compounded by the gross negligence of the only people who could provide justice. It’s stirred thousands, including the prime suspect, to re-engage with the case after trusting the journalist to take them to dark places.’ Walkley judges’ comments ‘Outstanding.’ Leigh Sales‘Moving, brilliant.’ Annabel Crabb'If you haven't listened to Bowraville by Dan Box, then you should.’ David Campbell

Berlin Embassy


William Russell - 1940
     But what did the German people think of the war? And what had they actually thought about the rise of the Nazi party? William Russell, a young US diplomat who worked in the American Embassy in Berlin, explains in detail his experiences of Germany in the early phases of the war from August 1939 through to April 1940. By asking questions to his friends, colleagues and people who he passed on the streets, Russell uncovered the state of minds of normal Germans, what they were thinking, doing and saying through the course of 1939 and 1940. Drawing evidence from a variety of sources, including newspapers, the radio, recently published books, as well as the jokes and gossip that circulated on the streets of the German capital, Russell is able to demonstrate how not all Germans were card-waving Nazis, but how the vast majority were politically apathetic, nervous of the future and often outwardly critical of the Nazi regime. Russell explains how many Germans laughed at figures such as Joseph Goebbels and Herman Goering when they were in privacy of their own houses. Although written in only second year of the war it is clear that Russell and many of his friends are aware of the impending horrors that the war will cause and he tries desperately throughout the book to do his best for those who would suffer the most at the hands of the Nazi regime. Berlin Embassy is the classic account of Germany and its people in the first year of the Second World War. “The small things that happen to the small people- as reported by a man in a small job in the American embassy in Berlin, who managed to get the man in the street to talk frankly.” Kirkus Reviews “Exciting reading … A very fine book.” William L. Shirer, author of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany William Russell was an author and journalist who after completing his education had worked in the Berlin Embassy during 1939 and 1940. After he left Germany he joined the U.S. Army and served two years as an Order of Battle Specialist in the Intelligence Branch in England. He passed away in 2000. His book Berlin Embassy was first published in 1941.

Kadian Journal: A Father's Story


Thomas Harding - 2014
    Shortly afterwards Thomas began to write. This book is the result.Beginning on the day of Kadian's death, and continuing to the year anniversary, and beyond, Kadian Journal is a record of grief in its rawest form, and of a mind in shock and questioning a strange new reality. Interspersed within the journal are fragments of memory: jewel-bright everyday moments that slowly combine to form a biography of a lost son, and a lost life.It is an extraordinary document, and several things at once: a lucid, raw, and startlingly brave book: a powerful and moving account of a father's grief, and a beautiful tribute to an exceptional son.

Death by Cyanide: The Murder of Dr. Autumn Klein


Paula Reed Ward - 2016
    Autumn Klein, a neurologist specializing in seizure disorders in pregnant women, had already been named chief of women’s neurology at Pittsburgh’s largest health system. More than just successful in her field, Dr. Klein was beloved—by her patients, colleagues, family, and friends. She collapsed suddenly on April 17, 2013, writhing in agony on her kitchen floor, and died three days later. The police said her husband, Dr. Robert Ferrante, twenty-three years Klein’s senior, killed her through cyanide poisoning. Though Ferrante left a clear trail of circumstantial evidence, Klein’s death from cyanide might have been overlooked if not for the investigators who were able to use Ferrante’s computer, statements from the staff at his lab, and his own seemingly odd actions at the hospital during his wife’s treatment to piece together what appeared to be a long-term plan to end his wife’s life. In Death by Cyanide, Paula Reed Ward, reporter for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, describes the murder investigation and the trial in this sensational case, taking us from the poisoning and the medical staff’s heroic measures to save Klein’s life to the investigation of Ferrante and the emotion and drama inside the courtroom.

Framed: Why Michael Skakel Spent Over a Decade in Prison For a Murder He Didn't Commit


Robert F. Kennedy Jr. - 2016
    What ensued was a media firestorm and a whodunit that transfixed the nation, providing daily debates—and cruel, dinner table entertainment. Now, forty years after Michael Skakel’s conviction, his cousin, acclaimed activist and writer Robert Kennedy, Jr., has taken matters into his own hands to get the charges dropped and clear his cousin’s name.This startling expose—a page-turning, true story of murder, romance, and fame—is the story of Skakel’s conviction that the public has never before been prevue to. It is the product of hundreds of interviews with Skakel and those who knew him, Martha Moxley, and what may have happened the night of the crime, Halloween eve. It also explores why Kennedy believes Skakel has yet to receive a fair trial, and why he demands the original verdict be overturned.This is a heart-wrenching story with a powerful cast of characters. It opens the doors for the public into what was once a “perfect” Greenwich community and how a crime shook an elite family. Kennedy presents the evidence through enlightening text, photographs, and new interviews, and allows readers to decide, given the facts, what they believe really happened to Martha and if, forty years after his crucifixion, Michael Skakel should finally walk free.

The Russian Countess: Escaping Revolutionary Russia


Edith Sollohub - 2010
    Petersburg for accompanying her husband Alexander on shooting and riding trips and for being outstandingly accurate with her gun. She was the daughter of a high-ranking Russian diplomat, and the mother of three young sons, destined to join the social and intellectual elite of imperial Russia. The Revolution of 1917 changed the course of these lives. By December 1918 her husband was dead, her children separated from her by the closing of the frontiers, and her own life was in danger. This is her account of how she faced these traumatic events, revealing the courage and determination she had shown in earlier times that helped her endure hunger, imprisonment, and loneliness. Her reunion with her sons in 1921 makes the months of danger and deprivation worthwhile. Illustrated with original family photographs this account will interest the serious academic and general reader alike.

Bon: The Last Highway


Jesse Fink - 2017
    You won't be able to put it down once you get started."- Chris Jericho, Talk is Jericho (Westwood One)"Fink is one of, if not the foremost authority on all things AC/DC… [Bon: The Last Highway] reads as a cross between an Agatha Christie–like novel and CSI–influenced approach to dissecting the physical evidence and outstanding questions related to the public story revolving around Bon’s death. I cannot recommend this book enough. Whether you love AC/DC, just like them or are just interested in rock ’n’ roll in general this is an amazing story."- Metal Geezers"Bon: The Last Highway by Jesse Fink is one of the most impressive biographies I've ever read. It is an absolute masterpiece that features more sources and research than most college textbooks. I was floored by the amount of effort and research that Jesse poured into this project."In the case of Bon Scott, both his tragic death and (potentially) his greatest lyrical work have been totally distorted for the sake of the legends that surround AC/DC. Jesse's book is one long re-examination of those legends, and he makes mince-meat out of most of the band's official stories... his work here is profoundly impressive."- Play That Rock’n’Roll "After being made aware of the previous poor attempts to tell Bon's story, I decided to read Bon: The Last Highway. Fink's book deserves 10 out of 10 for effort in gathering all the information possible.... Theory Two [about how Bon died] could not be any closer to the truth. I know, because I was there."- Joe Fury, Bon Scott's friend who went to the hospital in London when Bon was declared dead-on-arrivalBooks of the Year - Planet Rock (UK)Books of the Year - Herald Sun (Australia)Books of the Year - Loud Online (Australia)Books of the Year - All Music Books (USA)Books of the Year - InQuire, University of Kent (UK)Praise for Bon: The Last Highway by Jesse Fink:"A fascinating portrait of a troubled man with a serious alcohol addiction... the literary equivalent of a road movie." - Ronan McGreevy, Irish Times"One of 2017's most essential rock reads." - al.com (Alabama)"Over the years Bon Scott has become an untouchable rock god; but this book digs deeper. It's something that hasn't really been done before... it's a whole new look on the troubled frontman and a fine biography." - Jyrki "Spider" Hamalainen, Vive Le Rock (UK)"After being made aware of the previous poor attempts to tell Bon's story, I decided to read Bon: The Last Highway. Fink's book deserves 10 out of 10 for effort in gathering all the information possible.... Theory Two [about how Bon died] could not be any closer to the truth. I know, because I was there." - Joe Fury, Bon Scott's friend who went to the hospital in London to identify Bon's body"Hand-on-heart clarity and the haze of memory merge here to do justice to what is both a celebratory and cautionary tale... you will learn much on this road trip. You already know the soundtrack."- RTE (Republic of Ireland)"Jesse Fink is a very courageous writer... a fact-rich, exciting book that reads in places like a crime story. Investigative journalism at its best." - Metal Glory (Germany)"Just like the object of his desire (it is his second book on AC/DC), Fink is prone to perfectionism. He meticulously dedicates himself to the last three years in the life of Ronald Belford Scott ... Fink's book is a real gift for the fans of the tragically and much too early deceased singer." - Classic Rock (Germany)"Of the 20-plus books written about AC/DC, this one comes closest to the truth about how former singer Bon Scott died and his uncredited legacy as a songwriter... not just for fans, this is equal parts cautionary tale and meticulously researched document." - Courier Mail (Australia)"Fink's book meticulously explores the man and the many myths about Scott's life and death, and his hell of a ride in between." - Herald Sun (Australia)"A literary masterpiece." - Soundanalyse (Germany)"One of the most important publications on AC/DC... Fink has become something of an AC/DC detective and shines light on parts of the AC/DC story which have always been dimly lit. Music fans around the world have been waiting for this book - and it does not disappoint." - Denis Gray, Australian Rock Show"I read this book in seven hours, with a 20-minute break for dinner, and put it down almost breathless at the non-biased, staggering research. Bon: The Last Highway is probably one of the best books I've ever read - on anything! And I read a lot. This book goes up to 11! Extremely well done. A magnificent book." - Paul Chapman, guitarist, UFO"Crossing continents and tracking key figures down, Fink's work is impressive; his book is exhaustively investigative and engrossing." - Exclaim "Painstakingly researched." - Dangerous Minds"Phenomenal." - Sirius XM VOLUME "Debatable""Brilliant writing, many revelations. A must-read. Astonishingly good reporting." - Lori Majewski, SiriusXM VOLUME "Feedback""A great page-turner... a riveting read." - The Rockpit (Australia)"Jesse Fink is not the first writer to suggest there's something fishy about the official version of [Bon] Scott's death and its aftermath, but no one else has offered such a plausible or exhaustively researched alternative theory... vindicating old-school journalistic rigour, Fink compiled a vast testimony from multiple sources and invites the reader to decide where the truth lies, Rashomon-style. This is no easy task: key witnesses are either dead, like [Alistair] Kinnear, or their memories are clouded by the fog of war, like UFO's Paul Chapman and Pete Way. But as with his previous book, the absence of co-operation from the AC/DC inner circle has been to Fink's benefit... [he has] effectively undertaken the detective work that wasn't conducted at the time. It's a dense, tangled tale but Fink reveals the humanity behind the myth: Bon was a flawed, conflicted character, trapped in a persona, who ultimately chose the path he took and got unlucky." - Keith Cameron, MOJO"The most extensively researched book on AC/DC ever... it's outstanding. If you thought you knew Bon Scott, think again. This is as close as anyone is ever gonna get to the complete truth behind the legend, warts and all." - B.J. Lisko, Canton Repository, Ohio"The most in-depth investigation into what happened to Bon Scott on the night of his death you'll ever read." - Rich Davenport, Rich Davenport's Rock Show"This one-man investigation, born of respect for the truth and for Scott as a human being, blazes a new trail." - Joe Bonomo, author of AC/DC's Highway To Hell (33 1/3 Series)"Jesse Fink has done rock fans a great service. He dispels the many myths about how AC/DC's Bon Scott lived and died, and in doing so, brings to life one of the most influential, memorable, and complex figures in rock history." - Greg Renoff, author of Van Halen Rising"Fink leaves no stone unturned in this deep biography of Bon Scott." - Publishers Weekly "Amazing... the most in-depth researched book on Scott's final years ever written. The story of Bon's last days on earth has never been properly told...until now. This book is good enough it has me waiting for the movie." - Classic Rock Revisited

Mary Ann Cotton: The West Auckland Borgia


Martin Connolly - 2012