Search Results for: true story

From Aristotle’s pioneering research into animal biology to Harvey’s theory of the circulation of the blood; from Copernicus’s theory of the heliocentric universe to Carl Sagan’s speculations on extraterrestrial life; and from Einstein’s theory of Relativity to Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, Eureka! condenses the essential biographies and principal discoveries of the world’s most important scientists
into 300 bite-sized entries.

Spanning the full spectrum of scientific disciplines – including physics, biology, earth science, cosmology, chemistry, archaeology and behavioural science – this book is the perfect introduction to the pioneering work of scientists throughout the ages.

What do the rich and famous really get up to behind closed doors? When does sexual passion become sordid perversion? Who are history’s most shocking deviants and what are their sex secrets? The pages of this book reveal 45 shocking, scandalous – and often disturbing – stories of promiscuity and sexual perversion throughout the ages. Uncovered here are the orgies of Cleopatra and the incest of the Romans; the darkest fantasies of Michelangelo and the gross indecencies of the Marquis de Sade; as well as the insatiable desires of Rasputin, the degrading fetishes of Adolf Hitler, the unashamed exhibitionism of Tallulah Bankhead and the dirty thrills of Elvis Presley. ‘Sordid Sex Lives’ offers an insight into the shocking practices in which so many famous men and women have participated in. What motivates these sexual desires? Were they ever considered ‘normal’? And what happened to those whose filthy secrets were found out? Bursting with real-life accounts, this is the most explicit and shocking account of the sex lives of history’s most notorious characters.

The Borgias have become a byword for pride, lust, cruelty, avarice, splendour and venomous intrigue. An inspiration for many works of fiction, most famously Mario Puzo’s The Godfather, they have aroused abomination and fascination in almost equal measure, while their patronage of the arts created some of the great masterpieces of the Renaissance. 

From the powerful, merciless Rodrigo Borgia, better known as Pope Alexander VI, to the beautiful Lucrezia and the debauched and murderous Cesare, Mary Hollingsworth’s account of the dynasty’s dramatic rise from its Spanish roots to the heights of Renaissance society forms a compelling tale of brutality, incest, unparalleled corruption and extortionate greed.

‘Adam Gopnik has taken a coincidence and turned it into a theory of everything, or at least of everything important … Outstanding’ – Andrew Marr

On February 12th, 1809, two men were born an ocean apart: Abraham Lincoln in a one-room Kentucky log cabin; Charles Darwin on an English country estate. Each would see his life’s work transform mankind’s understanding of itself. In this bicentennial twin portrait, Adam Gopnik shows how these two giants, who never met, changed the way we think about the very nature of existence, and that their great achievements proceeded from the same source: argument from reason. The revolutions they effected shaped the world we live in, while the intellectual heritage and method that informed their parallel lives has profound implications for our present age.
Filled with little-known stories and unfamiliar characters, Angels and Ages reveals these men in a new, shared light, and provides a fascinating insight into the origins of our modern vision and liberal values.

Across the UK, into Europe and further afield, these are the training rides, races and journeys closest to his heart. From one-day classics in the Peak District and Snowdonia to the rolling roads of Tuscany and the wide-open vistas of New Zealand’s South Island, these are the routes you’ll want to ride alongside Britain’s favourite cycling superstar.

We ride out with him from his winter home in the south of France, and around his old Tuscan training base as a GB Olympic hopeful at the very start of his career. We take in the valley roads of the Tour de Suisse (overall winner, 2022), and the sinuous coastal roads of Milan – San Remo.

We go long in Mallorca and bounce along the short cobbled secteurs of Belgium; we take in the vineyards around Adelaide and the bright blue skies of southern California.

And we have guest rides too: from world champion Remco Evenepoel and his favourite winter training ride in Calpe, Spain; around Yorkshire, with Olympic mountain bike champion, world cyclo-cross champion and newly crowned winner of Strade Bianche, Tom Pidcock; in the wilds of western Ireland from champion sprinter Sam Bennett.

Twenty rides, twenty adventures you’ll never forget. All of this in a small-size hardback that can slide just as easily into your hand luggage as the back pocket of your jersey.

In the summer of 1944, the SAS were charged with the most crucial D-Day missions, taking on the might of the Nazi Reich deep behind enemy lines. Facing Hitler’s armoured legions – his fearsome Panzer divisions – with little more than raw courage and their nimble Willys jeeps, it would take maverick thinking and unconventional warfare in the extreme to survive and overcome. Hunted at every turn, theirs would become a bitter struggle to topple the dark power wielded from Berlin.

Increasingly, the war to seize The Fatherland would descend into a bitter and bloody struggle waged between the Nazi Fuhrer, and those he believed hunted him and his most senior commanders – Blair ‘Paddy’ Mayne’s SAS. No greater courage can be written, nor unconventional soldiering envisaged, than that evidenced by these renegade warriors as they dared all to bring the war to its final blood-soaked close.

An autobiography from golf’s freshest, most individual voice

Ian Poulter is one of golf’s most charismatic figures, with an appeal extending way beyond his sport. Here he tells his inspirational story, from his early rejection as an Spurs youth player, right through to his match-winning contributions to successive European Ryder Cup Triumphs.

Poulter went from an Assistant Professional staffing the club shop to a global superstar, turning pro when he still had a handicap of 4 but the drive and self-belief to make it to the top.

His infectious optimism, will power and flair have ensured he remains one of the biggest names on the tour. As well as insights into the crucial moments in his career, and the life of a professional golfer, he talks about his passions outside the game, including his own riotous brand of clothing. Just as Poulter’s appearance on the scene came as a refreshing antidote to a sport that was staid and stuffy, so his own book is as forthright and passionate as Poults himself.

‘The Night Manager meets Narcos‘ Saul David

‘To catch this criminal took incredible courage and skill. This is James Bond meets Jason Bourne’ Bear Grylls

‘This is the book that warned us years before the Ukraine invasion about the power and reach of Moscow’s Merchants of Death… Should be on the bookshelf of every Western anti-narcotics officer and not a few spies. No cliché this time – this is truth which really does trump fiction’ Euan Grant, UK former intelligence analyst for ex-Soviet states.

Russian billionaire Viktor Bout was the world’s foremost arms dealer. Known as the ‘Merchant of Death’ he was both “Public Enemy No. 1” to the global intelligence agencies who hunted him and a ruthless criminal worth a fortune. He was also a former KGB officer and a tool of the Kremlin.

For decades Bout had eluded capture, building up a labyrinthine network of airlines rushing weapons to dictators, rebels, despots and terror groups worldwide. An enemy of the free nations of the world and a top global sanctions buster, Bout was hunted by MI6, INTERPOL, the CIA, the NSA and more. Holed up in Moscow – from where he masterminded the sale of anything from AK47s to state-of-the-art helicopter gunships and anti-aircraft missiles – he was shielded by a Russian state that was a partner in his dark dealings. In short, Bout appeared utterly invulnerable and beyond hope of capture.

Step forward former SAS man Mike Snow, AKA ‘The Bear’. After serving in the world’s most famous special forces unit, Snow had worked as a bush pilot in war-torn Africa, where he’d got to know Bout well. Via a secretive, shadow network, Snow was approached by the US Drugs Enforcement Agency. The DEA agents had one question for him: was Snow able to get Bout – the Lord of War?

This is the incredible tale of OPERATION RELENTLESS, the top-secret mission masterminded by Snow and a handful of DEA operatives – a manhunt that ranges from the steamy jungles of Colombia to the ice-bound streets of Moscow, and from horrific bloodshed and tyranny in Afghanistan to a snatch operation like no other. Based upon the first hand testimonies of those who were there, award-winning author Damien Lewis reveals a story that reads like an impossible thriller, but every word is true

A revelatory memoir from Liverpool legend and global football star Bobby Firmino.

Master of the no-look goal and Anfield favourite, Roberto ‘Bobby’ Firmino, signed for Liverpool in July 2015. Over the next eight years – and seven winners’ medals – he established himself as one of the club’s most important players in recent years for his audacious skill, impressive goal scoring, and beaming smile.

Jürgen Klopp saw Firmino as the on-pitch ‘engine’ that drove the club’s counter-pressing strategy and together with Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané, Firmino formed a formidable attacking trio. The Kop rewarded Roberto with the ultimate accolade – his own song: ‘Sí, Señor, give the ball to Bobby and he will score.’

Sí, Señor celebrates Firmino’s cherished years in a red shirt and will remind fans why they fell in love with him in the first place.