Chiselbury publishing jul 2026 (9 Ergebnisse)

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - Robert Gunn has built one of the Far East's greatest trading empires by seeing opportunities where others saw only risk. Now, as steam replaces sail and coal becomes as valuable as gold, he is convinced that one last discovery will secure both his legacy and Britain's future in Asia.His search leads to the remote island of Jade Gate, off the coast of Borneo, where rumours of vast coal deposits have drawn powerful rivals with ambitions of their own. In a land where fortunes are won by violence and life is cheap, the race to control this priceless resource can have only one winner.As old enemies close in and the stakes become greater than ever before, Robert Gunn must gamble everything he has built in the most dangerous venture of his life.The thrilling conclusion to James Leasor's acclaimedRobert Gunn Trilogy, combining historical authenticity, unforgettable characters and high adventure.…

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - 'A compelling portrait of one of Britain's greatest industrialists and philanthropists.'At sixteen, William Richard Morris began work as a bicycle repairer in a small Oxford workshop. Through determination, ingenuity and relentless hard work, he built the Morris Motor Company, created the affordable Morris Oxford, and transformed Cowley into the heart of Britain's largest car manufacturer.InWheels to Fortune, James Leasor traces Morris's remarkable rise from humble beginnings to national prominence, exploring the vision behind his famous ambition to build a car ordinary people could afford.Yet Morris's greatest legacy may lie beyond the motor industry. Created Viscount Nuffield, he gave away vast sums during his lifetime, funding organisations that continue to shape British education, healthcare and public life, including Nuffield College, the Nuffield Foundation and Nuffield Health.This is the story of an extraordinary entrepreneur whose influence extended far beyond the factory floor, and whose generosity continues to touch millions of lives today.…

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - One became the architect of an empire. The other its greatest rival. Together they built the diamond industry that changed the world.Born just a year apart, Cecil Rhodes and Barney Barnato could hardly have been more different. Rhodes was the son of a Hertfordshire clergyman; Barnato grew up in London's East End, the child of a Jewish immigrant family. Yet both were drawn to the diamond fields of southern Africa, where ambition and ruthless determination transformed them into two of the richest and most powerful men of the Victorian age.Rhodes was the calculating strategist; Barnato the charismatic showman. Their rivalry reshaped the diamond industry, led to the creation of De Beers, and helped transform southern Africa.Neither man lived to see his fiftieth birthday. In this compelling dual biography, James Leasor traces their parallel rise from obscurity to immense wealth and power, telling the story of two remarkable men whose ambition changed history and whose legacy remains both influential and controversial.…

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - '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. his book is one which everybody interested in the history of British aviation will find worth reading.'The Aeronautical JournalThe R101 was Britain's greatest aviation gamble. The largest airship ever built, it was hailed as the future of long-distance travel, a revolutionary aircraft said to be 'as safe as houses. except for the millionth chance.'On the night of 4 October 1930, that millionth chance arrived.In one of the worst disasters in British aviation history, the R101 crashed in northern France on its maiden voyage to India. Forty-eight people, including the Secretary of State for Air, lost their lives. Only six survived. The catastrophe ended Britain's dream of commercial airships almost overnight.Drawing on meticulous research and eyewitness accounts, James Leasor reconstructs the ambition, political pressure and fatal decisions that lay behind the tragedy. Combining the pace of a thriller with the authority of a historian,The Millionth Chanceis both a moving account of those who perished and a compelling study of how overconfidence, bureaucracy and political interference can turn technological optimism into catastrophe.…

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - Harley Street, London, 1856. Told that he has only a year to live, Robert Gunn, founder of one of the Far East's greatest trading empires, resolves to return to Asia for one final undertaking.His ambition is no longer to build another fortune, but to leave behind a lasting legacy. To succeed, he must confront rival traders, Dutch mercenaries and a fiercely independent people determined to defend their homeland.Most formidable of all is the enigmatic Chinese Widow, a young ruler whose intelligence and resolve prove equal to Gunn's own. As violence, intrigue and betrayal close in, Gunn finds himself fighting not for wealth, but for redemption.Rich in historical detail and sweeping adventure,The Chinese Widowis the compelling second novel in James Leasor's acclaimed Robert Gunn Trilogy.…

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - 'A good story, crisply told'New York TimesFranz von Werra was the only German prisoner of war to escape Allied captivity and make it all the way back to Germany during the Second World War.Shot down over Britain during the Battle of Britain, the charismatic and audacious Luftwaffe fighter ace refused to accept defeat. Captured by the British, he launched a series of increasingly daring escape attempts, frustrating his captors at every turn. His final bid for freedom saw him leap from a moving prisoner train in Canada before embarking on an extraordinary journey through snow and wilderness to the then neutral United States and, ultimately, home.Drawing on von Werra's own account, together with extensive interviews and first-hand testimony from those who pursued, guarded and encountered him, James Leasor reconstructs one of the most remarkable escape stories of the war.First published in 1953,The One That Got Awaywas groundbreaking in its balanced portrayal of both Allied and German participants, helping to establish a new standard for wartime narrative history. It became an international bestseller and was adapted for the screen in 1957, starringHardy Krügeras von Werra.A classic tale of courage, ingenuity and determination, this remains one of the greatest true escape stories ever told.An extraordinary true story of escape, endurance and one man's refusal to remain a prisoner.…

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - Murder, wartime intrigue and high society collide in this gripping investigation into one of the twentieth century's most notorious unsolved crimes. In 1943, Sir Harry Oakes, the self-made millionaire known as the richest man in the Bahamas, was found brutally murdered in his Nassau mansion. The killing shocked wartime society. Oakes appeared to have no obvious enemies and no clear motive for murder could be found. In this compelling reconstruction of the case, James Leasor explores the mystery in extraordinary detail, advancing the provocative theory that Oakes's death may have been linked to events far beyond the Bahamas: the destruction of the liner SS Normandie in New York Harbor in 1942 and even the Allied invasion of Sicily. Part true crime, part wartime conspiracy, Who Killed Sir Harry Oakes remains one of the most fascinating and controversial investigations ever written about the case. In 1989, the book was adapted into the television mini-series Passion and Paradise, starring Armand Assante, Rod Steiger and Mariette Hartley.…

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - What was it really like inside Churchill's War Cabinet during the Second World War Originally published in 1953, War at the Top offers a rare insider account from General Sir Leslie Hollis, who spent nine years at the heart of British power, serving in the Office of the War Cabinet and later as Senior Military Assistant Secretary.Present at meetings in the underground Cabinet War Rooms and at the great Allied conferences of Cairo, Tehran, Yalta and Potsdam, Hollis witnessed first hand the personalities, rivalries and tensions that shaped the course of the war. His account reveals not only the conflicts between the Allies, but also the fierce disagreements within the British leadership itself.Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin, Eisenhower, Montgomery, Alan Brooke and de Gaulle all appear in these pages, portrayed by a man who worked alongside them at the highest level of wartime decision-making.Part memoir, part political and military history, War at the Top is a compelling 'fly on the wall' portrait of leadership in wartime, far removed from the polished certainty of the official histories.…

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - 'Jungle Warrior is a splendid book about a very brave and determined man who, literally, gave his all for King and Country' Field Marshal the Lord Richards The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was created by Winston Churchill in 1940 to 'set Europe ablaze,' but its most significant success occurred in the jungles of Burma, where its guerrilla operations were vital to the reconquest of the country. SOE's greatest commander was Lieutenant Colonel Edgar Peacock.Born in India in 1893, Edgar Peacock missed WWI due to his employment in Burma's Jungles. In 1940, aged 46, he lied about his age and enlisted as a Private, ending the war as a highly decorated special forces Lieutenant Colonel, who had conceived, planned and led the most successful guerrilla operation of WW2. Approximately 130 British officers and NCOs parachuted in, raised about 12,000 indigenous guerrillas and prevented the Japanese from halting General Slim''s advance on Rangoon. Over eight months of intense, continuous, combat in enemy territory, Operation Character accounted for 11,874 Japanese casualties for the loss of 22 British troops. For a period they outperformed the entire British 14th Army!Monsoon rains, scarce supplies, dense mountainous jungle, tigers, snakes, leeches and a determined enemy, all combined to make this an operation like no other. Eminent historian, Richard Duckett, given exclusive access to private family files, has produced an extraordinary biography of an exceptional man, exploring Edgar's truly fascinating life ''warts and all''.…