`A shepstar's (dressmaker) son, hatched in Gutter lane', Davis became an Oxford scholar, a skilled mathematician. The story might have ended there, teaching at the University or schoolmastering. Instead he became a soldier and follower of the Earl of Essex and lost everything when he joined him in rebellion. He saved his life by turning government supergrass and in the process destroyed Essex's line of defence. His rehabilitation was tortuous, but he died a country gentleman. The book casts new light on the plotting that preceded the rebellion of 1601 and on the examinations and trial that followed it. It also describes the military career of a middle-ranking officer, who was a `conformable' Catholic, finally distinguishing him from so many others of the same name. Roger Ashley, like Davis, graduated from Worcester College (then Gloucester Hall) and has found Sir John persistently invading his spare time since postgraduate days.

'Fresh and eager...rich in character...so infectiously alive to the simple pleasures that even now the senses quicken to read it.' Jan Morris in The Times '...a brilliant picture of traditional English rural society ... (Parson Woodforde) is now among the most unforgettable characters of English literature.' Ronald Blythe in the Introduction The world in which Parson Woodforde lived was tumultuous to say the least. Yet while the French Revolution and the American War of Independence shook and changed the world, this kindly country priest fills the pages. of his diary with the ordinariness of his life, firstly in a Somerset parish and then in rural Norfolk. He accords no more importance to the Fall of the Bastille than to the extra large crab he buys from a local fisherman or the cost of ribbons for his niece's hats. Particularly vivid are the descriptions of the gargantuan meals he enjoys with friends and neighbours, his remedies for ailments, his descriptions of East Anglian winters, his modest but unfailing generosity to the poor and his enthusiasm for local gossip. Parson Woodforde's diary provides an extraordinary portrait of life in Georgian England, but it is the diarist's humour and unpretentiousness which ensure its place among the classics of English literature.

An instant bestseller when it was first published in 1946, this memoir recounts the author's nearly forty years of service in naval intelligence, beginning in 1908. One of the first to venture into the realm of psychological warfare, Ellis Zacharias was awarded the Legion of Merit with two gold stars for his contributions. Among the highlights of his impressive career was the role he played in convincing the Japanese to accept surrender in 1945, a subject he deals with in fascinating detail in this book. Zacharias gives readers access to rare psychological profiles that he prepared for the Office of Naval Intelligence on leading political and military figures in Japan. His book also recounts his exploits as a young naval attache with the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo in the early 1920s. In the early months of the war readers join him in the thick of combat in the Pacific, first aboard a cruiser under his command and later in a battleship. Of particular interest are descriptions of his one-man radio broadcasts beamed at Japan between V-E and V-J days that received kudos from Adm. Ernest J. King for helping bring about the surrender.

Blending history and memoir, retired U.S. Marshal Mike Earp--a descendant of the legendary lawman Wyatt Earp--offers an exclusive and fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the most storied law enforcement agency in America, illuminating its vital role in the nation's development for more than two hundred years.Mike Earp spent his career with the U.S. Marshals Service, reaching the number three position in the organization's hierarchy before he retired. In this fascinating, eye-opening book, written with the service's full cooperation, he shares his experiences and takes us on a fascinating tour of this extraordinary organization--the oldest, the most effective, and the most dangerous branch of American law enforcement, and the least known.Unlike their counterparts in the police and the FBI, U.S. Marshals aren't responsible for investigating or prosecuting crimes. They pursue and arrest the most dangerous criminal offenders on U.S. soil, an extraordinarily hazardous job often involving gun battles and physical altercations. Earp takes us back to the service's early days, explaining its creation and its role in the border wars that helped make continental expansion possible. He brings to life the gunslingers and gunfights that have made the Marshals legend, and explores the service's role today integrating federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies in the hunt for the most notorious criminals--terrorists, drug lords, gun runners.Setting his own experiences within the long history of the U.S. Marshals service, Earp offers a moving and illuminating tribute to the brave marshals who have dedicated their lives to keeping the nation safe.