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Secrets of an Essex Girl
by Lauren GoodgerWelcome to the wonderful world of Lauren Goodger! Before The Only Way is Essex Lauren was just an ordinary girl, working as a secretary and trying to build a life with her long-term boyfriend Mark Wright. Now she's constantly followed by the paparazzi; she can't wear a bikini without her weight being scrutinised and her private life is played out on the front pages of the tabloids. Lauren may be a celebrity who goes to red carpet events, dates gorgeous men, and has her own business, but she's also a down-to-earth girl who loves to laugh and treasures her friends and family. In Secrets of an Essex Girl, Lauren lifts the lid on the truth behind the headlines. She shares her beauty regime, the real facts about her relationships and her break-up with Mark, and describes how her friends and family have pulled her through the tough times. So much has been written about Lauren but now it's her turn to set the record straight. In this heartfelt account, she opens up about all the incredible ups and downs of her rollercoaster life. Told with searing honesty, this is Lauren as you've never seen her before.
Secrets of an Essex Girl
by Lauren GoodgerWelcome to the wonderful world of Lauren Goodger! Before The Only Way is Essex Lauren was just an ordinary girl, working as a secretary and trying to build a life with her long-term boyfriend Mark Wright. Now she's constantly followed by the paparazzi; she can't wear a bikini without her weight being scrutinised and her private life is played out on the front pages of the tabloids. Lauren may be a celebrity who goes to red carpet events, dates gorgeous men, and has her own business, but she's also a down-to-earth girl who loves to laugh and treasures her friends and family. In Secrets of an Essex Girl, Lauren lifts the lid on the truth behind the headlines. She shares her beauty regime, the real facts about her relationships and her break-up with Mark, and describes how her friends and family have pulled her through the tough times. So much has been written about Lauren but now it's her turn to set the record straight. In this heartfelt account, she opens up about all the incredible ups and downs of her rollercoaster life. Told with searing honesty, this is Lauren as you've never seen her before.
Whispering Back: Tales From A Stable in the English Countryside
by Adam Goodfellow Nicole GoldingAdam Goodfellow and Nicole Golding run a stable in the Cotswolds and specialise in curing problem horses. It's never an easy task, and often requires changing the habits of the owner as much as the horse. The pair have travelled a long way to get where they are today - but they've been united by a common passion. After a chance meeting with Monty Roberts, they gave up everything to live out their dreams and show that it's possible for ordinary people to become 'horse whisperers'. Their world is extraordinary, particularly through their unusual methods of teaching, and as you meet the cast of characters, both animals and humans, that surround them, you'll find it impossible not to be won over by their life.
Race and Social Equity: A Nervous Area of Government
by Susan T GoodenIn this compelling book the author contends that social equity--specifically racial equity--is a nervous area of government. Over the course of history, this nervousness has stifled many individuals and organizations, thus leading to an inability to seriously advance the reduction of racial inequities in government. The author asserts that until this nervousness is effectively managed, public administration social equity efforts designed to reduce racial inequities cannot realize their full potential.
Shade It Black: Death and After in Iraq
by Jess Goodell John HearnA female marine&’s &“absorbing memoir&” recounting her work with the remains and personal effects of fallen soldiers and her battle with PTSD (Publishers Weekly). In 2008, CBS chief foreign correspondent Lara Logan candidly speculated about the human side of the war in Iraq: &“Tell me the last time you saw the body of a dead American soldier. What does that look like? Who in America knows what that looks like? Because I know what that looks like, and I feel responsible for the fact that no one else does . . .&” Logan&’s query raised some important yet ignored questions: How did the remains of American service men and women get from the dusty roads of Fallujah to the flag-covered coffins at Dover Air Force Base? And what does the gathering of those remains tell us about the nature of modern warfare and about ourselves? These questions are the focus of Jessica Goodell&’s story Shade It Black: Death and After in Iraq. Goodell enlisted in the Marines immediately after graduating from high school in 2001, and in 2004 she volunteered to serve in the Marine Corps&’ first officially declared Mortuary Affairs unit in Iraq. Her platoon was tasked with recovering and processing the remains of fallen soldiers. With sensitivity and insight, Goodell describes her job retrieving and examining the remains of fellow soldiers lost in combat in Iraq, and the psychological intricacy of coping with their fates, as well as her own. Death assumed many forms during the war, and the challenge of maintaining one&’s own humanity could be difficult. Responsible for diagramming the outlines of the fallen, if a part was missing she was instructed to &“shade it black.&” This insightful memoir also describes the difficulties faced by these Marines when they transition from a life characterized by self-sacrifice to a civilian existence marked very often by self-absorption. In sharing the story of her own journey, Goodell helps us to better understand how post-traumatic stress disorder affects female veterans. With the assistance of John Hearn, she has written one of the most unique accounts of America&’s current wars overseas yet seen.
Sunnyvale: The Rise and Fall of a Silicon Valley Family
by Jeff GoodellIn Sunnyvale, California, in 1979, Jeff Goodell's family lived quietly on Meadowlark Lane, unaware that their town was soon to become ground zero in the digital revolution. Then one day his mother announced that she and his father were divorcing after twenty years of marriage. Big deal, thought Jeff. "Everybody we knew was splitting up-it was the romantic equivalent of the pet-rock craze. " Over the next decade, Silicon Valley boomed, and the Goodell family unraveled. Sunnyvale: The Rise and Fall of a Silicon Valley Family is the story of a fragile, all-too-ordinary family caught at the epicenter of one of the great economic, cultural, and technological explosions in recent history. After the divorce, Goodell's mother went to work for a little company called Apple Computer and began her ascent into the new world; his father, a landscape contractor who valued plants and trees over bits and bytes, found himself alone and falling farther and farther behind. For the Goodell children, the aftershocks brought pain and confusion: Jeff ran off to Lake Tahoe and the fast track to nowhere; his younger brother, Jerry, began a nightmarish descent into drugs, alcohol, and sexual experimentation; and eleven-year-old Jill bounced between two houses, struggling to make sense of her shattered world. Watching it all was grandfather Leonard Goodell, a Westinghouse ur-geek who-even in his late seventies-still had enough mental horsepower to work as a lead engineer in a robotics factory. But as Leonard watched his son's family fall apart, he realized his worldly success had not come without a human cost, and near the end of his life he began his own quest for forgiveness and redemption. Sunnyvale is a portrait of a way of life that is no more, in a place where progress runs wild. It is about individuals struggling to make lives for themselves in a brutally Darwinian world. Above all, it is about what we owe to the people we love. A unique and compelling family story, it is also a resonant document of our age.
Widows' Words: Women Write on the Experience of Grief, the First Year, the Long Haul, and Everything in Between
by Alice Goode-Elman Kelli Dunham Penelope Dugan Melanie K Finney Ellen Schrecker Raquel Ramkhelawan Maxine Marshall Lauren Vanett Alice Derry Michele Neff Hernandez Elisa Clark Wadham Deborah E Kaplan P. C. Moorehead Mimi Schwartz Anne Bernays Edie Butler Debby Mayer Sonia Jaffe Robbins Barbara Marwell Maggie Madagame Roni Sherman Ramos Doris Friedensohn Nancy H Womack Joan Michelson Tracy Milcendeau Merle Froschl Andrea Hirshman Molly A McEneny Heather Slawecki Kathleen Fordyce Patricia Life Nancy Shamban Susanne Braham Alice Radosh Parvin Hajizadeh Jean Y Leung Joan Gussow Kathryn Temple Carrie L West Lise Menn Christine Silverstein Tara SabharwalBecoming a widow is one of the most traumatic life events that a woman can experience. Yet, as this remarkable new collection reveals, each woman responds to that trauma differently. Here, forty-three widows tell their stories, in their own words. Some were widowed young, while others were married for decades. Some cared for their late partners through long terminal illnesses, while others lost their partners suddenly. Some had male partners, while others had female partners. Yet each of these women faced the same basic dilemma: how to go on living when a part of you is gone. Widows’ Words is arranged chronologically, starting with stories of women preparing for their partners’ deaths, followed by the experiences of recent widows still reeling from their fresh loss, and culminating in the accounts of women who lost their partners many years ago but still experience waves of grief. Their accounts deal honestly with feelings of pain, sorrow, and despair, and yet there are also powerful expressions of strength, hope, and even joy. Whether you are a widow yourself or have simply experienced loss, you will be sure to find something moving and profound in these diverse tales of mourning, remembrance, and resilience.
The Lengthening War: The Great War Diary of Mabel Goode
by Michael GoodeThe First World War was an event so important, so catalytic, so transformative that it still hangs in the public memory and still compels the Historians pen. It was a conflict which, by the end of the struggle, had created a world unfamiliar to the one in existence before it and brought levels of destruction and loss all too unimaginable to the generation of minds which created it. Despite this, we still find it hard to picture what it was like to live through this war. Right from its start, Mabel Goode realised that the First World War would be the biggest event to take place in her lifetime. Knowing this, she took to recording it, taking us day by day through what living in wartime Britain was like. The diary shows us how the war came to the Home Front, from enrolment, rationing, the collapse of domestic service and growth of war work, to Zeppelin attacks over Yorkshire, and the ever mounting casualty lists. Above all else, Mabels diary captures a growing disillusionment with a lengthening war, as the costs and the sacrifices mount. Starting with great excitement and expecting a short struggle, the entries gradually give way to a more critical tone, and eventually to total disengagement. The blank pages marked for 1917 and 1918 are almost as informative as the fearful excitement captured at the onset of that tremendous conflict. This is a strong narrative of the war, easy to read, mixing news with personal feelings and events (often revealing gap between official news and reality). Also included are several poems written by Mabel and a love story in the appendix, giving a complete insight into the life of the diarist. Of note is the fact that Mabel and her brothers (the main serving protagonists in the diary) lived in Germany for some time, meaning they could all speak German and knew 'the enemy nation' as many Britons did not.
No Surrender in Burma: Operations Behind Japanese Lines, Captivity and Torture
by Fred C. GoodeThis British Commando&’s WWII memoir recounts his attempt to escape Japanese-occupied Burma and his harrowing experiences as a POW. This is the extraordinary story of Lance Corporal Fred Goode, a British Commando stationed in Burma in 1941. Cut off behind enemy lines the following year, Goode walked 2,000 miles towards India and freedom, but was betrayed to Japanese forces only 20 miles short of his destination. Tortured by the infamous Kempeitai—Imperial Japan&’s military police—Goode was then sent to Rangoon's notorious Central Jail, where he remained a prisoner of war until Japan&’s surrender. Goode was one of fifty men sent to Burma to support and train Chinese forces fighting in Japanese-occupied China. With Japan's entry into World War II in December of that year, their mission expanded to include destroying airfields and taking bullion to India. When they were overtaken by enemy forces before crossing the Irrawaddy River, their commanding officer instructed them to split into four groups and head for India or Yunnan. Of the original fifty, only eight survived.
The Jewel Hunter (WILDGuides #57)
by Chris GooddieA tale of one man's obsession with rainforest jewels, this is the story of an impossible dream: a quest to see every one of the world's most elusive avian gems--a group of birds known as pittas--in a single year. Insightful, compelling, and laugh-out-loud funny, this is more than a book about birds. It's a true story detailing the lengths to which a man will go to escape his midlife crisis. A travelogue with a difference, it follows a journey from the suburban straitjacket of High Wycombe to the steamy, leech-infested rainforests of remotest Asia, Africa, and Australia. Dangerous situations, personal traumas, and logistical nightmares threaten The Jewel Hunter's progress. Will venomous snakes or razor-clawed bears intervene? Or will running out of fuel mid-Pacific ultimately sink the mission? The race is on. . . . If you've ever yearned to escape your day job, wondered what makes men tick, or simply puzzled over how to make a truly world-class cup of tea, this is a book for you.
Miss Angel: The Art and World of Angelica Kauffman, Eighteenth-Century Icon
by Angelica GooddenA word was coined to describe the condition of people stricken with a new kind of fever when the Swiss-born artist Angelica Kauffman (1741-1807) came to London in 1766. 'The whole world', it was said, 'is Angelicamad.' One of the most successful women artists in history - a painter who possessed what her friend Goethe called an 'unbelievable' and 'massive' talent - Kauffman became the toast of Georgian England, captivating society with her portraits, mythological scenes and decorative compositions. She knew and painted poets, novelists and playwrights, collaborating with them and illustrating their work; her designs adorned the houses of the Grand Tourists she had met and painted in Italy; actors, statesmen, philosophers, kings and queen sat to her; and she was the force that launched a thousand engravings. Despite rumours of relationships with other artists (including Sir Joshua Reynolds), and an apparently bigamous and annulled first marriage to a pseudo Count, Kauffman was adopted by royalty in England and abroad as a model of social and artistic decorum. A profoundly learned artist, but one who is loved, above all, for her tender adaptations from classical antiquity and sentimental literature; a commercially successful celebrity yet also a founding member of The Royal Academy of arts; the virginal creator of sexually ambivalent beings who was one of the hardest-headed businesswomen of her age, Kauffman's life and work is full of apparent contradictions explored in this first biography in over 80 years.
Quest Biographies Bundle — Books 11–20
by Lian Goodall Marguerite Paulin Francine Legaré Gary Evans Deborah Cowley Tom Shardlow Heather Kirk Anne Cimon André VanassePresenting ten titles in the Quest Biography series that profiles prominent figures in Canada’s history. <P><P>The important Canadian lives detailed here are: influential politicians Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King and Premiers René Lévesque and Maurice Duplessis; intrepid explorers Samuel de Champlain and David Thompson; National Film Board founder John Grierson; medical humanitarian Lucille Teasdale; and renowned writers Mazo de la Roche, Susanna Moodie, and Gabrielle Roy. Includes Willam Lyon Mackenzie King René Lévesque Maurice Duplessis Samuel de Champlain David Thompson John Grierson Lucille Teasdale Susanna Moodie Gabrielle Roy Mazo de la Roche
Quest Biographies Bundle — Books 11–15
by Lian Goodall Marguerite Paulin Francine Legaré Gary Evans Deborah CowleyPresenting five titles in the Quest Biography series that profiles prominent figures in Canada’s history. The important Canadian lives detailed here are: longtime Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King; Quebec premier and separatist René Lévesque; the explorer of Quebec, Samuel de Champlain; National Film Board founder John Grierson; and medical humanitarian Lucille Teasdale. Includes William Lyon Mackenzie King Réne Lévesque Samuel de Champlain John Grierson Lucille Teasdale
Photographing Greatness: The Story of Karsh
by Lian GoodallYousuf Karsh emigrated to North America from Turkey in the 1920s, eventually settling in Ottawa. An early interest in photography inspired him to open his own studio. As he became known for the quality of his work, Karsh’s close proximity to powerful leaders in Ottawa led to commissions of portraits of politicians. He became known as the worlds’ finest portrait photographer for his gift of drawing out and capturing a subject’s character in a photograph. Over a seventy plus year career, Karsh photographed many famous musicians, artists, actors, captains of industry and politlcians. He was also a humanitarian who worked with sick children. This is the first children’s biography of the man who immortalized the makers of history.
William Lyon Mackenzie King: Dreams and Shadows
by Lian GoodallMackenzie King (1874-1950) was Canadas tenth and longest serving prime minister and an important figure on the international scene, especially during the Second World War. This book provides a fascinating glimpse into the world of Mackenzie King.
Reason for Hope: A Spiritual Journey (Windsor Selection Ser.)
by Jane Goodall Phillip BermanAs a young woman, Jane Goodall was best known for her groundbreaking fieldwork with the chimpanzees of Gombe, Africa. Goodall's work has always been controversial, mostly because she broke the mold of research scientist by developing meaningful relationships with her "specimens" and honoring their lives as she would other humans. Now at the age of 60, she continues to break the mold of scientist by revealing how her research and worldwide conservation institutes spring from her childhood callings and adult spiritual convictions. Reason for Hope is a smoothly written memoir that does not shy away from facing the realities of environmental destruction, animal abuse, and genocide. But Goodall shares her antidote to the poison of despair with specific examples of why she has not lost faith. For instance, she shares her spiritual epiphany during a visit to Auschwitz; her bravery in the face of chimpanzee imprisonment in medical laboratories; and devotes a whole chapter to individuals, corporations, and countries that are doing the right thing. But most of all Goodall provides a beautifully written plea for why everyone can and must find a reason for hope. --Gail Hudson
The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times (Global Icons Series)
by Jane Goodall Douglas AbramsIn a world that seems so troubled, how do we hold on to hope? <p><p> Looking at the headlines—the worsening climate crisis, a global pandemic, loss of biodiversity, political upheaval—it can be hard to feel optimistic. And yet hope has never been more desperately needed. <p><p> In this urgent book, Jane Goodall, the world's most famous living naturalist, and Douglas Abrams, the internationally bestselling co-author of The Book of Joy, explore through intimate and thought-provoking dialogue one of the most sought after and least understood elements of human nature: hope. <p><p> In The Book of Hope, Jane focuses on her "Four Reasons for Hope": The Amazing Human Intellect, The Resilience of Nature, The Power of Young People, and The Indomitable Human Spirit. <p><p> Drawing on decades of work that has helped expand our understanding of what it means to be human and what we all need to do to help build a better world.
O Livro da Esperança
by Jane Goodall Douglas AbramsUm guia de sobrevivência para tempos difíceis. Este é um olhar raro e profundo sobre a natureza da esperança, mas também sobre o coração e o espírito de uma mulher que revolucionou a visão do mundo que nos rodeia. O livro-testemunho de uma das mulheres mais icónicas do nosso tempo. No mundo tão conturbado em que vivemos, como manter a esperança? Se considerarmos o agravamento da crise climática, uma pandemia, a perda da biodiversidade e a crescente instabilidade política, manter o otimismo pode ser um grande desafio. No entanto, a esperança nunca foi tão necessária. Neste livro imperioso, Jane Goodall eDouglas Abrams refletem, num diálogo estimulante e intimista, sobre um dos elementos da natureza humana mais desejado e menos compreendido. A lendária primatologista britânica explana, através do seu percurso de vida, os seus «quatro motivos de esperança»: O Maravilhoso Intelecto Humano, A Resiliência da Natureza, O Poder dos Jovens e o Indomável Espírito Humano.Com base nas experiências queinfluenciaram as suas descobertas e crenças, Jane Goodall conta-nos como se tornou uma mensageira da esperança e deixa uma reflexãosobre algumas questões vitais: Como manter a esperança quando a causa parece perdida? Como podemos cultivar a esperança nos nossosjovens? Qual é a relação entre a esperança e a ação? «O otimismo contagiante de Jane Goodall e o apelo estimulante à ação fazem deste livro uma leitura essencial para aqueles que se preocupam com o futuro do planeta.» — Publishers Weekly «Um diálogo envolvente e esclarecedor sobre esperança que amplifica o mantra de Jane Goodall: Juntos podemos! Juntos faremos!» Booklist «Não me parece que pudesse haver um momento mais oportuno para ese livro surgir nas nossas vidas... É o livro pelo qual ansiávamos.» Jay Shetty, autor de Pensa Como Um Monge «Uma mensagem poderosa de proteção dos direitos intrínsecos de todos os seres vivos.» Leonardo DiCaprio, ator e ativista ambiental
Through a Window: My Thirty Years with the Chimpanzees of Gombe
by Jane GoodallThe renowned British primatologist continues the &“engrossing account&” of her time among the chimpanzees of Gombe, Tanzania (Publishers Weekly). In her classic, In the Shadow of Man, Jane Goodall wrote of her first ten years at Gombe. In Through a Window she continues the story, painting a more complete and vivid portrait of our closest relatives. On the shores of Lake Tanganyika, Gombe is a community where the principal residents are chimpanzees. Through Goodall&’s eyes we watch young Figan&’s relentless rise to power and old Mike&’s crushing defeat. We learn how one mother rears her children to succeed and another dooms hers to failure. We witness horrifying murders, touching moments of affection, joyous births, and wrenching deaths. As Goodall compellingly tells the story of this intimately intertwined community, we are shown human emotions stripped to their essence. In the mirror of chimpanzee life, we see ourselves reflected. &“A humbling and exalting book . . . Ranks with the great scientific achievements of the twentieth century.&” —The Washington Post &“[An] absolutely smashing account . . . Thrilling, affectionate, intelligent—a classic.&” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review
Also
by E. B. GoodaleAn ode to the way memories allow us to be in many places at once, Also is a powerful exploration of being present as well as looking back. Perfect for Mother&’s Day, birthdays, or graduation, this modern classic is by Ezra Jack Keats Honor–winner E. B. Goodale.A moving story that follows one family through generations of time spent together and shows readers that memories allow us to connect to the past, the present, and also each other. This gorgeously illustrated book explores the power of memory, teaches children subtle lessons about the passing of time, and celebrates the cherished bonds we share with those we love. Perfect for reading together every day, or for giving on occasions like graduation, Mother's Day, and birthdays.
We Saw Lincoln Shot: One Hundred Eyewitness Accounts
by Timothy S. GoodOn the evening of April 14,1865, when President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in Ford's Theatre, an entire audience was witness to the tragedy. From diaries, letters, depositions, affidavits, and periodicals, here is a collection of accounts from a variety of theatergoers—who by chance saw one of the truly pivotal events in US history. Providing minute firsthand details recorded over a span of ninety years, We Saw Lincoln Shot explores a subject that will forever be debated. With a sharp focus upon the circumstances reported by one hundred actual witnesses, We Saw Lincoln Shot provides vivid documentation of a momentous evening and exposes errors that have been perpetuated as the assassination has been rendered into written histories.
The Search for Major Plagge: The Nazi Who Saved Jews
by Michael GoodAn “exceptional” historical detective story that follows one man’s quest to find the German commander who saved his mother—and many other Jews (Booklist).Part detective story, part personal quest, Michael Good’s book is the story of the German commander of a Lithuanian work camp who saved hundreds of Jewish lives in the Vilnius ghetto —including the life of Good’s mother, Pearl. Who was this enigmatic officer Pearl Good had spoken of so often?After five years of research—interviewing survivors, assembling a team that could work to open German files untouched for fifty years, following every lead he could, Good was able to uncover the amazing tale of one man’s remarkable courage. And in April 2005, Karl Plagge joined Oskar Schindler and 380 other Germans as “Righteous among Nations,” honored by the State of Israel for protecting and saving Jewish lives during the Holocaust.This expanded edition features new photographs and a new epilogue on the impact of the discovery of Karl Plagge—especially the story of eighty-three-year-old Alfons von Deschwanden, who, after fifty years of silence, came forward as a veteran of Plagge’s unit. His testimony is now part of this growing witness to truth.“A rewarding tale of redemption in the face of horror.” —Kirkus Reviews
The Way Around
by David GoodRooted in two vastly different cultures, a young man struggles to understand himself, find his place in the world, and reconnect with his mother--and her remote tribe, the Yanomami--in the deepest jungles of the Amazon rainforestFor much of his young life, David Good was torn between two worlds. The son of an American anthropologist and a tribeswoman from a distant part of the Amazon, David found his life upended at the age of six when his mother left their family--and it took a journey of twenty years for him to embrace his identity, reunite with his mother, and claim his heritage.From the wilds of the Amazonian jungle to the paved confines of suburban New Jersey and back, The Way Around is David Good's amazing chronicle of self-discovery, but also the story of his parents, as he relives his father's journey as an American encountering the Yanomami's world, and his mother's painful struggle to adapt to a Western lifestyle for her family. In this powerful memoir, David writes of his mother's abandonment and the toll on his childhood, the rebellious teenage years marked by depression and drinking, and the near-fatal car accident that gave him a purpose: to find a way back to his mother.A tale of recovery and discovery combining adventure, history, and anthropology, The Way Around is a fascinating exploration of what family really means, and the way in which the strongest bonds endure across decades and worlds.
First Family: George Washington's Heirs and the Making of America
by Cassandra A. GoodAward-winning historian Cassandra A. Good shows how the outspoken stepgrandchildren of George Washington played an overlooked but important role in the development of American society and politics from the Revolution to the Civil War.While it&’s widely known in America that George and Martha Washington never had children of their own, few are aware that they raised numerous children together. In First Family, we see Washington as a father figure, as well as meet the children he helped raise and trace their complicated roles in American history.The children of Martha Washington&’s son by her first marriage—Eliza, Patty, Nelly and Wash Custis—were born into life in the public eye. Raised in the country&’s first &“first family,&” they remained well-known as Washington&’s family and keepers of his legacy throughout their lives. By turns petty and powerful, glamorous and cruel, the Custises used Washington as a means to enhance their own power and status. As enslavers committed to the American empire, the Custis family embodied the failures of the American experiment that finally exploded into civil war—all the while being celebrities in a soap opera of their own making.First Family brings new focus and attention to this surprisingly neglected aspect of George Washington&’s life and legacy. As the country grapples with concerns about political dynasties and the public role of presidential families, the saga of Washington&’s family offers a human story of historical precedent.
Group Captain John 'Joe' Collier DSO, DFC and Bar: The Authorised Biography of the Bomber Commander, Air War & SOE Strategist & Dambuster Planner
by Simon GoochJohn Collier's war began on day one, flying Hampdens in 83 Squadron with his friend Guy Gibson, in a hunt for the battleship Admiral Scheer. By the summer of 1940 he was bombing the Dortmund-Ems Canal at low-level, then Bordeaux and the Scharnhorst at Brest, which led to his DFC and Bar. Given command of 420 (RCAF) Squadron at 25, Collier was hand-picked to direct 97 Squadron, whose Lancasters made a spectacular debut with the 1942 Augsburg Raid. In Gibson's opinion Joe Collier's 97 was the best unit in Bomber Command. After 63 missions Collier was awarded the DSO and was selected to join the Directorate of Bomber Operations (B Ops 1) at the heart of the air war: co-ordinating with the USAAF, issuing directives to Bomber Command, and arguing for precision attacks on vital enemy industries and weaponry. In B Ops 1 John Collier was closely involved in planning the Dambuster Raid with Barnes Wallis, drafted the attack on Peenemunde's V-weapons research station, and managed to delay the buzz-bomb and rocket assault on London. As target selector for the specialist 617 Squadron, he and Leonard Cheshire VC made imaginative use of Wallis's Tallboy earthquake bomb. 617 were also linked to Collier's role with SOE's Blackmail Committee that gave French industrialists a stark choice: sabotage your own plant or be bombed flat. By the time he moved to India in 1945 as Deputy Director of Combined Ops, John Collier had been involved in most of the major initiatives of the bomber war. His unpublished memoir of B Ops 1 and his logbooks and letters home give direct authority to this the first biography of this remarkable flyer, one of the most significant young RAF officers of the war.