Bøger af John Nichol

Previously published as After the Flood.Former RAF Tornado Navigator and Gulf War veteran John Nichol sets out on a personal journey to discover what happened to 617 Squadron after the flood.The role RAF 617 Squadron in the destruction of the dams at the heart of the industrial Ruhr has been celebrated in book, magazine and film for more than seventy years.On the 17th May 1943, 133 airmen set out in 19 Lancasters to destroy the Mohne, Eder and Sorpe dams. 56 of them did not return. Despite these catastrophic losses, the raid became an enormous propaganda triumph. The survivors were feted as heroes and became celebrities of their time.They had been brought together for one specific task - so what happened next? Of the 77 men who made it home from that raid, 32 would lose their lives later in the war and only 45 survived to see the victory for which they fought.Few are aware of the extent of the Dambuster squadron's operations after the Dams Raid. They became the 'go to' squadron for specialist precision attacks, dropping the largest bombs ever built on battleships, railway bridges, secret weapon establishments, rockets sites and U-boat construction pens. They were involved in attempts on the lives of enemy leaders, both Hitler and Mussolini, created a 'false fleet' on D-day which fooled the Germans, and knocked out a German super gun which would have rained 600 shells an hour on London.In 'After The Flood', John Nichol retraces the path of 617 Squadron's most dangerous sorties as their reputation called them into action again and again.

George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788-1824) is regarded as one of Britain's greatest poets. As famous for his personality as he was for his poetry, he was rebellious, extravagant and controversial, his life peppered with scandal. First published in the English Men of Letters series in 1880, this biography by John Nichol (1833-94), who also wrote on Carlyle for the series, argues that while Byron did not shape the Romantic era, his work was still highly influential on his contemporaries. Setting Byron's work in an historical context, Nichol shows how the society of his time both idolised him and condemned him as a moral outcast; he was also greatly admired for his efforts for the liberation of Greece from the Ottoman Empire, during which he died. Nichol also discusses the creation of the 'Byronic hero', as much a reflection of Byron's flamboyant persona as an invented literary character.

This biography of Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) was published in the first series of English Men of Letters in 1892. The author, John Nichol (1833-94), who also wrote on Byron for the series, was an author, poet and critic who was for many years professor of English literature at the University of Glasgow, and who moved in the same intellectual circles as Carlyle, though as he states in his prefatory note, he knew him only slightly. Nichol acknowledges his indebtedness in this work to J. A. Froude, Carlyle's friend, disciple and biographer, but his portrait of the 'master spirit of his time' does not attempt to gloss over the notorious difficulties of Carlyle's personality. Several chapters are devoted to the reception of his works, their influence and the likelihood of their continuing importance: Nichol concludes that Carlyle was 'in truth, a prophet, and he has left his gospels'.

Da helikopterpiloten Jack Griffiths forlader RAF for at gå ind i den private militærstyrke Decisive Measures, håber han, at han for altid har lagt de brutale etniske konflikter bag sig, som han var vidne til i Bosnien og Kosova, især mindet om den katastrofale mission, der endte med tab af mange uskyldige liv.Hans nye job fører ham til Sierra Leone, hvor han udfører rutinemæssige bevogtningsopgaver i diamantminerne. Her møder han Layla, som er læge og arbejder for en lokal velgørenhedsorganisation. Men et spirende venskab mellem dem bliver ødelagt, da der udbryder borgerkrig. Jack bliver sendt ud på mission og må endnu en gang konfrontere konsekvenserne af sin fejltagelse.Da Decisive Measures overlader minearbejderne til deres skæbne, bliver Jack og Layla nødt til at træffe en barsk afgørelse om, hvor deres loyalitet ligger…En actionmættet letlæst spændingsroman … spændingsplottet og historien fungerer med en lidt åben slutning og er ligesom forholdene i det afrikanske land skildret med atmosfære. En traditionel spændingsroman til en bred læserskare. - Bibliotekernes lektørudtalelse