Dieser Autor schöpft aus einem reichen Fundus an vielfältigen Erfahrungen – von der Arbeit als Putzhelfer und Ferienlager-Mitarbeiter über Eisverkäufer bis hin zum Pub-Besitzer – und bringt so eine einzigartige Perspektive in seine Schriften ein. Sein umfangreiches Werk, das über fünfzig veröffentlichte Bücher umfasst, befasst sich oft mit erzählender Sachliteratur und populärer Geschichte, wobei er geschickt Elemente aus seiner abwechslungsreichen Karriere einfließen lässt. Über faktische Berichte hinaus erstrecken sich seine literarischen Bemühungen auch auf Romane, Thriller, Drehbücher und sogar Musical-Theaterstücke. Diese Bandbreite an Erfahrungen ermöglicht es ihm, fesselnde Erzählungen zu schaffen, die bei den Lesern Anklang finden und eine unverwechselbare Stimme in der zeitgenössischen Literatur zeigen.
The True Story of $100 Million in Lost Russian Gold -and One Man's Lifelong Quest to Recover It Keith Jessop and Neil Hanson "Outstanding, inspiring, and beautifully told. No true tale of the sea makes better reading."-Clive Cussler Here is the true tale of a small-time salvage diver, the crushing depths of the sea, and the richest prize ever found-$100 million in pure gold. Follow salvage diver Keith Jessop as he battles nature, governments, traitors, salvage monopolies, and, of course, lawyers to claim the grand prize of wrecks-the HMS Edinburgh. Filled with ten tons of Russian gold, the ship had been sought by many, but never found. Through unyielding determination, extraordinary physical prowess, and keen intelligence, Keith Jessop risks all to reach his final destination, and keeps readers on the edge of their seats.
If the story that struck the Grand Banks off Newfoundland in October 1991 was The Perfect Storm, the fire that destroyed London in September 1666 was The Perfect Fire. A fire needs only three things: a spark to ignite it, and the fuel and oxygen to feed it. In 1666, a ten-month drought had turned London into a tinderbox. The older parts of the city were almost entirely composed of wood-frame buildings and shanties. The riverside wharves were stack with wood, coal, oil, tallow, hemp, pitch, brandy, and almost very other combustible material known to seventeenth century man. On 2 September 1666, London ignited. Over the next five days the gale blew without interruption and the resulting firestorm destroyed the whole city. THE DREADFUL JUDGEMENT tells the true, human story of the Great Fire of London through the eyes of the individuals caught up in it. It is a historical story combining modern knowledge of the physics of fire, forensics and arson investigation with the moving eye-witness accounts to produce a searing depiction of the terrible reality of the Great Fire of London and its impact on those who lived through it.
'Continual, destruction in the foretop, the pox above board, the plague between decks, hell in the forecastle and the devil at the helm.' It is the summer of 1588, and the fate and future of England hangs in the balance. Obsessed by the dream of reclaiming England for the Catholic Church - and adding another country to his sprawling dominions - Philip II of Spain has assembled a fleet of huge, castle-crowned galleons that stretches for miles across the face of the ocean. In wait in the Netherlands lies a battle-hardened Spanish army, ferocious professionals with a taste for rape, looting and atrocity. Across the Channel the English are scraping together bands of barely trained men, many armed only with scythes, stakes or longbows. Great warning beacons stand all along the coast of England; torches and kindling lie to hand. Watchmen strain their eyes to see over the horizon. Their only hope lies in the English Navy. But Philip's Armada is doomed before it even leaves port. As soon as it engages with the English fleet, its shortcomings are clear in the face of superior tactics and firepower. Its hulls shot through with cannon fire, its men dying in thousands from wounds and disease, the mightiest fleet ever assembled is mercilessly harried into fleeing north, at the mercy of the elements. Over forty Spanish ships are wrecked on the Irish coast; survivors crawling ashore have their throats slit and their purses ransacked. The dream of subduing the Protestant English lies in tatters. A triumphant combination of historical detail and storytelling flair, THE CONFIDENT HOPE OF A MIRACLE draws on undiscovered and little known personal papers and records to tell the epic story of the Spanish Armada in all its scope. No book has ever conveyed in such vivid, living detail how kings, queens and courtiers, sea captains, deckhands and galley slaves, the highest and the lowest in the land, fared in those turbulent months as the fate of England teetered on the brink.
