The astonishing story of how the British codebreakers of Bletchley Park cracked the Nazi Enigma cyphers, cutting an estimated two years off the Second World War, never ceases to amaze.No one is better placed to tell that story than Michael Smith, whose number one bestseller Station X was one of the earliest accounts. Using recently released secret files, along with personal interviews with many of the codebreakers themselves, Smith now provides the definitive account of everything ...

Captain Francis Crozier was a major figure in 19th century Arctic and Antarctic exploration who led the doomed Franklin Expedition's battle to survive against the odds. It is a compelling story which refuses to be laid to rest and recent discovery of his lost ships above the Arctic Circle gives it a new urgency.The ships may hold vital clues to how two navy vessels and 129 men disappeared 170 years ago and why Crozier, in command after Franklin's early death, left the only written ...

Over 80 innovative recipes and techniques for grilling, smoking, spit-roasting, cooking over coals, and more, from award-winning chef and master of wood-fired cooking Michael Smith.Having spent a lifetime cooking with a passion for the flame, Michael Smith has mastered the many miraculous ways that wood, fire, and smoke go beyond merely cooking food, elevating it instead to crave-worthy meals. Gathering wood, building a fire, tending it, and cooking delicious food ...

Tom Crean ran away from his Kerry home, aged 15, to join the British navy in 1893. He travelled to the Antarctic with the famous explorers, Scott and Shackleton. He explored the unknown, crossed ice fields and wild oceans and courageously saved friends from death.

A sociological study of the African American carnival revelers in New Orleans who dress in Native American-influenced costumes.One of the most dazzling elements of the Mardi Gras celebrations, the Mardi Gras Indians receive the attention and respect of carnival-goers for their elaborately beaded costumes and entertaining dances. But what few realize about the groups is that the parading is more than just for show. Costuming, dancing, and all the rituals of these gr...

On 17 March 1912, Lawrence 'Titus' Oates crawled bootless from a tent to his death in blizzard conditions of -40°C. Oates, always an outsider on Scott's Polar expedition, died on his 32nd birthday. His parting words were: 'I am just going outside and may be some time.' Oates was the epitome of the Victorian English gentleman: a public schoolboy who became a dashing cavalry officer and hero in the Boer War. Stationed in Ireland from 1902 to 1906, his passion became horse racing and he won n...

The British codebreakers at Bletchley Park are now believed to have shortened the duration of the Second World War by up to two years. During the dark days of 1941, as Britain stood almost alone against the the Nazis, this remarkable achievement seemed impossible. This extraordinary book, originally published as Action This Day, includes descriptions by some of Britain s foremost historians of the work of Bletchley Park, from the breaking ofEnigma and other wartime codes to the invention o...

A genre-blending work of autofiction and memoir from the cult author of The Giro Playboy'Essential reading for new dads' LIAS SAOUDITotally sublime. Every sentence radiates' RICHARD MILWARD'A book that changes how you see the world' ALI MILLAR'A rare, companionable and gorgeous book' ROB DOYLEIn Strangers on the Shore, Michael Smith - author of cult cl...

The true story of the Holland America cruise ship Zaandam, which set sail with a deadly and little-understood stowaway—COVID-19—days before the world shut down in March 2020. This riveting narrative thriller takes readers behind the scenes with passengers and crew who were caught unprepared for the deadly ordeal that lay ahead.In early 2020, the world was on edge. An ominous virus was spreading on different continents, and no one knew what the coming weeks...

The story of the remarkable Tom Crean who ran away to sea aged 15 and played a memorable role in Antarctic exploration. He spent more time in the unexplored Antarctic than Scott or Shackleton, and outlived both. Among the last to see Scott alive, Crean was in the search party that found the frozen body. An unforgettable story of triumph over unparalleled hardship and deprivation.

The extraordinary wartime exploits of the British codebreakers based at Bletchley Park continue to fascinate and amaze. In The Emperor's Codes Michael Smith tells the story of how Japan's wartime codes were broken, and the consequences for the Second World War. He describes how the Japanese ciphers were broken and the effect on the lives of the codebreakers themselves. Using material from recently declassified British files, privileged access to Australian secret official histories and int...

**The ultimate insider’s account: living and working in China in a period of unprecedented economic and social upheavalIt was just after midnight when China’s notorious secret police came knocking...**A late-night visit to his Shanghai laneway house by China’s notorious secret police triggered a diplomatic storm which abruptly ended Michael Smith’s stint as one of Australia’s last foreign correspondents in China. After five days under consular protection, Smith was...