From the best selling author of Red Herrings & White Elephants, Pop Goes the Weasel, Ten Minute Mysteries and many more...The Mysterious Death of God’s Own Banker - Did Roberto Calvi, head of a bank with close connections to the Vatican, take his own life or was there a more sinister reason why he was found hanging under Blackfriars Bridge?Early in the morning of 18 June 1982, in a scene redolent of a real-life Da Vinci Code, the body of Roberto Calvi, chairman of one of It...

The international bestseller. "Amusing and informative . . . [takes] you on a trip through the most fascinating and richest regions of the English language." —Knutsford Guardian (UK)Mad hatter . . . pie in the sky . . . egg on your face. We use these phrases every day, yet how many of us know what they really mean or where they came from?From bringing home the bacon to leaving no stone unturned, the English languag...

At the end of the 1930s, just as the Second World War was breaking out in Europe, Glen Miller's band introduced America to the new, unique style of brass-band music they had been working on for a number of years. It was a smooth, upbeat sound that struck an instant chord both with the middle-aged and an optimistic youth learning how to jive and swing.Radio stations across America played Glenn Miller records all the time and Hollywood was quick to sign up the new star and his band. ...

That's a Terrible Idea for a BookThe truth is that almost every successful book you have ever read has been repeatedly rejected by publishers who may look back on a missed opportunity. Unless, of course, it was written by an established author with a ready made audience. So that means there will be enough material to produce an entire volume on this subject alone although in this case we will keep the examples down to around a dozen of the most famous;Animal Farm – George O...

The Prophecy of Our Lady of Fatima (and the mad Catholics)On 13 July 1917, three children were startled to find a mysterious figure approaching them as they tended their flock of sheep in pastureland near Fatima in Portugal. Lucia dos Santos and her two cousins Jacinta and Francisco Marto reported seeing what they described as a 'pretty lady from Heaven'.Lucia said the lady was 'brighter than the sun, shedding rays of light clearer and stronger than a crystal glass filled w...

From the best-selling author of Red Herrings & White Elephants, Pop Goes the Weasel, What Caesar did for my Salad & They Laughed at Galileo.Albert Jack's Mysterious World is a collection of the world's most famous and puzzling mysteries.What really happened to the Mary Celeste?Who killed Marilyn Monroe?Where is Bigfoot?Could Aliens really exist?From crop circles to the Scottish lighthouse keepers who vanished one stormy night and from religio...

An Englishman lives in Cape Town for ten-years and then, by accident, packs up and moves to Vietnam, having never even been there on holiday.What could possibly go wrong?Extract - When I decided to escape the Hanoi heat for a few days I looked for flights to Sapa, a village in the northern mountains of Vietnam near the Chinese border, but I learned that the only real option was to take one of the overnight trains. There are several available.The Orient Express, The ...

This is a wonderful collection of stories revealing the origins of some of the world's best-known brand names and how they became a part of our language and the world we live in today.Landislas BiroCharles GoodyearWillis CarrierThe Earl of SandwichKing C GilletteHenry FordWalt DisneyGeorge de Mestral (Velcro)Hiram Stevens Maxim (Maxim Gun)Jules LeotardRachele JacuzziD...

IntroductionThe subject of urban myths and legends is one I have been interested in for a couple of years now. It occurred to me, one day at lunch with friends on the Isle of Dogs, that many long rambling conversations (and ours are certainly long and always rambling) will include a tall tale or two.One person will then be reminded of a story he or she once heard which is then presented as near or actual fact. The story will be introduced like this: 'That reminds me of a st...

A wonderful collection of short stories recalling some of the popular British legends and heroes who, once upon a time, made Britain great.Including;The Story of AlbionThe Rising SunBritanniaThe Beast of Bodmin MoorThe Green ManThe Ghost of Newstead AbbeyLord NelsonAdmiral CollingwoodAdmiral DuncanAdmiral VernonThe Three LionsRobin HoodDick TurpinCaptain Kiddand many more....

Extract;Humpty DumptyHumpty Dumpty sat on the wall,Humpty Dumpty had a great fall;All the king's horses and all the king's menCouldn't put Humpty together again.The real Humpty Dumpty was a powerful cannon used by the Royalist forces during the English Civil War of 1642 to 1651. Sir Charles Lucas and Sir George Lisle led the king's men and overpowered the Parliament stronghold of Colchester early in 1648.They grimly held on to it while th...

The offence on the face of it was a simple one, but the mystery surrounding its aftermath has passed into legend. On 24 November 1971, a man going by the name of D. ('Dan') B. Cooper hijacked a Boeing 727 on a domestic flight and demanded $200,000 from its owners, Northwest Orient. Confident they would catch the hijacker, the company agreed to pay the cash in exchange for their passengers.But the hijacker had other plans. After the aircraft had taken off again, minus its passengers...