New Releases by Giles Milton

From internationally bestselling historian Giles Milton comes the remarkable true story of the motley group of Allied men and women who worked to manage Stalin’s mercurial, explosive approach to diplomacy during four turbulent years of World War II. In the summer of 1941, Hitler invaded the Soviet Union, shattering what Stalin had considered an ironclad partnership. There were real fears that Stalin’s forces would be defeated or that the Soviet leader would once again strike a deal with Hitler. Either eventuality would spell catastrophe for both Britain and the United States. Enter W. Averell Harriman: a railroad magnate and, at the start of the war, the fourth-richest man in America. At Roosevelt’s behest he traveled to Britain to serve as a liaison between the president and Churchill and to spearhead what became known as the Harriman Mission. Together with his fashionable young daughter Kathy, an unforgettable cast of British diplomats, and Churchill himself, he would eventually manage to wrangle Stalin into the partnership the Allies needed to defeat Hitler. Based on unpublished diaries, letters, and secret reports, The Stalin Affair reveals troves of new material about the path to Allied victory, full of vivid scenes between celebrated and infamous World War II figures. Includes eight-page, color photograph insert.

Call Me Gorgeous is a fun, stylish book about a very, very strange creature. It has a porcupine''s spines and a crocodile''s teeth, a chameleon''s tail, and a cockerel''s feet. What on earth could it be? Uncover this mysterious and fabulous beast through Alexandra Milton''s stunning collage.

From a master of popular history, the lively, immersive story of the race to seize Berlin in the aftermath of World War II as it’s never been told before BERLIN’S FATE WAS SEALED AT THE 1945 YALTA CONFERENCE: the city, along with the rest of Germany, was to be carved up among the victorious powers— the United States, Britain, France, and the Soviet Union. On paper, it seemed a pragmatic solution. In reality, once the four powers were no longer united by the common purpose of defeating Germany, they wasted little time reverting to their prewar hostility toward—and suspicion of—one another. The veneer of civility between the Western allies and the Soviets was to break down in spectacular fashion in Berlin. Rival systems, rival ideologies, and rival personalities ensured that the German capital became an explosive battleground. The warring leaders who ran Berlin’s four sectors were charismatic, mercurial men, and Giles Milton brings them all to rich and thrilling life here. We meet unforgettable individuals like America’s explosive Frank “Howlin’ Mad” Howley, a brusque sharp-tongued colonel with a relish for mischief and a loathing for all Russians. Appointed commandant of the city’s American sector, Howley fought an intensely personal battle against his wily nemesis, General Alexander Kotikov, commandant of the Soviet sector. Kotikov oozed charm as he proposed vodka toasts at his alcohol-fueled parties, but Howley correctly suspected his Soviet rival was Stalin’s agent, appointed to evict the Western allies from Berlin and ultimately from Germany as well. Throughout, Checkmate in Berlin recounts the first battle of the Cold War as we’ve never before seen it. An exhilarating tale of intense rivalry and raw power, it is above all a story of flawed individuals who were determined to win, and Milton does a masterful job of weaving between all the key players’ motivations and thinking at every turn. A story of unprecedented human drama, it’s one that had a profound, and often underestimated, shaping force on the modern world – one that’s still felt today.

''Vivid, graphic and moving'' Mail on Sunday Book of the Year JUNE 1944: THE DAY OF THE GREATEST SEABORNE INVASION IN HISTORY. The outcome of the Second World War hung in the balance on that chill June morning. If Allied forces could gain a foothold in northern France, the road to victory would be possible. But if driven back into the sea, the invasion would be stalled for years. D-DAY: The SOLDIERS'' STORY lays bare the terror of those trapped on both sides in the frontline of Operation Overlord: the butcher''s boy, the Panzer Commander''s wife, the chauffeur of the General Staff, a conscripted German female radio operator, the men on the beaches. In a thrilling canvas of human action, this book reveals ''the longest day'' as never before - drawn in its entirety from the vivid experiences of those who were there. This vast canvas of human bravado reveals ''the longest day'' as never before - less as a masterpiece of strategic planning than a day on which thousands of scared young men found themselves staring death in the face. It is drawn in its entirety from the raw, unvarnished experiences of those who were there. ''It has a wonderful immediacy and vitality - living history in every sense'' Anthony Horowitz ''Fantastic'' Dan Snow ''Compellingly authentic, revelatory and beautifully written. A gripping tour de force'' Damien Lewis ''Stirring and unsettling in equal measure, this is history writing at its most powerful'' Evening Standard

A ground-breaking account of the first 24 hours of the D-Day invasion told by a symphony of incredible accounts of unknown and unheralded members of the Allied – and Axis – forces. An epic battle that involved 156,000 men, 7,000 ships and 20,000 armoured vehicles, D-Day was, above all, a tale of individual heroics – of men who were driven to keep fighting until the German defences were smashed and the precarious beachheads secured. This authentic human story – Allied, German, French – has never fully been told. Giles Milton’s bold new history narrates the events of June 6th, 1944 through the tales of survivors from all sides: the teenage Allied conscript, the crack German defender, the French resistance fighter. From the military architects at Supreme Headquarters to the young schoolboy in the Wehrmacht’s bunkers, Soldier, Sailor, Frogman, Spy, Airman, Gangster, Kill or Die lays bare the absolute terror of those trapped in the front line of Operation Overlord. It also gives voice to those who have hitherto remained unheard – the French butcher’s daughter, the Panzer Commander’s wife, the chauffeur to the General Staff. This vast canvas of human bravado reveals “the longest day” as never before – less as a masterpiece of strategic planning than a day on which thousands of scared young men found themselves staring death in the face. It is drawn in its entirety from the raw, unvarnished experiences of those who were there.

"Originally published in Great Britain as The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare by John Murray (Publishers)"--Title page verso.

More addictive and mind-blowing true tales from history, told by Giles Milton—one of today’s most entertaining and accessible yet always intelligent and illuminating historians In When Churchill Slaughtered Sheep and Stalin Robbed a Bank, the second installment in his outrageously entertaining series, History’s Unknown Chapters, Giles Milton shows his customary historical flair as he delves into the little-known stories from history, like when Stalin was actually assassinated with poison by one of his inner circle; the Russian scientist, dubbed the “Red Frankenstein,” who attempted to produce a human-ape hybrid through ethically dubious means; the family who survived thirty-eight days at sea with almost no water or supplies after their ship was destroyed by a killer whale; or the plot that served as a template for 9/11 in which four Algerian terrorists attempted to hijack a plane and fly it into the Eiffel Tower.

Obscure and addictive true tales from history told by one of our most entertaining historians, Giles Milton The first installment in Giles Milton''s outrageously entertaining series, History''s Unknown Chapters: colorful and accessible, intelligent and illuminating, Milton shows his customary historical flair as he delves into the little-known stories from the past. There''s the cook aboard the Titanic, who pickled himself with whiskey and survived in the icy seas where most everyone else died. There''s the man who survived the atomic bomb in both Hiroshima and Nagasaki. And there''s many, many more. Covering everything from adventure, war, murder and slavery to espionage, including the stories of the female Robinson Crusoe, Hitler''s final hours, Japan''s deadly balloon bomb and the emperor of the United States, these tales deserve to be told.

Six gentlemen, one goal - the destruction of Hitler''s war machine In the spring of 1939, a top secret organisation was founded in London: its purpose was to plot the destruction of Hitler''s war machine through spectacular acts of sabotage. The guerrilla campaign that followed was to prove every bit as extraordinary as the six gentlemen who directed it. Winston Churchill selected them because they were wildly creative and thoroughly ungentlemanly. One of them, Cecil Clarke, was a maverick engineer who had spent the 1930s inventing futuristic caravans. Now, his talents were put to more devious use: he built the dirty bomb used to assassinate Hitler''s favourite, Reinhard Heydrich. Another member of the team, William Fairbairn, was a portly pensioner with an unusual passion: he was the world''s leading expert in silent killing. He was hired to train the guerrillas being parachuted behind enemy lines. Led by dapper Scotsman Colin Gubbins, these men - along with three others - formed a secret inner circle that planned the most audacious sabotage attacks of the Second World War. Winston Churchill called it his Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. The six ''ministers'', aided by a group of formidable ladies, were so effective that they single-handedly changed the course of the war. Told with Giles Milton''s trademark verve and eye for detail, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is thoroughly researched and based on hitherto unknown archival material. It is a gripping and vivid narrative of adventure and derring-do and is also, perhaps, the last great untold story of the Second World War.

''Giles Milton is a man who can take an event from history and make it come alive . . . an inspiration for those of us who believe that history can be exciting and entertaining'' Matthew Redhead, The Times Did you know that Hitler took cocaine? That Stalin robbed a bank? That Charlie Chaplin''s corpse was filched and held to ransom? Giles Milton is a master of historical narrative: in his characteristically engaging prose, Fascinating Footnotes From History details one hundred of the quirkiest historical nuggets; eye-stretching stories that read like fiction but are one hundred per cent fact. There is Hiroo Onoda, the lone Japanese soldier still fighting the Second World War in 1974; Agatha Christie, who mysteriously disappeared for eleven days in 1926; and Werner Franz, a cabin boy on the Hindenburg who lived to tell the tale when it was engulfed in flames in 1937. Fascinating Footnotes From History also answers who ate the last dodo, who really killed Rasputin and why Sergeant Stubby had four legs. Peopled with a gallery of spies, rogues, cannibals, adventurers and slaves, and spanning twenty centuries and six continents, Giles Milton''s impeccably researched footnotes shed light on some of the most infamous stories and most flamboyant and colourful characters (and animals) from history. (Previoulsy published in four individual epub volumes: When Hitler Took Cocaine, When Stalin Robbed a Bank, When Lenin Lost His Brain and When Churchill Slaughtered Sheep.)

In this marvellous collection of fascinating footnotes, Giles Milton delves into the little-known stories from history. Covering everything from adventure, war, murder and slavery to espionage, including the stories of the female Robinson Crusoe, Hitler''s final hours, Japan''s deadly balloon bomb and the emperor of the United States, these tales deserve to be told.

Recounts the extraordinary and thrilling story of the British spies in revolutionary Russia, led by Mansfield Cumming, who would one day pioneer the field of covert action and become MI6, and their mission to foil Lenin''s plot for global revolution. 40,000 first printing.

In this marvellous collection of fascinating footnotes, Giles Milton delves into the little-known stories from history. Covering everything from adventure, war, murder and slavery to espionage, including the stories of the man who stole the Mona Lisa, the double life of Dr Aribert Heim, the man who never died and the cabin boy on the Hindenburg, these tales deserve to be told.

When the frozen corpse of Ferris Clark is found in the Greenland ice, forensic archaeologist Jack Raven is hired to investigate. He is suspicious from the outset. The corpse is not only naked, but in an absolutely pristine state. As Jack unravels the mystery of Ferris Clark''s final hours, he uncovers a dark and terrible past. He also finds himself caught in a race against time. There is a murderer on the loose and Jack alone can stop the killings. But first he must solve the greatest riddle of all. How did Ferris Clark die? And why? WHEN THE PRESENT IS AS CHILLING AS THE PAST Frankenstein meets Fatherland in the debut thriller by internationally bestselling author, Giles Milton.

Part travelogue/part historical mystery about the most famous traveler--and chronicler-- in medieval Europe. Giles Milton''s first book, The Riddle and the Knight, is a fascinating account of the legend of Sir John Mandeville, a long-forgotten knight who was once the most famous writer in medieval Europe. Mandeville wrote a book about his voyage around the world that became a beacon that lit the way for the great expeditions of the Renaissance, and his exploits and adventures provided inspiration for writers such as Shakespeare, Milton, and Keats. By the nineteenth century however, his claims were largely discredited by academics. Giles Milton set off in the footsteps of Mandeville, in order to test his amazing claims, and to restore Mandeville to his rightful place in the literature of exploration. "Erudite, witty and adventurous" (The Mail on Sunday), The Riddle and the Knight is a brilliant piece of detective work.

A historical adventure story following the English children who went to America as part of the first colony, under Queen Elizabeth I.

Frost-coated silence, a chill winter’s night. All is quiet in the big dark barn. All is quiet except for a squeak. A squeakity-squeak in the big dark barn. “Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!” squeak two baby owls. “Please, Daddy, please, can we learn how to fly?” In this lyrical story about two baby owls impatient to grow up, stunning collage paintings perfectly capture the warmth and energy of the irresistible babies as they stretch and grow and prepare to test their wings.

This is the forgotten story of the million white Europeans, snatched from their homes and taken in chains to the great slave markets of North Africa to be sold to the highest bidder. Ignored by their own governments, and forced to endure the harshest of conditions, very few lived to tell the tale. Using the firsthand testimony of a Cornish cabin boy named Thomas Pellow, Giles Milton vividly reconstructs a disturbing, little known chapter of history. Pellow was bought by the tyrannical sultan of Morocco who was constructing an imperial pleasure palace of enormous scale and grandeur, built entirely by Christian slave labour. As his personal slave, he would witness first-hand the barbaric splendour of the imperial court, as well as experience the daily terror of a cruel regime. Gripping, immaculately researched, and brilliantly realised, WHITE GOLD reveals an explosive chapter of popular history, told with all the pace and verve of one of our finest historians.

''To write a book that makes the reader sit in a trance, lost in his passionate desire to pack a suitcase and go to the fabulous place - that, in the end, is something one would give a sack of nutmeg for'' Philip Hensher, The Spectator In 1616, an English adventurer, Nathaniel Courthope, stepped ashore on a remote island in the East Indies on a secret mission - to persuade the islanders of Run to grant a monopoly to England over their nutmeg, a fabulously valuable spice in Europe. This infuriated the Dutch, who were determined to control the world''s nutmeg supply. For five years Courthope and his band of thirty men were besieged by a force one hundred times greater - and his heroism set in motion the events that led to the founding of the greatest city on earth. A beautifully told adventure story and a fascinating depiction of exploration in the seventeenth century, NATHANIEL''S NUTMEG sheds a remarkable light on history

In 1611 an astonishing letter arrived at the East India Trading Company in London after a tortuous seven-year journey. Englishman William Adams was one of only twenty-four survivors of a fleet of ships bound for Asia, and he had washed up in the forbidden land of Japan. The traders were even more amazed to learn that, rather than be horrified by this strange country, Adams had fallen in love with the barbaric splendour of Japan - and decided to settle. He had forged a close friendship with the ruthless Shogun, taken a Japanese wife and sired a new, mixed-race family. Adams'' letter fired up the London merchants to plan a new expedition to the Far East, with designs to trade with the Japanese and use Adams'' contacts there to forge new commercial links. Samurai William brilliantly illuminates a world whose horizons were rapidly expanding eastwards.

A powerful and true story of warfare and human survival that exposes a side of World War II that is unknown by many— this is the story of Wolfram Aïchele, a boy whose childhood was stolen by a war in which he had no choice but to fight. Giles Milton has been a writer and historian for many years, writing about people and places that history has forgotten. But it took his young daughter''s depiction of a swastika on an imaginary family shield - the swastika representing Germany - for Giles to uncover the incredible, dark story of his own family and his father-in-law''s life under Hitler''s regime. As German citizens during World War II, Wolfram and his Bohemian, artist parents survived one of the most brutal eras of history. Wolfram, who was only nine years old when Hitler came to power, lived through the rise and fall of the Third Reich, from the earliest street marches to the final defeat of the Nazi regime. Conscripted into Hitler''s army, he witnessed the brutality of war - first on the Russian front and then on the Normandy beaches. Seen through German eyes and written with remarkable sensitivity, The Boy Who Went to War is a powerful story of warfare and human survival and a reminder to us all that civilians on both sides suffered the consequences of Hitler''s war.

In April 1586, Queen Elizabeth I acquired a new and exotic title. A tribe of Native Americans had made her their weroanza—a word that meant "big chief". The news was received with great joy, both by the Queen and her favorite, Sir Walter Ralegh. His first American expedition had brought back a captive, Manteo, who caused a sensation in Elizabethan London. In 1587, Manteo was returned to his homeland as Lord and Governor, with more than one hundred English men, women, and children, to establish the settlement of Roanoke, Virginia. But in 1590, a supply ship arrived at the colony to discover that the settlers had vanished. For almost twenty years the fate of Ralegh''s colonists was to remain a mystery. When a new wave of settlers sailed to America to found Jamestown, their efforts to locate the lost colony of Roanoke were frustrated by the mighty chieftain, Powhatan, father of Pocahontas, who vowed to drive the English out of America. Only when it was too late did the settlers discover the incredible news that Ralegh''s colonists had survived in the forests for almost two decades before being slaughtered in cold blood by henchmen. While Manteo, Sir Walter Ralegh''s "savage," had played a pivotal role in establishing the first English settlement in America, he had also unwittingly contributed to one of the earliest chapters in the decimation of the Native American population. The mystery of what happened to the Roanoke colonists, who seemed to vanish without a trace, lies at the heart of this well-researched work of narrative history.

Wolfram Aïchele was nine years old when Hitler came to power: his formative years were spent in the shadow of the Third Reich. He and his parents - free-thinking artists - were to have first hand experience of living under one of the most brutal regimes in history. Wolfram: The Boy Who Went to War overturns all the clichés about life under Hitler. It is a powerful story of warfare and human survival and a reminder that civilians on all sides suffered the consequences of Hitler''s war. It is also an eloquent testimony to the fact that even in times of exceptional darkness there remains a brilliant spark of humanity that can never be totally extinguished.

History of the American College of Greece, founded in 1875 as the American Collegiate Institute for Girls.

Arnold Trevellyan is charismatic, exuberant and somewhat strange. His love of mushrooms is matched only by a passion for Flora, his wife of 12 years. One day, Arnold makes a wondrous discovery that turns his world upside down. He abandons Flora and heads to the South Pacific where he marries the queen of the remote tropical island.

The animals in Zebedee''s Zoo may not seem a very lively bunch, but at the end of the day, everything changes . . . suddenly it''s party time at the animal park! Riotous animal fun abounds in this brilliant book that begs to be read aloud time and time again.

Situated on London''s Foster Lane, there is a quintessentially Georgian, redbrick house with a green door bearing the sign trencoms, 1662. It''s the home of the Trencom family''s cheese store, a generational establishment begun by Humphrey Trencom that now, 303 years later, is run by Edward Trencom. Quaint though it may seem, it bears witness to a strange occurrence of "accidents" that seem to befall every generation of the curd-loving family.... Edward Trencom has bumbled through life, relying on his trusty nose to turn the family cheese shop into the most celebrated fromagerie in England. This was no ordinary nose, but one long, aquiline, and furnishing the trademark circular bump over the bridge---the very same nose bestowed on all the Trencom men. It was extraordinary, able to discern the composition, maturity, and quality of cheese---and the Trencom noses had sniffed, whiffed, and judged the very best cheeses of the world. But on an ordinary day, Edward''s world is turned upside down when he stumbles across a crate of family papers. To his horror, he discovers that nine previous generations of his family have come to sticky ends because of their noses. When he investigates---despite his grandfather''s caveat never to look into the origin of his nose---Edward finds himself caught up in a Byzantine riddle to which there is no obvious answer. And like his ill-fated ancestors, he is hunted down by rival forces whose identity and purpose remain a total mystery. Trapped between the mad, the bad, and a cheese to die for, Edward Trencom''s nose must make a choice---and for the last nine generations it has made the catastrophically wrong decision. Giles Milton''s deliciously comic debut novel is a mouthwatering blend of Tom Sharpe and P. G. Wodehouse. From the noble Roquefort to the piquant Èpoisses, every page is permeated by the pungent odor of cheese. Praise for Giles Milton "He has a rare ability---a talent for sifting fine pearls from faraway sands and for transmuting the merely arcane into little literary gems." ---Simon Winchester, The Boston Globe "Milton spins a fascinating tale. . . . Exuberantly eccentric characters stride the pages."---Time magazine on Nathaniel''s Nutmeg "In an exceptionally pungent, amusing, and accessible historical account, Giles Milton brings readers right into the midst of these colonists and their daunting American adventure."--- Janet Maslin, The New York Times, on Big Chief Elizabeth

In 1322, Sir John Mandeville left England to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Thirty-four years later he returned, claiming not only to have visited the Holy Land but also to have traveled to India, China, Tibet and Java. His book -- "The Travels" -- lit the way for the great expeditions of the Renaissance, and his adventures provided inspiration for writers such as Shakespeare, Coleridge, and Swift. Yet by the 19th cent., he was all but ignored by scholars, and his descriptions of monsters and strange peoples were discredited. Intrigued by Mandeville, Milton set off in his footsteps in order to test his amazing claims and to attempt to solve the riddle of the knight. This brilliant piece of detective work restores Mandeville to his rightful place in the history of lit. and exploration. Illus.