The Great Train Robbery of 1963 is one of the most infamous crimes in British history. The bulk of the money stolen (equivalent to over GBP40 million today) has never been recovered & there has not been a single year since 1963 when one aspect of the crime or its participants has not been featured in the media. Despite the wealth & extent of this coverage a host of questions have remained unanswered: Who was behind the robbery? Was it an inside job? & who got away with the crime of the century? Fifty years of selective falsehood & fantasy has obscured the reality of the story behind the robbery. The fact that a considerable number of the original investigation & prosecution files on those involved & alleged to have been involved were closed in many cases until 2045 has only served to muddy the waters still further. Now through Freedom of Information requests & the exclusive opening of many of these files Andrew Cook reveals a new picture of the crime & its investigation that at last provides answers to many of these questions. ...

In the early hours of Thursday 8th August 1963 at rural Cheddington in Buckinghamshire GBP2.6 million (GBP50 million today) in unmarked GBP5 GBP1 & 10-shilling notes was stolen from the Glasgow to London nightmail train in a daring & brilliantly executed operation lasting just 46 minutes. Quickly dubbed the crime of the century it has captured the imagination of the public & the world's media for 50 years taking its place in British folklore & giving birth to the myths of The Great Train Robbery. Ronnie Biggs Buster Edwards & Bruce Reynolds became household names. But what really happened? This is the story of four talented villains who took the criminal world by storm of the 'perfect crime'. It is also the story of ruthless policemen determined to hunt the robbers down & to make sure nobody slipped through the net not even the innocent. It is the story of an Establishment under siege & of one mistake which cost the robbers 307 years in prison. Fifty years later here is the story set out in full for the first time a true-life crime thriller & also a vivid slice of British social history. ...

The Great Trees of London" brings together over 60 trees around the capital that have achieved Great Tree status
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The Great Vegetable Plot is Sarah Ravens guide to growing vegetables for all keen cooks & any level of gardener. In it she demonstrates how to plan & plant your plot recommends the best vegetables to grow & eat & gives clear instructions on how to cultivate them using minimum input to get maximum reward. Divided into 3 sections the book shows you what & what not to grow & the basic principles & techniques to help you achieve this. A landmark Gardeners World book it brings the principles of simplicity & speed to the vegetable plot as well as including delicious food pictures to illustrate why its worth growing your own. Illustrated with over 250 photographs by the award-winning photographer Jonathan Buckley the book is a stylish & practical guide to vegetable gardening & a companion volume to Sarahs previous title Grow Your Own Cut Flowers. ...

The perfect companion to Bradshaws guide book. Showcasing in colour all that is great about Bradshaws guide. Great British Railway Journeys has been a hugely successful TV programme which is now into its third series on BBC2. Much as Michael Palin built up a dedicated fan base for travel around the globe so Michael Portillo has done likewise for lovers of trains in his explorations the length & breadth of the United Kingdom from the window of a train seat. Both charming & insightful Michael again uses Bradshaws guides & now undertakes five unique journeys that were constructed by the Victorians from 1830-1900. Across 25 episodes he delves into this fascinating & colourful period of our history & show how the modern British landscape was created from this Victorian legacy. From Windsor to Weymouth Great Yarmouth to London Oxford to Milford Haven Berwick to Barrow & finally Dublin to Belfast -- Michael will go back in time to showcase areas of outstanding Victorian engineering & design across Queen Victorias dominions. Key parts of the programme & tie-in book will showcase how the worlds very first fixed-track train in Merthyr Tydfil operated; how the worlds first electric train service ran in Southend to its famous pier; & he also celebrates the wide variety of lines that opened up trade & mobility to the Victorian classes. Travelling on a variety of existing & in some cases restored Victorian train lines he meets their passionate supporters who lovingly work on them & also looks at the modern landscape to tell the story of how each area was shaped by their Victorian forebears. Lavishly produced this will once again be a must have purchase for all train lovers as well as those who simply want to find out their heritage & what is now available to view & travel upon in the 21st century to transport them back in time. ...

Drawing directly on original manuscripts this collection comprises the major short stories published after Kafkas death. It



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Almost a century on interest in The Great War could be expected to have faded & died; after all the last who fought in it have passed on. Yet indisputably interest is increasing not falling. Families seek their own connection both with ancestors who fought & all too often died & with those at home who had to live & cope with unimaginable losses. This book which sets out to fill a gap is written for the layman who may have some knowledge about the Great War of 1914-18 but who wants to know more. It is a story not a history. It is a guide but not a guidebook. It is a story about people but not a biography. It is well nigh impossible to visualise 20 000 men dying in a day on the Somme but it is possible to look at the individual stories that come together to make up such a tragedy. Covering vital background information graphic explanations of the conduct of the War & vivid personal testimonies The Great War Explained offers a highly readable way of gaining a better understanding of this most dramatic period of World history. ...

Robert Fisks bestselling eyewitness account of the events that have shaped the Middle East is alive with vivid reporting & incisive historical analysis. The history of the Middle East is an epic story of tragedy betrayal & world-shaking events. It is a story that Robert Fisk has been reporting for over thirty years. His masterful narrative spans the most volatile regions of the Middle East chronicling with both rage & compassion the death by deceit of tens of thousands of Muslims Christians & Jews. Robert Fisks remarkable history is also the tale of a journalist at war -- learning of the 9/11 attacks while aboard a passenger jet reporting from a bombed-out Baghdad interviewing Osama bin Laden -- & of the courage & frustration of a life spent writing the first draft of history. ...

The world's first ever battle tank receives the Haynes Manual treatment & its centrepiece is the most prolific British tank of the Great War
- the Tank Mk IV. World authority David Fletcher looks at the anatomy construction & operation of the Mk IV (including rare contemporary eyewitness descriptions) as well as giving fascinating insights into the maintenance & restoration of these historic armoured fighting vehicles. Individual preserved Great War tanks that feature in the manual include Flirt II the Ashford Tank Lodestar III Excellent & Deborah.
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This is a masterful history of the First World War covering all areas & explaining the technology & tactics that determined its course. The Great War was the first truly global conflict & it changed the course of world history. Empires fell others were crippled & new contenders emerged. Economies crashed & millions would be affected by the Depression that followed. Understanding The Great War is crucial to understanding the history of the twentieth century & the present day. In this magnum opus critically-acclaimed historian Peter Hart examines the conflict in every arena around the world in a history that combines cutting edge scholarship with vivid & unfamiliar eyewitness accounts from kings & generals & ordinary soldiers. He focuses in particular on explaining how technology & tactics developed during the conflict
- & determined which battles were crucial to its outcome. Combatants from every corner of Earth joined the fray but their voices are rarely heard together. This is a major history of the conflict whose 100th anniversary is fast approaching.
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