Bøker av Phil Carradice

Assassination! Just mentioning the word is enough to send a shiver up the spine. And yet, for many years, the deliberate act of 'taking out' notable public figures has been the mainstay of political factions and individuals when faced with problems and dilemmas that discussion and debate cannot solve. Most monarchs, statesmen and military commanders of the ancient world, whether they were successful or failures, had to deal with threats. At one stage or another in their careers, they would all have been vulnerable to unexpected attacks. They would all have been potential targets for assassin's blades or poison. And they knew it. So common was the assassination of notable individuals that it became almost an occupational hazard in the ancient world. From Pharaoh Teti, the first recorded victim of assassination, to Julius Caesar, despatched on the Ides of March, from Pompey the Great to Commodious, the Gladiator Emperor of Rome, so many rulers perished before their allotted period of time. In this new book, Phil Carradice takes a broad sweep at assassinations in the ancient world. Beginning with the Egyptian Empire, it traces the assassin's art through Greek, Roman, Biblical, Chinese, Byzantine and other periods or empires, up to and including the Kings and Emperors of the Dark Ages. The book does not stop there. It examines individual assassinations, motivation and practice and looks at assassination groups such as the thugee of India and the Sacred Band of Thebes.

Recounting the role of women in the Jacobite rebellions and how their courageous actions, sacrifices, and contributions shaped British history.The flight of King James II in November 1688 was a seminal moment in British history. The deposed Catholic King set up house and home in Paris, William and Mary succeeded to the throne of England and over fifty years of trouble, strife, war and execution began to consume England, Scotland and Ireland. The Jacobites - supporters of the dethroned Stuart dynasty - were adamant that James and his heirs should sit once more on the English throne. Invasion followed invasion, battle came after battle, culminating with the defeat of Charles Edward Stuart at Culloden in 1745.The story of those battles and invasions has often been told. However, they have invariably focussed on the male participants, from Scottish clansmen to men like Rob Roy and Bonnie Dundee, from the Old to the Young Pretender Bonnie Prince Charlie, the darling of the late Jacobite movement, they created a legend that still hovers over the period. But very little has ever been written about the women who were involved.Apart from figures of note like Flora MacDonald, the role of women in the rebellions and rising has been largely forgotten. Yet there were hundreds involved in the Jacobite cause. Women tended to wounded soldiers, gave safety and comfort to fleeing Jacobites, and sometimes led the riots and rebellions themselves. Many were imprisoned, many sent away from their homelands, deported to strange and distant lands.Others carried out daring escapes from prisons like The Tower of London and wrote poems and songs that are still read and sung today. Some, women like Jenny Cameron and Grizzel Mhor, became household names for a short while, forgotten now but resurrected here. There are many more, women like Anne Farquharson, Colonel Anne as she was known, who defeated 1500 redcoats with a team of five servants in an engagement called the Rout of Moy. They were - and remain - mostly unknown and forgotten. This book tells their stories.Phil Carradice's well-researched and easy, elegant style of writing brings these forgotten women back to life, giving them the rewards they so richly deserve.

Witchcraft! Just the mention of the name is enough to cause fear, even terror, in the minds and hearts of many people. But that is not the full story. Yes, there have always been proponents of the 'dark arts, ' witches and warlocks willing to use their powers for evil, but the wise men and women of the ancient and medieval world - men and women eager to use their spells and potions for good - have often been overlooked.This book looks at witchcraft from the early days, tracing its development as a pseudo-religious cult, the good and the bad, from the wild plains of Babylon to the present day. It highlights witch scares and individuals, particularly the witch hunts of the medieval period when 100,000 women were accused of witchcraft and nearly 80,000 executed. It examines the concept of witch hunting, detailing the activities of men like Matthew Hopkins, the famous Witchfinder General.The book does not just focus on medieval and ancient witches, it takes in modern witch hunting - with people like Senator Joe McCarthy during his Communist witch hunts of the 1950s - and the continued modern persecution of women and men accused of witchcraft in African, Indian and Caribbean states.This is a detailed account of witches and witchcraft, in many ways a tribute to the thousands of men and women accused and executed without full evidence or proof of evil doing. It is a broad historical sweep that includes fictional characters like Morgan le Fey and Merlin, the magician of King Arthur's court. Thoroughly researched and elegantly written, it is essential reading for anyone who is interested in the social and political history of the past

Who are the greatest spy writers of the twentieth century? This book narrows the field down to Buchan, Fleming and Le Carre, including accounts of their lives alongside their books. Agree or disagree? Carradice makes his case!

This fresh new perspective of Henry VIII's reign and legacy takes the readers on a journey through the key moments of unrest and open rebellion.

Covers a much-ignored aspect of the First World War - how both troops and the general public were kept bolstered and entertained during the war.

The true story behind the secret agents who have captivated and enthralled generations of readers.

A history of the women in Hitler's life, a fascinating account of his relationships with them.

Reveals Revolutionary France's attempt to invade Britain in 1797, the last military invasion of Britain.

New title in the Following in the Footsteps' series focussing on Henry Tudor.

Cold War nadir: January 1968 and in Czechoslovakia the new Communist Party leader Alexander Dubcek has made it clear that this is the opportunity to loosen the Soviet stranglehold on the country. As the Prague winter slowly eases into a Prague spring, it really does seem as if Dubcek has judged it right.

The story of Masada has gone down in Israeli and Jewish folklore. It is little known elsewhere and it is time to redress the balance.

In the early 20th century the future of air travel seemed to lie with the giant airships of Count von Zeppelin. Zeppelins were used during the First World War and afterwards the 'Graf Zeppelin' and 'Hindenburg' were the height of elegance. The 'Hindenburg' disaster of 1937 proved to be the end of the giant airship as a commercial enterprise.

The story of Bloody Mary, the most brutal of brutal Tudors.

A detailed explanation of the landings, relying heavily on first-hand accounts from the men who were there, on the invasion beaches.

How the world came to a within a hairbreadth of a nuclear conflagration.

This book tells the story of British cruiser warfare and naval strategy in the Southern Atlantic in 1914 and 1915. The campaign to bring a German squadron to battle met with disaster (the Battle of Coronel) before final victory at the Falklands Islands. Individual raiders like the Emden, Dresden and Konigsburg were also hunted and destroyed.

At the beginning of 1941, Britain stood alone against Germany and Italy. The Battle of the Atlantic was in full swing. Hitler's U-boats were operating in packs, descending on convoys and sinking many millions of tons of shipping. In May, the formidable German battleship Bismarck left port, heading out into the North Atlantic. After sinking the battlecruiser HMS Hood off Iceland, she was eventually cornered by the Royal Navy in the Bay of Biscay and sunk herself. A major breakthrough came when a naval Enigma code machine was captured from the U-boat U-110. With the attack by Hitler on Russia in June, convoys began to be sent up the coast of Norway to the northern ports of Murmansk and Archangel, carrying war material to support the struggling Soviets. December 1941 saw the war become a truly global conflict, with the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Indonesia bringing the United States into the war. Using many rarely seen images, Phil Carradice tells the story of 1941: The War at Sea.

Phil Carradice's account of growing up in Pembrokeshire after the Second World War ended.

The four years between 1914 and 1918 saw an incredible growth in air power. Beginning with the flimsy early aircraft, seemingly held together just by string and fabric, the author paints a picture of a bygone era when nobody knew quite what could be achieved, or how aircraft could be used. From the early years of the First World War, when men took to the air without guns or parachutes, to the final stage of the conflict when huge, streamlined aeroplane fleets dominated the skies, this is a story of courage and dedication, of sudden death and public adulation for men whose life expectancy was measured in days rather than months. This book is an account of how the development of aerial warfare took place. Drawing on much original material such as diaries and combat reports, it charts the growth of air power during the war years. Original photographs and artwork add to the atmosphere of the time. The air aces, the castor oil and the sudden rattle of machine guns, the Dawn Patrol, Zeppelin raids, dogfights and acts of supreme valour are all here. In wonderful detail, this is the story of how brave young airmen took their lives in their hands and pushed the boundaries of courage and knowledge to the limits.

Herbert Williams is one of Wales' most celebrated and distinguished writers. A man of many talents, he is a poet, novelist, short story writer and historian. This book provides a critical survey of his life and writing. It is a combination of biography and critical appraisal and the chapters dovetail together to provide a continuous narrative combined with an appreciation of the man's work. It includes the following areas or elements: Biographical information, taking Herbert from his beginnings in Aberystwyth to the present day. It follows the man from his school days to early work as a journalist, from his time as a Producer at the BBC to his achievements as a poet and prose writer.It looks at the significant influences on his life - and, therefore, on his writing. These include his early days in a working-class house dominated by books with a father who actively encouraged him to read. These influences also include the writers who inspired him and his early attempts at finding his own voice, as well as Herbert's time in Bronllys Hospital, as a fifteen year old TB patient and the death of a younger brother from TB were pivotal moments in his life. They have influenced, in one way or another, almost everything he has written or spoken about since those traumatic days.The book examines in some detail the effect of these experiences on his development as a writer and as a man. It presents an analysis of the many elements of Herbert's creative life. He has always been an eclectic writer, turning his hand to biography and short stories as easily as he does to poetry. What inspires and drives Herbert Williams to keep writing and publishing, in such a wide sphere. What makes him want to communicate his ideas and emotions, often very painful ones at that?

Offers information needed to teach a course on decision making at various age levels. This title provides a menu of stories related to the real life experiences of the young people. It includes teacher notes, which indicate 'stopping points' where reflection and discussion is encouraged.