Bøker av James Leasor

"A volunteer was urgently required for a secret assignment of the highest priority. He must be of non-Jewish appearance, speak German perfectly, and preferably have a German or Austrian background. A good knowledge of French on a conversational level was also desirable. ...This man would be required to work in dangerous circumstances, totally on his own."James Leasor first heard of The Unknown Warrior's unique assignment from Major General Sir Leslie Hollis, KCB, KBE, Senior Military Assistant Secretary to the War Cabinet and Chiefs of Staff Committee. Some years later, when more had been made public about the immense secret contribution to victory of these deception plans, Sir Ronald Wingate, Bt., CB, CMG, CIE, OBE, recalled this episode, in which he had played such an important part. At that time, James Leasor was working on Green Beach, which described an incident in the 1942 Dieppe landing, when another volunteer, Flight-Sergeant Jack Nissen, a radar expert in the RAF, accompanied the Canadians to assess a new German radar station at Pourville. Because of Nissen's knowledge of Allied radar, orders were given that if capture seemed likely he was to be killed by his escort of 12 soldiers. Lord Mountbatten was horrified at these orders. He remarked that there had been no need whatever to put radar secret at risk when members of X-Troop were trained for such tasks. He suggested that James Leasor should write a book based on the experiences of these men.The Unknown Warrior is the true story of one of these men and his amazing part in the deception plans to persuade the Germans that the invasion would happen near Calais and not in Normandy and thus ensure that they did not commit their reserves until too late. Born to a humble German background, with a Jewish father and Catholic mother, he was brought up as English due to a mix-up when he was very small. Not really sure of his real name or nationality he is initially interned by the British but enlists for service and ends up in X-Troop. He volunteers for an unknown secret mission which sees him dropped in France, pursued by both the Resistance and the Germans, briefing first Rommel and then Hitler in a role that saved perhaps thousands of lives.

'Devoured at a sitting... racy, pungent and swift' The Sunday Times'Number one thriller on my list... sexy and racy' Sunday MirrorTHEY DON'T MAKE THEM LIKE THAT ANY MORE introduces the earthy and likeable proprietor of Aristo Autos who deals in vintage cars - not forgetting Sara, supercharged with sexual promise, who whets his curiosity and rouses his interest. ln the process of becoming a reluctant hero, he spins across France, Spain and Switzerland, on the track of a rare Mercedes too badly wanted by too many dangerous men. . .'A racy tale ... the hero spends most of his time trying to get into beds and out of trouble . . . plenty of action, anecdotes, and inside dope on exotic old cars' Sunday ExpressJAMES LEASOR is also the author of the internationally acclaimed DR JASON LOVE suspense novels.

'Once in a while, a book comes along that grabs you by the throat, shakes you, and won't let go until you have read through to the last page.' Hal Burton, Newsday'Follow the Drum is superb reading entertainment' Best SellersFollow the Drum is a story of men and women caught in a cataclysm of mutiny, hatred, fear and passion.India, in the mid-nineteenth century, was virtually nun by a British commercial concern, the Honourable East India Trading Company, whose directors would pay tribute to one Indian ruler and the depose another in their efforts to maintain their balance sheet of power and profit. To back up their decisions they maintained an Indian native army with British officers helped, when needed, by British regular troops.But great changes were already casting dark shadows across the land. The electric telegraph, the steamship and the railway were shrinking distances, while missionaries were preaching new gospels. Indian soldiers feared that their ancient traditions were being eroded, and when a stupid order was given to use cartridges greased with cow fat and pig lard (one animal sacred to Hindus and the other abhorrent to Moslems) there was mutiny.Even then, the British senior officers, many of them drink-sodden and long past retiring age, did not realise the magnitude of the opposition to them. They responded by having sepoys fired from guns and disbanding whole regiments, which, instead of calming tempers, merely accelerated the eruption of the Indian Mutiny.In the terrible days of the burning summer of 1857, the British, outnumbered in some garrisons by ten to one, in others by a thousand to one, fought back for bare survival. Conventional leaders were thus frequently displaced by unconventional men, such as Hodson and Nicholson, who brought daring new conceptions and mobility to waging war. The lives of millions were changed for ever; among them the Indian ruler, Nana Sahib, who bore a grudge against the British; Arabella MacDonald, the courageous and hot-blooded daughter of an English regular officer; the old King of Delhi, toothless and enfeebled, a virtual prisoner of the people he tried to rule; Richard Lang, an idealistic nineteen-year-old who began that year as a boy and ended it as a man.Follow the Drum is a documentary novel of tremendous sweep of action and descriptive power, in which fact and fiction are blended into compelling narrative.

'Of all the war stories I have read, truth or fiction, this is the best' - Ottawa Journal'...a cracking good story' - Globe & Mail¿¿'Green Beach has blown the lid off one of the Second World War's best-kept secrets' Daily Express'If I had been aware of the orders given to the escort to shoot him rather than let him be captured, I would have cancelled them immediately' Lord Mountbatten'Green Beach is a vivid, moving and at times nerve-racking reconstruction of an act of outstanding but horrific heroism' Sunday ExpressIn 1942 radar expert Jack Nissenthall volunteered for a suicidal mission to join a combat team who were making a surprise landing at Dieppe in occupied France. His assignment was to penetrate a German radar station on a cliff above "Green Beach". Because Nissenthall knew the secrets of British and US radar technology, he was awarded a personal bodyguard of sharpshooters. Their orders were to protect him, but in the event of possible capture lo kill him. .His choice was to succeed or die. The story of what happened to him and his bodyguards in nine hours under fire is one of World War II's most terrifying true stories of personal heroism.

RATS is the story of a very special dog - a dog soldier - and those who lived and served with him in Northern Ireland. Wounded on a number of occasions, awarded two medals for gallantry, his fame spread and when he retired with a special army full-dress parade in his honour, Rats was a TV celebrity, receiving fan letters by the thousand.>'A marvellous tribute to a wonderful dog soldier.'Shropshire Star'A splendid little book'Daily Express'One to touch the heart of any dog-lover.'The Northern Echo'Full marks go to the author for his compassionate story.'Royal Marines Journal'A fitting tribute to a grand little dog who can boast of not only saving some lives but of saving the sanity of all soldiers with whom he came in contact.'Catholic Herald'A symbol of survival and friendship amidst the dangers and hostility of Crossmaglen.'Kennel Gazette'A tale of warmth, love and extraordinary devotion.'Coventry Evening Telegraph

'Mr Leasor's account of a tragedy that ought not to have happened, is full and moving.' The Times'Detailed and gripping' Evening Standard'A strangely gripping biography of an airship... and - being well written - his book is one which everybody interested in the history of British Aviation will find worth reading.' The Aeronautical JournalThe R101 airship was thought to be the model for the future, an amazing design that was 'as safe as houses. . .except for the millionth chance'. On the night of 4 October 1930 that chance in a million came up however. James Leasor brilliantly reconstructs the conception and crash of this huge ship of the air with compassion for the forty-seven dead, including a cabinet minister - and only six survivors. One of the biggest disasters of British aviation history, which marked the end of commercial airships as a serious form of transport, this book also reads as a textbook of how state attempts to manage commercial ventures so often end in a disaster of one kind or another.