Bøker av Ben Macintyre

The amazing tale of a resourceful and unscrupulous early-19th-century American adventurer who forges his own kingdom in the wilds of Afghanistan.In the year 1838, a young adventurer, surrounded by his native troops and mounted on an elephant, raised the American flag on the summit of the Hindu Kush and declared himself Prince of Ghor, the heir to Alexander the Great.Josiah Harlan, the first American to set foot in Afghanistan, would become the model for Kipling's 'The Man Who Would be King', but the true story of his life is stranger than fiction. A soldier, spy, doctor, naturalist and writer, Harlan set off into the wilds of Central Asia after a failed love affair in 1820. Following a brief stint as a surgeon in the East India Company's army, he joined the court of the deposed Afghan monarch Shah Shujah, and then slipped into Kabul disguised as a Muslim priest to foment rebellion. For the next two decades he would play a pivotal role in the bloody politics of the region.Using a trove of newly discovered documents, including Harlan's long-lost journals, Ben Macintyre has followed Harlan's footsteps to uncover an astonishing, untold chapter in the history of the Great Game. If you enjoyed William Dalrymple's 'Return of a King', 'Josiah the Great' should be on your reading list.

From the bestselling author of Agent Zigzag. The thrilling true story of the greatest and most successful wartime deception ever attemptedA Richard & Judy Book Club selection

Forfatteren av bestselgeren Spion og forræder er tilbake med en ny fascinerende spionthriller fra virkelighetenDenne gangen har Ben Macintyre plassert en kvinnelig agent i sentrum. Fortellingen om Ursula Kuczynski, med kodenavn Sonya, er som en europeisk historie i miniatyr. Som ung jødisk kvinne vokser hun opp i et stadig mer fiendtlig Tyskland. Hun blir overbevist kommunist og lar seg verve som spion for russerne. Under annen verdenskrig lever hun et tilsynelatende anonymt husmorliv i England. Men i hagen bak huset har hun hemmelig radiokontakt med Sovjetunionen, der hun avslører viktig informasjon om utviklingen av atombomben. I en mannsdominert bransje gjør Sonya en spektakulær karriere og blir forfremmet til oberst. Men MI5 er på sporet av mesterspionen, og snart brenner jorden under føttene hennes.

En vanvittig spennende spionthriller fra virkeligheten! Den sovjetiske KGB-spionen Oleg Gordijevskij jobbet i det skjulte for britiske MI6. Som en av den kalde krigens viktigste dobbeltagenter lekket han informasjon som førte til arrestasjonen av de norske spionene Gunvor Galtung Hovig og Arne Treholt. Livet hans er som en spionroman: oppvokst i en KGB-familie var spionasje hans naturlige karrierevalg. Som dyktig KGB-mann på overflaten ble han KGBs fremste mann i London, samtidig som han lekket til britene i det skjulte. Et dobbeltspill varer sjelden evig, og snart brant det under føttene hans. Kunne han klare å hoppe av til Vesten før arrestasjon og en sikker død ventet ham?"Den kalde krigen våkner til nytt liv i denne hybriden av dokumentarbok og spionthriller... Et strålende innblikk i en epoke som virker både kjent og besynderlig, både nostalgisk og skrekkinngytende. "NRK

'Startling, dark and absorbing' Independent'Excellent travel writing: vivid, sympathetic, humorous' Guardian'Fascinating, provocative and highly eccentric' New York Times_______________________In 1886 Elisabeth Nietzsche, the philosopher Friedrich's bigoted, imperious sister, founded a 'racially pure' colony in Paraguay together with a band of blond-haired fellow Germans. Over a century later, Ben Macintyre sought out the survivors of Nueva Germania to discover the remains of this bizarre colony. Forgotten Fatherland vividly recounts his arduous adventure locating the survivors, while also tracing the colorful history of Elisabeth's return to Europe, where she inspired the mythical cult of her brother's philosophy and later became a mentor to Hitler. Brilliantly researched and mordantly funny, this is an illuminating portrait of a forgotten people and of a woman whose deep influence on the twentieth century can only now be fully understood.

Enables you to learn the advantages of having your own signature word. This title shows why the lifts in the House of Commons have posh accents. It also lets you discover the discreet art of the loophemism.

The official book on Ian Fleming and James Bond by the bestselling author of Agent Zigzag

The rumbustious true story of the Victorian master thief who was the model for Conan Doyle's Moriarty, Sherlock Holmes' arch-rival. From the bestselling author of 'Operation Mincemeat' and 'Agent Zigzag'.Adam Worth was the greatest master criminal of Victorian times. Abjuring violence, setting himself up as a perfectly respectable gentleman, he became the ringleader for the largest criminal network in the world and the model for Conan Doyle's evil genius, Moriarty.At the height of his powers, he stole Gainsborough's famous portrait of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, then the world's most valuable painting, from its London showroom. The duchess became his constant companion, the symbol and substance of his achievements. At the end of his career, he returned the painting, having gained nothing material from its theft.Worth's Sherlock Holmes was William Pinkerton, founder of America's first and greatest detective agency. Their parallel lives form the basis for this extraordinary book, which opens a window on the seedy Victorian underworld, wittily exposing society's hypocrisy and double standards in a storytelling tour de force.Note that it has not been possible to include the same picture content that appeared in the original print version.