Best known for postmodernist fiction like 'The Name of the Rose', Umberto Eco, the Sherlock Holmes of semiotics, is constantly blurring the boundaries between high and low culture. Here we see football as a metaphor, a motif and a vehicle for interpreting the human fascination with ideals.
Roland Barthes' experience of Japan, a morass of signs where appearance and reality intermingle, led him to move from linguistic semiology to a much broader critical enquiry into the field of mass media and popular culture. Do we inhabit today an 'empire of signs'?
Northern Ireland, 1975. Violence has erupted on the streets of Belfast. After years as a sleepy guerilla army, the IRA is clashing with Loyalist gangs and heavily armed British soldiers. But the Troubles have spilled beyond the small island: An ocean away, in the heart of Philadelphia's Irish enclave, a teenage girl finds a letter in her mailbox. Inside is a bullet, and the message is clear: The next one is for you.
From New York Times reporter and Pulitzer finalist Ali Watkins, this true-crime saga is the long-buried story of how a group of Philadelphia gunrunners armed the IRA at the height of the Troubles. A ragtag band of carpenters, family men and fugitives, the Philadelphia Five, as they came to be known, banded together, bolstering the fight for a united Ireland but fuelling the Troubles at an untold cost.
This small group of Irish nationalists smuggled hundreds of rifles, rocket launchers, explosives and armour-piercing bullets across the Atlantic Ocean and into Northern Ireland. Whether they were skimming money from innocuous-seeming charities, coolly slipping weapons into hidden compartments of vans and houses, or scouring local graveyards for the names of dead Irishmen to use on firearm forms, the gunrunners approached their mission -to unite Ireland under one flag, by any means necessary -with ruthless poise, even as investigators closed in, members of their own movement began to turn on them, and bodies stacked up on all sides.
A gripping tale of crime, rebellion and the hazy line between them, The Next One Is for You is the definitive account of America's hand in the Troubles – a conflict whose resonance is still felt on both sides of the Atlantic today.
The outbreak of the First World War was ‘a drama never surpassed’.
One hundred years later, the characters still seem larger than life: Archduke Franz Ferdinand, brooding heir to the Habsburg throne; the fanatical Bosnian Serb assassins who plot to murder him; Conrad and Berchtold, the Austrians who exploit the outrage; Kaiser Wilhelm and Bethmann Hollweg, backing up the Austrians; Sazonov, Russian Foreign Minister, trying to live down a reputation for cowardice; Poincaré and Paléologue, two French statesmen who urge on the Russians; and not least Winston Churchill, who, alone among Cabinet officials in London, perceives the seriousness of the situation in time to take action.
July 1914 tells the story of Europe’s countdown to war through the eyes of these men, between the bloody opening act on 28 June 1914 and Britain’s final plunge on 4 August, which turned a European conflict into a world war. The outbreak of war was no accident of fate. Individual statesmen, pursuing real objectives, conjured up the conflict – in some cases by conscious intention. While some sought honourably to defuse tensions, others all but oozed with malice as they rigged the decks for war.
Dramatic, inevitably tense and almost forensically observed, Sean McMeekin’s unique book retells the story of that cataclysmic month, making clear as never before who was responsible for the catastrophe. You will never think the same way again about the origins of the First World War.
The outbreak of the First World War was ‘a drama never surpassed’.
One hundred years later, the characters still seem larger than life: Archduke Franz Ferdinand, brooding heir to the Habsburg throne; the fanatical Bosnian Serb assassins who plot to murder him; Conrad and Berchtold, the Austrians who exploit the outrage; Kaiser Wilhelm and Bethmann Hollweg, backing up the Austrians; Sazonov, Russian Foreign Minister, trying to live down a reputation for cowardice; Poincaré and Paléologue, two French statesmen who urge on the Russians; and not least Winston Churchill, who, alone among Cabinet officials in London, perceives the seriousness of the situation in time to take action.
July 1914 tells the story of Europe’s countdown to war through the eyes of these men, between the bloody opening act on 28 June 1914 and Britain’s final plunge on 4 August, which turned a European conflict into a world war. The outbreak of war was no accident of fate. Individual statesmen, pursuing real objectives, conjured up the conflict – in some cases by conscious intention. While some sought honourably to defuse tensions, others all but oozed with malice as they rigged the decks for war.
Dramatic, inevitably tense and almost forensically observed, Sean McMeekin’s unique book retells the story of that cataclysmic month, making clear as never before who was responsible for the catastrophe. You will never think the same way again about the origins of the First World War.
The outbreak of the First World War was ‘a drama never surpassed’.
One hundred years later, the characters still seem larger than life: Archduke Franz Ferdinand, brooding heir to the Habsburg throne; the fanatical Bosnian Serb assassins who plot to murder him; Conrad and Berchtold, the Austrians who exploit the outrage; Kaiser Wilhelm and Bethmann Hollweg, backing up the Austrians; Sazonov, Russian Foreign Minister, trying to live down a reputation for cowardice; Poincaré and Paléologue, two French statesmen who urge on the Russians; and not least Winston Churchill, who, alone among Cabinet officials in London, perceives the seriousness of the situation in time to take action.
July 1914 tells the story of Europe’s countdown to war through the eyes of these men, between the bloody opening act on 28 June 1914 and Britain’s final plunge on 4 August, which turned a European conflict into a world war. The outbreak of war was no accident of fate. Individual statesmen, pursuing real objectives, conjured up the conflict – in some cases by conscious intention. While some sought honourably to defuse tensions, others all but oozed with malice as they rigged the decks for war.
Dramatic, inevitably tense and almost forensically observed, Sean McMeekin’s unique book retells the story of that cataclysmic month, making clear as never before who was responsible for the catastrophe. You will never think the same way again about the origins of the First World War.
'The story of a lesser known – but perhaps the greatest – escape of Second World War prisoners has been told in a new book.' The Scotsman
'This is undeniably history as it should be told and a thundering good read.' History of War Magazine
Oflag VI-B, Warburg, Germany: On the night of 30 August 1942 – ‘Zero Night’ – 40 officers from Britain, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa staged the most audacious mass escape of the Second World War.
It was the first ‘Great Escape’ – but instead of tunnelling, the escapers boldly went over the huge perimeter fences using wooden scaling contraptions. This was the notorious ‘Warburg Wire Job’, described by fellow prisoner and fighter ace Douglas Bader as ‘the most brilliant escape conception of this war’.
Months of meticulous planning and secret training hung in the balance during three minutes of mayhem as prisoners charged the camp’s double perimeter fences.
Telling this remarkable story in full for the first time, historian Mark Felton brilliantly evokes the suspense of the escape itself and the adventures of those who eluded the Germans, as well as the courage of the civilians who risked their lives to help them in enemy territory. Fantastically intimate and told with a novelist’s eye for drama and detail, this is a rip-roaring adventure story, all the more thrilling for being true.
The story of the greatest escape of World War II has been told for the first time.
The audacious breakout saw dozens of Allied prisoners of war scale the wire at a camp deep in Nazi Germany using four huge ladders they had made and disguised as bookshelves.
During the breakout 32 prisoners got out and legendary pilot Douglas Bader, who was a prisoner in Oflag VI-B camp near Warburg, described it as the most daring escape of the war.
'The story of a lesser known – but perhaps the greatest – escape of Second World War prisoners has been told in a new book.' The Scotsman
'This is undeniably history as it should be told and a thundering good read.' History of War Magazine
Oflag VI-B, Warburg, Germany: On the night of 30 August 1942 – ‘Zero Night’ – 40 officers from Britain, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa staged the most audacious mass escape of the Second World War.
It was the first ‘Great Escape’ – but instead of tunnelling, the escapers boldly went over the huge perimeter fences using wooden scaling contraptions. This was the notorious ‘Warburg Wire Job’, described by fellow prisoner and fighter ace Douglas Bader as ‘the most brilliant escape conception of this war’.
Months of meticulous planning and secret training hung in the balance during three minutes of mayhem as prisoners charged the camp’s double perimeter fences.
Telling this remarkable story in full for the first time, historian Mark Felton brilliantly evokes the suspense of the escape itself and the adventures of those who eluded the Germans, as well as the courage of the civilians who risked their lives to help them in enemy territory. Fantastically intimate and told with a novelist’s eye for drama and detail, this is a rip-roaring adventure story, all the more thrilling for being true.
The story of the greatest escape of World War II has been told for the first time.
The audacious breakout saw dozens of Allied prisoners of war scale the wire at a camp deep in Nazi Germany using four huge ladders they had made and disguised as bookshelves.
During the breakout 32 prisoners got out and legendary pilot Douglas Bader, who was a prisoner in Oflag VI-B camp near Warburg, described it as the most daring escape of the war.
'The story of a lesser known – but perhaps the greatest – escape of Second World War prisoners has been told in a new book.' The Scotsman
'This is undeniably history as it should be told and a thundering good read.' History of War Magazine
Oflag VI-B, Warburg, Germany: On the night of 30 August 1942 – ‘Zero Night’ – 40 officers from Britain, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa staged the most audacious mass escape of the Second World War.
It was the first ‘Great Escape’ – but instead of tunnelling, the escapers boldly went over the huge perimeter fences using wooden scaling contraptions. This was the notorious ‘Warburg Wire Job’, described by fellow prisoner and fighter ace Douglas Bader as ‘the most brilliant escape conception of this war’.
Months of meticulous planning and secret training hung in the balance during three minutes of mayhem as prisoners charged the camp’s double perimeter fences.
Telling this remarkable story in full for the first time, historian Mark Felton brilliantly evokes the suspense of the escape itself and the adventures of those who eluded the Germans, as well as the courage of the civilians who risked their lives to help them in enemy territory. Fantastically intimate and told with a novelist’s eye for drama and detail, this is a rip-roaring adventure story, all the more thrilling for being true.
The story of the greatest escape of World War II has been told for the first time.
The audacious breakout saw dozens of Allied prisoners of war scale the wire at a camp deep in Nazi Germany using four huge ladders they had made and disguised as bookshelves.
During the breakout 32 prisoners got out and legendary pilot Douglas Bader, who was a prisoner in Oflag VI-B camp near Warburg, described it as the most daring escape of the war.
'The story of a lesser known – but perhaps the greatest – escape of Second World War prisoners has been told in a new book.' The Scotsman
'This is undeniably history as it should be told and a thundering good read.' History of War Magazine
Oflag VI-B, Warburg, Germany: On the night of 30 August 1942 – ‘Zero Night’ – 40 officers from Britain, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa staged the most audacious mass escape of the Second World War.
It was the first ‘Great Escape’ – but instead of tunnelling, the escapers boldly went over the huge perimeter fences using wooden scaling contraptions. This was the notorious ‘Warburg Wire Job’, described by fellow prisoner and fighter ace Douglas Bader as ‘the most brilliant escape conception of this war’.
Months of meticulous planning and secret training hung in the balance during three minutes of mayhem as prisoners charged the camp’s double perimeter fences.
Telling this remarkable story in full for the first time, historian Mark Felton brilliantly evokes the suspense of the escape itself and the adventures of those who eluded the Germans, as well as the courage of the civilians who risked their lives to help them in enemy territory. Fantastically intimate and told with a novelist’s eye for drama and detail, this is a rip-roaring adventure story, all the more thrilling for being true.
The story of the greatest escape of World War II has been told for the first time.
The audacious breakout saw dozens of Allied prisoners of war scale the wire at a camp deep in Nazi Germany using four huge ladders they had made and disguised as bookshelves.
During the breakout 32 prisoners got out and legendary pilot Douglas Bader, who was a prisoner in Oflag VI-B camp near Warburg, described it as the most daring escape of the war.
July 1945. Eighteen young British, Australian and New Zealand special forces from a top-secret underwater warfare unit prepare to undertake three audacious missions against the Japanese.
Using XE-craft midget submarines, the raiders will creep deep behind Japanese lines to sink two huge warships off Singapore and sever two vitally important undersea communications cables. Success will hasten ultimate victory over Japan; but if any of the men are captured they can expect a gruesome execution.
Can the Sea Devils overcome Japanese defences, mechanical failures, oxygen poisoning and submarine disasters to fulfil their missions? Mark Felton tells the true story of a band of young men living on raw courage, nerves and adrenalin as they attempt to pull off what could be the last great raid of World War Two.
July 1945. Eighteen young British, Australian and New Zealand special forces from a top-secret underwater warfare unit prepare to undertake three audacious missions against the Japanese.
Using XE-craft midget submarines, the raiders will creep deep behind Japanese lines to sink two huge warships off Singapore and sever two vitally important undersea communications cables. Success will hasten ultimate victory over Japan; but if any of the men are captured they can expect a gruesome execution.
Can the Sea Devils overcome Japanese defences, mechanical failures, oxygen poisoning and submarine disasters to fulfil their missions? Mark Felton tells the true story of a band of young men living on raw courage, nerves and adrenalin as they attempt to pull off what could be the last great raid of World War Two.
Valtesse de la Bigne was a celebrated nineteenth-century Parisian courtesan. She was painted by Manet and inspired Emile Zola, who immortalised her in his scandalous novel Nana. Her rumoured affairs with Napoleon III and the future Edward VII kept gossip columns full.
But her glamourous existence hid a dark secret: she was no Comtesse. She was born into abject poverty, raised on a squalid Paris backstreet; the lowest of the low. Yet she transformed herself into an enchantress who possessed a small fortune, three mansions, fabulous carriages, and art the envy of connoisseurs across Europe. A consummate show-woman, she ensured that her life – and even her death – remained shrouded in just enough mystery to keep her audience hungry for more.
Catherine Hewitt’s biography tells, for the first time ever in English, the forgotten story of a remarkable woman who, though her roots were lowly, never stopped aiming high.
Valtesse de la Bigne was a celebrated nineteenth-century Parisian courtesan. She was painted by Manet and inspired Emile Zola, who immortalised her in his scandalous novel Nana. Her rumoured affairs with Napoleon III and the future Edward VII kept gossip columns full.
But her glamourous existence hid a dark secret: she was no Comtesse. She was born into abject poverty, raised on a squalid Paris backstreet; the lowest of the low. Yet she transformed herself into an enchantress who possessed a small fortune, three mansions, fabulous carriages, and art the envy of connoisseurs across Europe. A consummate show-woman, she ensured that her life – and even her death – remained shrouded in just enough mystery to keep her audience hungry for more.
Catherine Hewitt’s biography tells, for the first time ever in English, the forgotten story of a remarkable woman who, though her roots were lowly, never stopped aiming high.
Valtesse de la Bigne was a celebrated nineteenth-century Parisian courtesan. She was painted by Manet and inspired Emile Zola, who immortalised her in his scandalous novel Nana. Her rumoured affairs with Napoleon III and the future Edward VII kept gossip columns full.
But her glamourous existence hid a dark secret: she was no Comtesse. She was born into abject poverty, raised on a squalid Paris backstreet; the lowest of the low. Yet she transformed herself into an enchantress who possessed a small fortune, three mansions, fabulous carriages, and art the envy of connoisseurs across Europe. A consummate show-woman, she ensured that her life – and even her death – remained shrouded in just enough mystery to keep her audience hungry for more.
Catherine Hewitt’s biography tells, for the first time ever in English, the forgotten story of a remarkable woman who, though her roots were lowly, never stopped aiming high.
July 1945. Eighteen young British, Australian and New Zealand special forces from a top-secret underwater warfare unit prepare to undertake three audacious missions against the Japanese.
Using XE-craft midget submarines, the raiders will creep deep behind Japanese lines to sink two huge warships off Singapore and sever two vitally important undersea communications cables. Success will hasten ultimate victory over Japan; but if any of the men are captured they can expect a gruesome execution.
Can the Sea Devils overcome Japanese defences, mechanical failures, oxygen poisoning and submarine disasters to fulfil their missions? Mark Felton tells the true story of a band of young men living on raw courage, nerves and adrenalin as they attempt to pull off what could be the last great raid of World War Two.
'Keeps up the suspense to the end.' The Times Literary Supplement
'An extraordinary, and largely forgotten wartime story — brought back to life in this Boys' Own account.' The Daily Mail
High in the Tuscan hills above Florence, an elaborate medieval castle, converted to a POW camp on Mussolini’s personal orders, holds one of the most illustrious groups of prisoners in the history of warfare.
The dozen or so British and Commonwealth senior officers includes three knights of the realm and two VCs. The youngest of them is 48, the oldest 63. One is missing a hand and an eye. Another suffers with a gammy hip. Against insuperable odds, these extraordinary middle-aged POWs plan a series of daring escape attempts, culminating in a complex tunnel deep beneath the castle.
One rainswept night in March 1943, six men will burst from the earth beyond the castle’s curtain wall and slip away. By assorted means, the three Brits, two New Zealanders and a half-Belgian aristocrat will attempt to make it to neutral Switzerland, over 200 miles away.
Mark Felton has written over a dozen books on World War Two, including most recently, Castle of the Eagles, The Sea Devils and Zero Night, an account of a mass POW escape, described as ‘a thundering good read’ by History of War magazine. His Japan’s Gestapo was named ‘Best Book of 2009’ by the Japan Times. He also writes regularly for publications including Military History Monthly and World War II. After a decade spent working in Shanghai, he now lives in Colchester. Visit markfelton.co.uk.
