<p>Who was the special correspondent whose report shocked the world, galvanized Picasso into painting "Guernica", and earned him a place on the Gestapo's "Special Wanted List"? On April 26th 1937, amid the rubble of the bombed city of Guernica, the world's press scrambled to submit their reports. But one journalist spent an extra day exploring the scene. His investigation pointed the finger at the secret involvement of the Nazis - and was the most controversial despatch of the Spanish Civil War. George Steer, a dapper 27-year-old adventurer, was a friend and supporter of the Ethiopian emperor Haile Sellassie I. As a foreign correspondent he alerted others to the Fascist game-plan in Africa and Europe, initiated new field propaganda techniques, and saw military action in Ethiopia, Spain, Libya, Egypt and Madagascar. Without Steer, the true facts about Guernica's destruction might never have been known. In this biography, Nicholas Rankin evokes all the passion, excitement and danger of an extraordinary life, right up to Steer's premature death in the Burmese jungle on Christmas Day 1944.</p>

Telegram from Guernica : The Extraordinary Life of George Steer, War Correspondent

Nicholas Rankin

Biographies & Memoirs

Faber&Faber

Trapped in History: Kenya, Mau Mau and Me

History

Military

TRAPPED IN HISTORY

In 1941, the United Kingdom faced its darkest hour: It stood alone against the Germans, who had chased British forces out of France, Norway, and Greece. All it had left were desperate measures—commando raids, intelligence coups, feats of derring-do. Any such "novel enterprise," wrote Admiral John Godfrey, Director of Naval Intelligence, required "an officer with drive and imagination of the highest order." He found one in Commander Ian Fleming. In Ian Fleming's Commandos, Nicholas Rankin tells the exciting story of a secret intelligence outfit conceived and organized by Fleming. Named 30 Assault Unit, the group was expected to seize enemy codebooks, cipher machines, and documents in high-stakes operations. Assault unit commandos fought in the North African campaign and the invasions of Sicily and Italy, poked over the bones of bombed Pantelleria, and liberated Capri. Rebranded "30 Assault Unit," they went ashore on D-Day, heading for rocket-sites and radar-stations. They helped liberate Paris (including the Ritz Bar and the Rothschild mansion) and then set out to steal scientific and industrial secrets from the heart of Germany. Their final amazing coup was to seize the entire archives of the German Navy's 300 tons of documents. Ian Fleming flew out in person to accompany the loot back to Britain, where it was combed for evidence to use in the Nuremburg trials. Based on incisive research and written with verve and insight, this new audio edition of Ian Fleming's Commandos brings to life a long-obscured chapter of World War II and reveals the inspiration behind Fleming's famous fiction.

Ian Fleming's Commandos

Europe

Audible Studios on Brilliance Audio

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

Books by Nicholas Rankin