The Brothers' War: Biafra and Nigeria was first published in 1972. In the UK it had the title The Nigerian Civil War. That is what it is about. In the early 1960s Nigeria looked set to be the major black African country. It seemed to be immune from the internecine struggles that bedevilled so many of the African states. The illusion of stability was shattered at the beginning of 1966. During the next four years the country suffered two bloody coups, a series of appalling massacres, and a protracted and savage civil war which claimed a million lives. This was a civil war on a par with the American and Spanish civil wars and like both those it was a desperate affair, fought to the bitter end by determined people who shared a common past and a common language. John de St. Jorre covered the conflict for the Observer. He was one of the few people to keep in touch with both sides. His account was objective and remains definitive.

The story of Maurice Girodias and the Olympia Press is one of the most bizarre and flamboyant in publishing history. At a time when dirty books (and great ones) were being banned in Britain and America, Girodias launched on a career as an English language publisher in 1950s Paris. A man of great inventive energy, literary taste and charm, Girodias created an eclectic list which combined works of real literary distinction, like Lolita, The Ginger Man and Naked Lunch with outright pornography. During his heyday Girodias defied the censors and published some of the bell-wether titles of the twentieth century. John de St Jorre tells the story with fitting panache.