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Hector C. Bywater was perhaps the British secret service's finest agent operating in Germany before the First World War, tasked with collecting intelligence on naval installations. Recruited by Mansfield Cumming, the first 'C' (or head of what would become MI6), Bywater was given the designation 'H2O' in what was a rather obvious play on his name - and the equivalent of James Bond's '007'. Indeed, the charming, courageous Bywater probably came as close to the popular image of Ian Fleming's most famous character as any British secret agent ever did. Originally written up in 1930 as a series of thrilling articles in the Daily Telegraph, his experiences were soon turned into a book, with the help of Daily Express journalist H. C. Ferraby, collating Bywater's espionage endeavours in one rollicking tale of secret service adventure. Although the identities of the British spies carrying out the missions in Strange Intelligence are disguised, we now know that most of them were in fact Bywater himself. Ahead of a war that was to put the British Navy to its sternest test since Trafalgar, Bywater reveals how he and his fellow agents deceived the enemy to gather vital intelligence on German naval capabilities. His account is a true classic of espionage and derring-do.

A compendium of the finest writing, including fiction and biography, on and by spies.

Will UKIP follow their European election success of 2014 and make unprecedented gains at the next general election? In this concise and accessible guide, UKIP's deputy chairman Suzanne Evans explains what the UK would look like under the leadership of Nigel Farage, and why a vote for UKIP is a vote for Britain. By exploring the party's key policies, agendas and commitments, Why Vote UKIP 2015 will prove invaluable in helping you decide where to place your vote.

Two days before Christmas 2013, former MP Denis MacShane entered one of Europe's harshest prisons. Having pleaded guilty to false accounting at the Old Bailey, he had been sentenced to six months in jail. Upon arrival at Belmarsh Prison, his books and personal possessions were confiscated and he was locked in a solitary cell for up to twenty-three hours a day. Denis was the latest MP condemned to serve as an example in the wake of the expenses scandal. Written with scavenged pens and scraps of paper, this diary is a compelling account of his extraordinary experiences in Belmarsh and, later, Brixton. Recording the lives of his fellow prisoners, he discovers a humility and a willingness to admit mistakes that was conspicuously lacking in his former colleagues at the House of Commons. Woven into the narrative are thought-provoking reflections on a range of important topics, from the waning of public confidence in MPs - and the high-profile termination of his own political career - to the failings of the British judicial system. Above all, Prison Diaries reveals what life as a prisoner in Britain is really like, addressing issues such as rising inmate numbers, dehumanising conditions, high incarceration rates, lack of rehabilitation and an endemic political disinterest. This honest and fascinating diary is both a first-hand insight into the current prison system and a report on how it simply does not work.

The ultimate, unusual and intriguing guide to the next election.

Before espionage entered the era of modern technology, there was the age of George Alexander Hill: a time of swashbuckling secret agents, swordsticks and secret assignations with deadly female spies. The daring escapades of some of the first members of Britain's secret service are revealed in this account of perilous adventure and audacious missions in Imperial and revolutionary Russia. First published in 1932, Hill's rip-roaring narrative recounts tales of his fellow operatives Arthur Ransome - author of Swallows and Amazons and one of the most effective British spies in Russia - and Sidney Reilly - so-called 'Ace of Spies' and architect of a thwarted plot to assassinate the Bolshevik leadership. Unavailable for decades, this lost classic offers fascinating portraits of a world unfathomable to those growing up against a backdrop of WikiLeaks and cyber espionage, and of true-life characters whose exploits were so extraordinary that they have entered the realm of legend.

The story of the men who engineered and built the crematoria and gas chambers at the Nazi concentration camps during the second world war. Writer Karen Bartlett brilliantly assembles the evidence to explain how an ordinary German family firm enabled the Nazis to create the conditions for the horror that was the Holocaust.

Ever since the publication of Lytton Strachey's Eminent Victorians in 1918 it has been fashionable to ridicule the great figures of the nineteenth century. From the longreigning monarch herself to the celebrated writers, philanthropists and politicians of the day, the Victorians have been dismissed as hypocrites and frauds - or worse. Yet not everyone in the twentieth century agreed with Strachey and his followers. To a handful of eccentrics born during Victoria's reign, the nineteenth century remained the greatest era in human history: a time of high culture for the wealthy, 'improvement' for the poor, and enlightened imperial rule for the 400 million inhabitants of the British Empire. They were, to friend and foe alike, 'the last Victorians' - relics of a bygone civilisation. In this daring group biography, W. Sydney Robinson explores the extraordinary lives of four of these Victorian survivors: the 'Puritan Home Secretary', William Joynson-Hicks (1865-1932); the 'Gloomy Dean' of St Paul's Cathedral, W. R. Inge (1860-1954); the belligerent founder of the BBC, John Reith (1889-1971), and the ultra-patriotic popular historian and journalist Arthur Bryant (1899- 1985). While revealing their manifold foibles and eccentricities, Robinson argues that these figures were truly great - even in error.

The royal family say they can do without many things, but not their animals. Countless monarchs and their consorts have relied on dogs, cats, horses and even the occasional parrot to act as their constant, faithful companions, unquestioning allies and surrogate children.With intimate anecdotes and fascinating detail, royal author Brian Hoey describes the mini palaces provided for the Queen's pampered corgis, Princess Anne's badly behaved bull terriers and the wild animals - including crocodiles, hippos and an elephant - presented to princes and princesses.Exploring a seemingly eternal regal passion for all things canine and equine, Hoey also turns his attentions to the modern royal family's love of animals, celebrating the latest arrivals to both William's and Harry's new households.From the corgi dynasty to the Jack Russells rescued from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, Pets By Royal Appointment presents a very British family besotted with all creatures great and small.

The incredible story of the lone female Jewish MP who stood up to apartheid.

A classic espionage title available for the first time in many decades, The Fought Alone is a unique look at SOE - a wartime initiative devised by Winston Chuchill.

This is the account of Kim Philby that MI6 didn't want you to read.

Sometimes it seems as if business exists purely to enrich a small elite. While the world is facing unprecedented challenges, it appears that businesses are only interested in making profits or paying bonuses. Big businesses are powerful machines. We all know they have the potential to cause enormous social and environmental harm; but with their resources and expertise they can also be great engines of positive change. Rather than fighting the power of business, should we be seeking to harness it? Everybody's Business is a journey through the business world. We meet the companies that are driving business forward by mobilising to tackle the challenges we all face. At its heart, this is a story of businesses doing what they do best: delivering products and services that people need, creating jobs and finding new ways to solve old problems. It's a story of people taking the initiative, and finding inspiration in the positive impact of their actions. We see how some of today's leading companies are realising that lasting success comes from having a purpose broader than making a profit. They know that business should benefit customers, employees, suppliers, neighbours and the wider world, as well as shareholders. Enduring value comes from making business work for everybody.

Novelists, poets and playwrights live double lives, sharing the real world with everyone else while spending a good deal of time in a universe of their own making. When they fall out with each other, they are able to kindle feuds and antagonisms as passionate and public as workers in any trade. Richard Bradford's highly entertaining book looks at some of the closest and most complex relationships in literary history, as well as examining their dramatic effects on literature itself. - WHO WAS THE OBJECT OF COLERIDGE'S INFATUATION THAT DROVE A W EDGE BETWEEN HIMSELF AND WORDSWORTH? - WHERE DID THACKERAY UTTER THE SINGLE SENTENCE THAT ENDED HIS TENTATIVE FRIENDSHIP WITH DICKENS? - WHY DID DIFFERING OPINIONS LEAD TO THE CESSATION OF LETTERS BETWEEN FORMER CONFIDANTS AMIS AND LARKIN? - HOW DID HEMINGWAY USE AND ABUSE STEIN'S ARTISTIC CIRCLE IN PARIS? - WHAT AMERICAN L ITERARY AMBITION SPAWNED BRUTAL COMPETITION BETWEEN CAPOTE AND V IDAL? From Tolstoy's deferred duelling and Dostoevsky's defamatory fiction, to J. C. Squire's qualms with modernism and Salman Rushdie's run-in with Islam, Literary Rivals is an enjoyable romp through the world of the fiercest writers' rivalries and the most bizarre literary stand-offs.

This priceless collection of funny, irreverent, edifying, unedifying and piquant observations is jam-packed with hundreds of examples of business wit, wisdom and wisecracks. Used as directed, they're guaranteed to leave your rivals and colleagues green-eyed, grudging and positively seething with admiration - while being simultaneously entertained. This book is perfect for you if what you crave is a reputation for wittily phrased wisdom - or simply for stealing other people's jokes. Industry experts agree it would be a classic business blunder not to buy this book. Take our word for it, this collection really does do the business!

In this landmark series, literary quotations legend Fred Metcalf builds on the success of his bestselling series of quotations books for Penguin to produce classic, far-ranging volumes of humorous quotes on just about every subject you will ever need.

The Windsors are England's most famous family, but what are they really like when they're out of the public gaze? Behind closed doors in every Royal residence, from Buckingham Palace to Clarence House, there are two families - one upstairs and one down - and nobody knows a Royal quite like a Royal servant, intimately acquainted as they are with every quirk, foible and eccentricity. And there are a fair few! This is the inside story of the Royal Family through the eyes of those who know them best, a sneak peek behind the ermine-trimmed curtains to reveal what they really get up to in their spare time. Are they just like us? Or are they are a world apart? Here are the answers to everything we've ever wondered about the Royals: which programmes does the Queen watch on TV? What music did the Queen Mother listen to? Who can drive and who can't? What is it like to attend a dinner party thrown by Charles and Camilla? Who are the most popular (and most unpopular!) Royals to work for and why? Not in Front of the Corgis is the real Upstairs Downstairs - a unique and fascinating collection of all the secrets you ever wanted to know about the Royal Family.

South Africa: success story or basket-case? This year marks the centenary of the ANC. It is also the year when Jacob Zuma will fight for his political life, seeking to fend off opposition from within the Tripartite Alliance and retain his presidency. Now, more than ever, to the victor the spoils. With the country's politics poorly understood in the world, Paul Holden and Martin Plaut present the true story of post-apartheid South Africa. They depict a nation fighting against appalling unemployment, poor education, widespread corruption and organised crime. In a country where poverty is rampant and institutions are weak, the battle for power is set to intensify. Plaut and Holden seek to answer the burning question: is South Africa destined to become another African tragedy or is there still the promise of growth and a stable democracy?

Investigator, interrogator, intellectual hero: the perfect inspiration for the perfect spy. This first full-length biography traces the life of the remarkable and engaging John Bingham, the man behind John le Carre's George Smiley. The heir to an Irish barony and a spirited young journalist, John Bingham joined MI5 in 1940; his quiet intellect, wry wit and knack for observation made him a natural. He took part in many of MI5's greatest wartime missions - from the tracking of Nazi agents in Britain to Operation double cross that ensured the success of D-Day - and later spent three decades running agents in Britain against the Communist target. Among his colleagues his skills were legendary and he soon became a mentor to many a novice spy - including one David Cornwell, the later le Carre. Bingham, too, was an innovative writer who perfected the psychological thriller, marrying cold objectivity with an explanation of the darkest reaches of human behaviour. His early novels were applauded but, for all his success, Bingham struggled to match the fame of the man he had inspired. Drawing on Bingham's published and unpublished writings, as well as interviews with his family, Michael Jago skilfully tells the riveting yet poignant tale of the man who was George Smiley.

From literary portrayals of 'the Jew' as Biblical traitor or Dickensian villain to the very real atrocities of the Holocaust and the conflicts in Israel and Palestine, the plight of the Jewish people throughout history has been as violent and volatile as the animosity towards the religion itself. Two millennia of prejudice, persecution and purges have turned the 'Chosen People' into 'The Enemy', crudely lumping together generation after generation of men, women and children - of differing ambitions, appearances and allegiances - in gratuitous displays of anti-Semitism. In this powerful polemic, acclaimed writer Frederic Raphael explores the origin, rise and impact of anti-Jewish feeling at a time when religious tensions throughout the world are mounting once more. When did 'the Jew' become the quintessential scapegoat? Why do the western media continue to condemn Israel so enthusiastically? How can we respond to those so eager to complete the mission Hitler began? And yet, at the heart of the debate, one crucial fact endures: in the face of thousands of years of adversity, not only has Judaism survived, but the genius and determination of its people have flourished.

An important document of the former Prime Minister and her foreign policy by one of her closest advisers at the time.

Something for the Weekend looks compassionately at a growing culture that's now moved beyond London and established itself as more than a short-term craze.

There is a lie at the heart of global capitalism. Politicians, financiers and global bureaucrats claim to believe in free competitive markets, but have constructed the most unfree market system ever. It is corrupt because income is channelled to the owners of property - financial, physical and intellectual - at the expense of society.This book reveals how global capitalism is rigged in favour of rentiers to the detriment of all of us, especially the precariat. A plutocracy and elite enriches itself, not through production of goods and services, but through ownership of assets, including intellectual property, aided by subsidies, tax breaks, debt mechanisms, revolving doors between politics and business, and the privatisation of public services. Rentier capitalism is entrenched by the corruption of democracy, manipulated by the plutocracy and an elite-dominated media.Meanwhile, wages stagnate as labour markets are transformed by outsourcing, automation and the on-demand economy, generating more rental income while expanding the precariat.The Corruption of Capitalism argues that rentier capitalism is fostering revolt, and concludes by outlining a new income distribution system that would achieve the extinction of the rentier while promoting sustainable growth.

Released to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the decriminalisation of homosexuality in the UK, Not Guilty accompanies a major Channel 4 documentary, to be screened in July, 2017.

A brand new collection of Margaret Thatcher's "greatest hits".

Peter Hain has always spoken his mind. So he does in this book. Here he tells his story as an outsider turned insider: anti-apartheid militant to Cabinet minister, serving twelve years in Labour's government between May 1997 and May 2010. Growing up as the son of courageous anti-apartheid South Africans, Peter Hain was first in the public eye aged fifteen, reading at the funeral of an anti-apartheid friend hanged in Pretoria. Living in exile in Britain during his late teens, he led campaigns to disrupt whites-only South African sports tours. His political notoriety resulted in two extraordinary Old Bailey trials and a letter bomb. Hain recalls his role in negotiating the historic 2007 settlement in Northern Ireland, being Britain's first-ever African born Africa Minister, and acting as a passionate advocate and deliverer of devolved government to Wales. Featuring Iraq, Mugabe, Europe, Gibraltar, blood diamonds, work alongside MI5 and MI6, and the delivery of justice for workers robbed of their pensions and compensation for sick miners, Hain's autobiography gives a fascinating insight into life near the top of the Blair and Brown governments.

What makes a man put politics and ambition before family? Ed Miliband is perhaps the least understood political leader of modern times. Brought up against A backdrop of tragedy, with a prominent Marxist thinker for a father, Ed followed his brother to the same college at Oxford, into Parliament and into the Cabinet before, at the eleventh hour, snatching away David's dream of the leadership. This new and fully updated edition follows Ed through the highs of leading the charge against Rupert Murdoch and News International to the lows of plummeting poll ratings, poor press and that infamous 'Blackbusters' tweet. Yet in the wake of Osborne's 'omnishambles' Budget and Labour's impressive gains in May 2012's local elections, political commentators have started to ask, with increasing volume, if we could indeed see Prime Minister Ed Miliband. As the 2015 general election approaches, Mehdi Hasan and James Macintyre ask the important questions. Is Ed up to the job? Can he be trusted on the economy? And will he manage to bury the hatchet with David and bring his brother back to the Labour frontbench?

In politics there are no prizes for second place. Packed with advice and practical examples, this guide reveals the insider secrets and skills you need to make sure you're a winner on election day. In easily digestible bite-sized chapters, seasoned campaign professionals Mark Pack and Edward Maxfield share successful tactics from around the globe to help steer you on the course to power. Learn to hate trees, always have more people than chairs and never, ever, forget the law of the left nostril - heed these lessons and win that election.

Delinquent presenters, controversial executive pay-offs, the Jimmy Savile scandal... The BBC is one of the most successful broadcasters in the world, but its programme triumphs are often accompanied by management crises and high-profile resignations. One of the most respected figures in the broadcasting industry, Roger Mosey has taken senior roles at the BBC for more than twenty years, including as editor of Radio 4's Today programme, head of television news and director of the London 2012 Olympic coverage. Now, in Getting Out Alive, Mosey reveals the hidden underbelly of the BBC, lifting the lid on the angry tirades from politicians and spin doctors, the swirling accusations of bias from left and right alike, and the perils of provoking Margaret Thatcher. Along the way, this remarkable memoir charts the pleasures and pitfalls of life at the top of an organisation that is variously held up as a treasured British institution and cast down as a lumbering, out-of-control behemoth. Engaging, candid and very funny, Getting Out Alive is a true insider account of how the BBC works, why it succeeds and where it falls down.

His memoirs of his time in Russia, originally published in 1922 and out of print for some time, Red Dusk and the Morrow combines high adventure with tales of extraordinary cruelty from the dawn of the Soviet era.