Scientists have always kept secrets. But rarely in history have scientific secrets been as vital as they were during World War II. In the midst of planning the Manhattan Project, the U.S. Office of Strategic Services created a secret offshoot - the Alsos Mission - meant to gather intelligence on and sabotage if necessary, scientific research by the Axis powers. What resulted was a plot worthy of the finest thriller, full of spies, sabotage, and murder. At its heart was the 'Lightning A' team, a group of intrepid soldiers, scientists, and spies - and even a famed baseball player - who were given almost free rein to get themselves embedded within the German scientific community to stop the most terrifying threat of the war: Hitler acquiring an atomic bomb of his very own. While the Manhattan Project and other feats of scientific genius continue to inspire us today, few people know about the international intrigue and double-dealing that accompanied those breakthroughs. Bastard Brigade recounts this forgotten history, fusing a non-fiction spy thriller with some of the most incredible scientific ventures of all time.

Royal scandal, set against the background of the Jacobean court, involving love, bribery, poison, treachery and black magic - 'a hugely enjoyable book' Daily Telegraph 'A gripping detective story ... Wonderfully dramatic ... Probably the juiciest court scandal of the past 500 years' Daily Mail In the autumn of 1615 the Earl and Countess of Somerset were detained on suspicion of having murdered Sir Thomas Overbury. The arrest of these leading court figures created a sensation. The young and beautiful Countess of Somerset had already achieved notoriety when she divorced her first husband in controversial circumstances. The Earl of Somerset was one of the richest and most powerful men in the kingdom, having risen to prominence as the male 'favourite' of James I. In a vivid, enthralling narrative, Anne Somerset unravels these extraordinary events. It is, at once, a story rich in passion, intrigue and corruption and a murder mystery - for, despite the guilty verdicts, there is much about Overbury's death that remains enigmatic. The Overbury murder case profoundly damaged the monarchy, and constituted the greatest court scandal in English history. 'This is a book about murder, witchcraft, adultery, lechery, intrigue and chicanery among the country's most powerful nobility' Time Out

Ernest Coleman has led or participated in four expeditions to find out the fate of the Franklin expedition. 129 men were lost from the two ships the Erebus and the Terror, looking for the North-West Passage. Many theories have been put forward - and some of them, in the author's opinion, have been shaped by political bias. 'The whole subject has been taken over by academics and politicians, both for questions of Canadian sovereignty and academic advancement - all at the cost of Franklin's (and the Royal Navy's) reputation.' In this work, Coleman is determined to set the record straight: ' I have provided answers to all their machinations (including the "lead poisoning" tripe, and the "cannibalism" nonsense), cracked the code in the writings of Petty Officer Peglar (bones found and wallet recovered), and given new answers to all the many smaller mysteries that continue to be reproduced by others. I have also revealed the possible site of Franklin's grave, the biggest mystery of all.' No Earthly Pole is an adventure set within an adventure. Ernest Coleman's lifetime quest for the truth at the ends of the earth is an extraordinary tale of determination in itself. The story of Franklin's expedition remains one of the greatest and most tragic events of the age of exploration.

Jack Dunn was devastated to discover Dan Brown had stolen the story from his novel The Vatican Boys to create the international bestseller The Da Vinci Code. The plagiarism was obvious. There were hundreds of similarities between the two books, including characters, settings, plot lines and subject matter. The discovery changed the course of Jack's life. He began an extraordinary fight for justice which pushed him to the depths of despair as he tried to prove his work had been copied by Dan Brown. The Da Vinci Fraud is Jack's story, his explosive true account of the greatest literary fraud in history and a book which will change forever the way the world sees one of the most successful writers of all time.

'Penelope Bagieu ... is a kind of genius. This book already feels like a classic, one to be loved by every girl who reads it from now until the end of time.' Rachel Cooke, The Observer Immerse yourself in the captivating adventures of some of history's unsung heroines, whose stories are told through engaging voices, dazzling drawings and with startling wit. Discover the life of an apache warrior dubbed "strong as a man and braver than most of them", the only female Empress of China, three rebel sisters who toppled a fascist regime, a dancer who escaped poverty in America to become the darling of the Paris jazz scene and a resistance fighter, and a little girl who grew up to realise that being a witch is better than being a princess. Take in the stories of volcanologists, astronauts, animal whisperers, activists and explorers and feel ready to take on the world. Illustrated by award-winning Parisian artist Penelope Bagieu, humorous dialogue and uncommon true tales make Brazen an ideal book for anyone who loves trail blazers and courageous women, from Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls to The Handmaid's Tale.

In the summer of 1876, Berlin anxiously awaited the arrival of what was billed as "the most gigantic ape known to zoology." Described by European explorers only a few decades earlier, gorillas had rarely been seen outside of Africa, and emerging theories of evolution only increased the public's desire to see this "monster with human features." However, when he arrived, the so-called monster turned out to be a juvenile male less than thirty-two inches tall. Known as M'Pungu (Master Pongo), or simply Pongo, the gorilla was put on display in the Unter den Linden Aquarium in the center of Berlin. Expecting the horrid creature described by the news outlets of the time, the crowds who flocked to see Pongo were at first surprised and then charmed by the little ape. He quickly became one of the largest attractions in the city, and his handlers exploited him for financial gain and allowed doctors and scientists to study him closely. Throughout his time in Europe, Pongo was treated like a person in many respects. He drank beer, ate meat, slept at the home of the head of the aquarium, and "visited" London and Hamburg. But this new lifestyle and foreign environment weren't healthy for the little gorilla. Pongo fell ill frequently and died of "consumption" in November 1877, less than a year and a half after being brought to Europe. An irresistible read, illustrated with contemporaneous drawings, this critical retelling of the expedition that brought Pongo to Berlin and of his short life in Europe sheds important light on human-animal interactions and science at a time in Western society when the theory of evolution was first gaining ground.