The Killing of Major Denis Mahon is the riveting true story of a controversial murder that casts new light on the Great Irish Famine. At the height of the famine now considered the greatest social disaster to strike nineteenth-century Europe, Anglo-Irish landlord Major Denis Mahon from County Roscommon was assassinated as he drove his carriage through his property, which was filled with thousands of starving tenants. Mahon had removed 3,000 of his 12,000 tenants by offering some passage to America aboard disease-ridden "coffin ships," giving others a pound or two to leave peaceably, and sending the sheriff to evict the rest. His murder sparked a sensation and drove many of the world's most powerful leaders, from the queen of England to the pope, to debate its meaning.
Award-winning journalist Peter Duffy tells, for the first time, the story of the assassination and its connection to the cataclysm that would forever change Ireland and America. With full access to historical records, including Mahon's private papers, government documents, and extensive court and police files, Duffy tries to uncover the truth about Mahon's murder and the role he did—or did not—play in the sufferings of his tenants, while also shedding new light on the horrific struggles of the starving and impoverished Irish.
Gripping, revealing, and heartbreaking, The Killing of Major Denis Mahon is the incredible investigation of the great, unsatisfactorily solved crime of Irish history, and a fresh examination of the horrors of the Great Famine.

The Killing of Major Denis Mahon: A Mystery of Old Ireland

History

Duffy, Peter

Europe

Harper

At the height of the Irish Famine, now considered the greatest social disaster to strike nineteenth-century Europe, Anglo-Irish landlord Major Denis Mahon was assassinated as he drove his carriage through his property in County Roscommon. Mahon had already removed 3,000 of his 12,000 starving tenants by offering some passage to America aboard disease-ridden "coffin ships," giving others a pound or two to leave peaceably, and sending the sheriff to evict the rest. His murder sparked a sensation and drove many of the world's most powerful leaders, from the queen of England to the pope, to debate its meaning. Now, for the first time, award-winning journalist Peter Duffy tells the story of this assassination and its connection to the cataclysm that would forever change Ireland and America.

Americas

Harper-perennial

In 1941, three brothers witnessed their parents and two other siblings being led away to their eventual murders. It was a grim scene that would, of course, be repeated endlessly throughout the war. Instead of running or giving in to despair, these brothers - Tuvia, Zus, and Asael Bielski - fought back, waging a guerrilla war of wits against the Nazis. By using their intimate knowledge of the dense forests surrounding the Belarusan towns of Novogrudek and Lida, the Bielskis evaded the Nazis and established a hidden base camp, then set about convincing other Jews to join their ranks. As more and more Jews arrived each day, a robust community began to emerge, a "Jerusalem in the woods." After two and a half years in the woods, in July 1944, the Bielskis learned that the Germans, overrun by the Red Army, were retreating back toward Berlin. More than one thousand Bielski Jews emerged - alive - on that final, triumphant exit from the woods.

The Bielski Brothers: The True Story of Three Men Who Defied the Nazis, Built a Village in the Forest, and Saved 1,200 Jews

Biographies & Memoirs

Community & Culture

It is one of the most remarkable dramas of World War II -- untold until now.
In 1941, three young men -- brothers, sons of a miller -- witnessed their parents and two other siblings being led away to their eventual murders. It was a grim scene that would, of course, be repeated endlessly throughout the war. What makes this particular story of interest is how the survivors responded. Instead of running or capitulating or giving in to despair, these brothers -- Tuvia, Zus, and Asael Bielski -- did something else entirely. They fought back, waging a guerrilla war of wits and cunning against both the Nazis and the pro-Nazi sympathizers. Along the way they saved well over a thousand Jewish lives.
Using their intimate knowledge of the dense forests surrounding the Belorussian towns of Novogrudek and Lida, the Bielskis evaded the Nazis and established a hidden base camp, then set about convincing other Jews to join their ranks. When the Nazis began systematically eliminating the local Jewish populations -- more than ten thousand were killed in the first year of the Nazi occupation alone -- the Bielskis intensified their efforts, often sending fighting men into the ghettos to escort Jews to safety. As more and more Jews arrived each day, a robust community began to emerge, a "Jerusalem in the woods." They slept in camouflaged dugouts built into the ground. Lovers met, were married, and conceived children. The community boasted a synagogue, a bathhouse, a theater, and cobblers so skilled that Russian officers would wait in line to have their boots reshod.
But as its notoriety grew, so too did the Nazi efforts to capture the rugged brothers; and on several occasions they came so near to succeeding that the Bielskis had to abandon the camp and lead their massive entourage to newer, safer locations. And while some argued in favor of a smaller, more mobile unit, focused strictly on waging battle against the Germans, Tuvia Bielski was firm in his commitment to all Jews. "I'd rather save one old Jewish woman," he said, "than kill ten Nazis."
In July 1944, after two and a half years in the woods, the Bielskis learned that the Germans, overrun by the Red Army, were retreating back toward Berlin. More than one thousand Bielski Jews emerged -- alive -- on that final, triumphant exit from the woods.
The Bielski Brothers is a dramatic and heartfelt retelling of a story of the truest heroism, a historic testament to courage in the face of unspeakable adversity.

The Bielski Brothers: The True Story of Three Men Who Defied the Nazis, Saved 1,200 Jews and Built a Village in the Forest

Military

The Courage of My Convictions

THE COURAGE OF MY CONVICTIONS is a true story and an invaluable resource for anyone re-engineering their career, who is part of a dual career household, and who considers personal integrity and family their top priorities.After graduating Texas Christian University, Peter Duffy takes a sales position with Procter &amp; Gamble and quickly climbs the ladder.Duffy meets and marries Barbara, a technology wiz, and moves to Pittsburgh to become the company's youngest district manager.When the couple's first daughter arrives, Barbara is offered an exciting opportunity in New York and Duffy encourages the move resulting in disastrous consequences for his own career. This begins a five-year ordeal in which Duffy endures seven job changes.The recession of the early nineties finds Duffy working in a delicatessen. The couple has two young daughters, no savings, and they're approaching bankruptcy.One final, desperate attempt at a corporate job is a complete disaster when Duffy finds himself in a tangled mess, and is fired.The Courage of My Convictions is ultimately a success story and an inspiration for anyone who has been fired or is part of a dual career household.

Religion & Spirituality

iUniverse

It sounds like something from ancient mythology: three brothers living near the edge of a forest witness the coming of an invading army. They arm themselves, take to their horses and seek refuge in the woods they know as well as they know anything. The enemy arrives and systematically starts killing the long-oppressed minority to which the brothers belong. Horrified and angered, they lead guerrilla attacks against the enemy's installations and exact vicious revenge on local collaborators. Prompted by the eldest, who is selected as commander, the brothers and a growing numbers of warriors begin a campaign to save all their people, including the weak, the young, the old, the sick. Slowly the group evolves into a makeshift forest city with a hospital, workshops, a school and even a bathhouse. When the invading army retreats, the brothers emerge from the woods - the saviours of 1,250 people.

Brothers in Arms

TRAFALGAR SQUARE +

In a shocking indictment of NHS standards, cover-ups and legal dirty tricks, Peter Duffy, consultant surgeon writes of his 35 years of experience on the front-line of the NHS. Charting his career pathway from auxiliary nurse and unskilled operating theatre orderly, he takes us through his progress to senior consultant surgeon and head of department. In 2015, and after blowing the whistle on a series of near misses, he reluctantly reported an avoidable death, cover-up and ongoing surgical risk-taking to the Care Quality Commission. Within months he was out of work and unemployed. Via avoidable deaths and errors, cover-ups, misuse of public funds, bullying, abuse and victimisation the author charts out in searing detail his demotion, punishments and exile from both family and NHS and the subsequent brutal legal process that followed his illegal dismissal. "Peter's love for his family and for what he does as a surgeon runs through the pages of this gripping book as he takes you on a journey to some of the darker areas of our NHS and legal system. As a society we need to face up to the appalling reality of what the NHS does to staff that speak up and how much public money it wastes fighting people that act in the public interest. Even a committed, award winning surgeon who transformed cancer services was not immune from attempts by the NHS to destroy him when he decided to stand up for patients and services. This is everyone's problem." Dr Chris Day, junior doctor and whistle-blower. "As a fellow whistleblower in the same NHS Trust I recommend that everybody should read Peter's account. This is an incredibly important and unmissable portrayal of how toxic NHS management culture is harming patients and destroying the careers and lives of dedicated healthcare professionals. His bravery, dedication to his patients and commitment to exposing the truth is commendable. Read his book to learn the truth as to what is happening every day in NHS Trusts across the UK. "Sue Allison, Morecambe Bay whistle-blower. "Peter's book has opened our eyes to a series of injustices that has not only destroyed his family life but revealed appalling wrong doings within the NHS. Our father was sadly a victim in a dysfunctional urological surgery department, where Peter was trying to make a difference against the odds. Our sincerest gratitude goes to a person who has tirelessly fought with passion, dignity and sheer determination against an organisation that wish to silence the honesty of a whistle-blower. "Karen and Nicola Read, daughters of 'Patient A'

Whistle in the Wind: Life, death, detriment and dismissal in the NHS. A whistleblower's story

Medical Books

Administration & Medicine Economics

Independently published

The never-before-told tale of the German-American who spearheaded a covert mission to infiltrate New York’s Nazi underground in the days leading up to World War II—the most successful counterespionage operation in US history. From the time Adolf Hitler came into power in 1933, German spies were active in New York. In 1937, a German national living in Queens stole the blueprints for the country’s most precious secret, the Norden Bombsight, delivering them to the German military two years before World War II started in Europe and four years before the US joined the fight. When the FBI uncovered a ring of Nazi spies in the city, President Franklin Roosevelt formally declared J. Edgar Hoover as America’s spymaster with responsibility for overseeing all investigations. As war began in Europe in 1939, a naturalized German-American was recruited by the Nazis to set up a radio transmitter and collect messages from spies active in the city to send back to Nazi spymasters in Hamburg. This German-American, William G. Sebold, approached the FBI and became the first double agent in the Bureau’s history, the center of a sixteen-month investigation that led to the arrest of a colorful cast of thirty-three enemy agents, among them a South African adventurer with an exotic accent and a monocle and a Jewish femme fatale, Lilly Stein, who escaped Nazi Vienna by offering to seduce US military men into whispering secrets into her ear. A riveting, meticulously researched, and fast-moving story, Double Agent details the largest and most important espionage bust in American history.

Double Agent: The First Hero of World War II and How the FBI Outwitted and Destroyed a Nazi Spy Ring

Scribner

The never-before-told tale of the German-American who infiltrated New York’s Nazi underground in the days leading up to World War II: “Thrilling, well-researched, well-told, fascinating” (Minneapolis Star Tribune). He was the first hero of World War II and yet the American public has never seen his face. William G. Sebold, a naturalized American of German birth, risked his life to become the first double agent in the history of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He spent sixteen months in the Nazi underground of New York City, consorting with a colorful cast of spies. Sebold was at the center of the most sophisticated investigation yet devised by the FBI, which established a short-wave radio station on Long Island to communicate with Hamburg spymasters and set up a “research office” in Times Square that allowed agents hidden behind a two-way mirror to film meetings conducted between Sebold and the spy suspects. The result was the arrest and conviction of thirty-three spies, still the largest espionage case in American history. The guilty verdicts were announced in Brooklyn federal court just hours after Adolf Hitler declared war on the United States on December 11, 1941, which meant that the Führer could not call upon a small army of embedded spies and saboteurs during the most trying days of the coming struggle. “As you know,” an FBI official later told J. Edgar Hoover, “Sebold gave us the most outstanding case in Bureau history.” In Double Agent, Peter Duffy tells this full account. Here is a story “rich with eccentric characters, suspense, and details of spycraft in the war’s early days….The result is a compelling cultural history with all the intricacy and intrigue of a good spy novel” (The Boston Globe).

Historical

This story of an anti-fascist's dramatic and remarkable victory against Nazism in 1935 is an inspiration to anyone compelled to resist when signs of oppression are on the horizon By 1935, Hitler had suppressed all internal opposition and established himself as Germany's unchallenged dictator. Yet many Americans remained largely indifferent as he turned his dangerous ambitions abroad. Not William Bailey. Just days after violent anti-Semitic riots had broken out in Berlin, the SS Bremen, the flagship of Hitler's commercial armada, was welcomed into New York Harbor. Bailey led a small group that slipped past security and cut down the Nazi flag from the boat in the middle of a lavish party. A brawl ensued, followed by a media circus and a trial, in which Bailey and his team were stunningly acquitted. The political victory ultimately exposed Hitler's narcissism and violent aggression for all of America to see. The Agitator is the captivating story of Bailey's courage and vision in the Bremen incident, the pinnacle of a life spent battling against fascism. Bailey's story is full of drama and heart--and it's an inspiration to anyone who seeks to resist tyranny.

The Agitator: William Bailey and the First American Uprising against Nazism

PublicAffairs

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Duffy, Peter. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Duffy, Peter

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Duffy, Peter. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Killing of Major Denis Mahon: A Mystery of Old Ireland

The Killing of Major Denis Mahon: A Mystery of Old Ireland

The Bielski Brothers: The True Story of Three Men Who Defied the Nazis, Built a Village in the Forest, and Saved 1,200 Jews

The Bielski Brothers: The True Story of Three Men Who Defied the Nazis, Saved 1,200 Jews and Built a Village in the Forest

The Courage of My Convictions

Brothers in Arms

Whistle in the Wind: Life, death, detriment and dismissal in the NHS. A whistleblower's story

Double Agent: The First Hero of World War II and How the FBI Outwitted and Destroyed a Nazi Spy Ring

Double Agent: The First Hero of World War II and How the FBI Outwitted and Destroyed a Nazi Spy Ring

The Agitator: William Bailey and the First American Uprising against Nazism