Simon Read

When the news business was literally a matter of life and death... A real-life Barbary Coast, War of Words details the bloody birth of the San Francisco Chronicle, when verbal blows traded between two of the town’s most powerful men escalated into violence on the streets of 1880s San Francisco. Gun-toting newspaper publisher Charles de Young won circulation wars by spilling ink that destroyed political candidates he didn’t like--and Isaac Kalloch, a hellfire preacher whose lust for the ladies equaled his craving to be mayor, was an obvious target. First angry words flew, then bullets, when de Young ambushed Kalloch and shot him. Miraculously, Kalloch survived and won the election, only to see his son enact revenge on his behalf five months later by walking into the newsroom and fatally shooting de Young. The trial lasted 28 days, featured over 200 witnesses and made headlines coast to coast. The verdict? Not guilty, by reason of "justifiable homicide.” This sensational tale of sex, murder, and muckraking enthralled San Franciscans and is sure to captivate modern readers as well.

A True Tale of Newsprint and Murder

War of Words

Long before his finest hour as Britain's wartime leader, Winston Churchill emerged on the world stage as a brazen foreign correspondent, covering wars of empire in Cuba, India's Northwest Frontier, the Sudan, and South Africa. Just as likely to take part in active combat as he was to report on it, Churchill thought little of his own personal safety when he joined the fray. Reporting and fighting between 1895 and 1900, Churchill mastered his command of language, forged his character, and established his reputation for courage and tenacity under fire.

adventures of a young war correspondent

Winston Churchill reporting

Murder and Witchcraft in Rural England

Case That Foiled Fabian

In February 1942, a woman was found strangled in a London air raid shelter. Seven days later, the man dubbed as the 'Blackout Ripper' had struck six times, his crimes becoming more brutal at each turn. The killer left few clues in his bloody wake, until a slip up revealed his true identity, and shocked a city that thought it had seen it all.

Blackout Murders

Selected, re-edited, works from Simon L. Read's previous short story collections, Sloppy Pather (2011) and Spiced Moon (2012). Plus, additional stories.

A Rucksack Full of Bees

The Illustrated Evolution of the Grand Prix & F1 Car Simon Read.Subtitled: The First 1 Years. This book illustrates and describes the technical evolution of GP carsfrom 1895 to today, and includes a look into the future with a representation of the F1 car of 25. Read illustrates approximately 1 milestone cars in superb detail and reveals the technical developments of each. Sftbd., 8"x 9 3/4", 112 pgs., 11 b&w ill., 16 color.

The First 100 Years

The Illustrated Evolution of the Grand Prix/F1 Car

Park Square Gallery (Leeds, England)

Entente : from Drawing to Photograph ...

Louise Read

Simon and Louise Read are both doctors. Escaping the NHS in a Mini for a sabbatical in Italy they learned Italian from scratch at the Universita per Stranieri in Perugia. They spent weekends and holidays hunting out the best language schools in Italy - to find that the quality of the brochure and Internet site bore no relation to the quality of the school. In all they drove 18,000 miles and had the best year of their lives. And here is the result - a comprehensive guide to all aspects of learning Italian in Italy. This impartial guide is packed with practical information on planning and organizing your own trip. It contains detailed information on budgeting, enrolling and the practicalities of life in Italy.

Learning Italian in Italy

The great Australian dream is to own our own home. In fact, it_s probably the same dream right across the world: finish school, get a job, save up, buy a house. But the essential skills needed to make this dream a success are not taught as a part of a basic high-school education.

How to Invest in Property to Live Life on Your Terms

Real World Real Estate

De facto leader of the free world, Todd Croosby, vows to protect the elk of Wyoming by building a wall around Utah... and talks will be held to figure out who's going to pay for it.

Utah Vs. Todd Croosby and the Elk of Wyoming

From Bremen to Berlin, Simon Read follows the supreme effort of the RAF to take the war to Germany. As Churchill pointed out, the fighter might win the battle, but the bomber would win the war. According to Goebbels himself, one had only to look into the eyes of Arthur Harris, C-in-C Bomber Command, to see an unquenchable thirst for blood and a passion for slaughter. For some this would seem to be the highest praise, considering its source; for others, the burning of Dresden was a war crime. The author meets the controversy head-on.

RAF Bomber Command at War

The Killing Skies

National Museum of Photography, Film and Television

Other Works and River Entries

Mendel Art Gallery

Arnold, Grant

Biggs, Lewis

Simon Read : Landmarks

Kapil Jariwala Gallery (London, England)

From the acclaimed military history author, this action-packed World War II history describes the Allies' brutal naval engagements and daring harbor raids to destroy the backbone of Hitler's surface fleet. The sea had become a mass grave by 1941 as Hitler's four capital warships -- Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, Tirpitz, and Bismarck, the largest warship on the ocean -- roamed the wind-swept waves, threatening the Allied war effort and sending thousands of men to the icy depths of the North Atlantic. Bristling with guns and steeled in heavy armor, these reapers of the sea could outrun and outgun any battleship in the Allied arsenal. The deadly menace kept Winston Churchill awake at night; he deemed them "targets of supreme consequence." The campaign against Hitler's surface fleet would continue into the dying days of World War II and involve everything from massive warships engaged in bloody, fire-drenched battle to daring commando raids in German occupied harbors. This is the fast-paced story of the Allied bomber crews, brave sailors, and bold commandoes who "sunk the Bismarck" and won a hard-fought victory over Hitler's iron sea. Using official war diaries, combat reports, eyewitness accounts and personal letters, Simon Read brings the action and adventure to vivid life. The result is an enthralling and gripping story of the Allied heroes who fought on a watery battlefield.

How the Allies Hunted and Destroyed Hitler's Warships

The Iron Sea

Colin Painter

Rebecca Weaver

Adam Lloyd Monaghan

key works by Simon Read

Time and tide

Seamarks

The Chase

The blackout went into effect three days before the declaration of war and transformed nocturnal London into a criminal’s paradise. As the city pulled together in the face of terrible adversity, the bomb-ravaged streets became the stalking grounds for killers, rapists, looters and gangs. The number of bodies retrieved during the Blitz made it impossible for the authorities to autopsy them all, providing cover to those who worked with blades, guns and more sinister tools. Scotland Yard – its resources stretched to the limit – did its best to tackle a rogues’ gallery born of bombs and blackout, and crimes that continue to fascinate from history’s darkest corners. In Dark City, award-winning crime writer Simon Read paints a vivid picture of the other side of wartime London, from the Blackout Ripper and the Acid Bath Murders, to the notorious Rillington Place killer and his house of corpses.

Murder, Vice, and Mayhem in Wartime London

Dark City

'A fully comprehensive guide . . . includes information and tips that even the park officers do not know about!' - What's on in London 'The Best of London Parks is a guide to more than 70 green spaces, with details of all their sporting facilities: from horse riding to Aussie rules football' - The Times London is one of the green cities in the world with thousands of acres of parks. There is a wealth of inexpensive, top quality facilities in the Parks that are often not known about even by the people who live near to them. These include numerous sports such as tennis, rugby, football, golf and bowls. There are gyms and athletics tracks, free playgrounds and paddling pools for children and clubs for their parents to meet and relax together. Every park in central London is covered. For each of these famous parks, there is a chapter detailing their history and all they have to offer. The chapters have something for all interests from the price of bacon butties, to rare goats (with frost-proof ears), to tennis courts, to boating. The information includes a brief historical background, how to get to the park, the opening times of all facilities and costs. Each park has a list of highlights and nearby places of interest and the larger parks include a map.

Simon Read

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