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...

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...

Great short stories for children (7-11 age group) Examples;All Year RoundWinter saw spring coming along he groaned and moaned. 'When you arrive,' he said, 'everybody becomes more cheerful and want to leave me and run to you. All the children jump on their bicycles and go out to play games.The flowers all start to appear and the trees grow big green leaves. Everybody smiles when they see you coming and I feel like they cannot wait to see the back of me. Nobody worrie...

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...

From the bestselling author of Red Herrings & White Elephants, Shaggy Dogs, Pop Goes the Weasel, They Laughed at Galileo and many more..IntroductionWe all love a good mystery don't we? And by all, I mean each and every one of us are, or will be, captivated at one time or another by a decent, real-life, scary mystery; either one of the world's most famous or something on a much smaller scale. But, writing a book on just one of these would have been relatively easy.Th...

Introduction.The 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 s...

How To Speak English Like a NativeThe English language is perhaps the richest and most expressive in the world. One of the reasons for this is that we have so many weird and wonderful ways of describing exactly the same thing: we can be as colourful or as plain with our language as we choose. That is why it is so difficult to learn and how this book will help you so much.Living in a foreign country, as I do, it is obvious to me that even the most fluent of ...

The Greatest Generation is the first hand account of an English soldier who began his army career with the Long Range Desert Group in 1940, raided with David's Sterling's Special Air Service, volunteered for the 1st Airborne Division and took part in their first ever jump. He then transferred to the 6th Airborne in 1943 and with them he dropped at Pegasus Bridge, battled the Bulge, jumped the Rhine and fought through northern Germany to meet the Russians on the Baltic Coast where they cele...