"Martin King tells the human side of the story of the Battle of the Bulge better than anyone."Commander Jeffrey Barta, US Navy (retired)"I have walked the battlefields with Martin King, who has traversed them countless times with veterans of the Bulge. No one knows this story like Martin, and no one can tell it quite the way he does."Rick Beyer, New York Times bestselling author of The Ghost Army of World War II

Bloomsbury presents The Trouble with Heroes by Kate Messner read by Mack GordonBestselling and award-winning author Kate Messner takes readers on a heart-filling journey as a boy finds his path to healing.One summer.46 mountain peaks.A second chance to make things right.Finn Connelly is nothing like his dad, a star athlete and firefighter hero who always ran t...

Beneath the outward appearance of legitimate government and accountable officials there lurk hidden agendas, shadowy personalities and special interest groups seeking to seize control of the nation for their own ends. These 'states within a state', unfettered by legal norms and unworried by public opinion, are known as 'deep states'.In this fascinating account, Ian Fitzgerald examines what a deep state really is and how they have emerged in various places across th...

Bloomsbury presents Bitter Peleliu by Joseph Wheelan, read by Mack Gordon.The hard-hitting history of the Pacific War's 'forgotten battle' of Peleliu – a story of intelligence failings and impossible bravery.In late 1944, as a precursor to the invasion of the Philippines, U.S. military analysts decided to seize the small island of Peleliu to ensure that the Japanese airfield there could not threaten the invasion forces. This important new book explores the dramatic story of...

The astonishing true story of a boy who survived the war by hiding in the Polish forestMaxwell Smart was eleven years old when his entire family was killed before his eyes. He might have died along with them, but his mother selflessly ordered him to save himself. Alone in the forest, he dug a hole in the ground for shelter and foraged for food in farmers’ fields. His clothes in rags and close to starvation, he repeatedly escaped death at the hands of Nazis and Ukra...

Bloomsbury presents Earth by Jeffrey Jerome Cohen and Linda T. Elkins-Tanton, read by Rachel Handshaw and Mack Gordon.Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things.In Earth, a planetary scientist and a literary humanist explore what happens when we think of the Earth as an object viewable from space. As a “blue marble,” “a blue pale dot,” or, as Chaucer described it, “this litel spot of erthe,” th...

Some individuals have such a magnetic personality that they can attract a hugely devoted following, ignoring the misdeeds of their leader and even committing evil on their behalf. With religious, spiritual or philosophical beliefs to guide them, cults can lead to some of the disturbing events of the modern era. Filled with shadowy rituals and sinister hierarchies and led by masterful manipulators, they can easily become the site of unthinkable horror - and it is only after the leader is br...

Even as security has grown ever stronger and the techniques to catch criminals are more advanced than ever, serial killers still find a way to conduct their murderous business. In the 21st century, violent killers have used modern technology to help them commit their horrific crimes. Some look to the internet to stalk their victims, while the dark web is home to a shadowy world of illegal weapon sales, murder-for-hire sites and criminal forums providing tips on how to kill and get away wit...

The diminutive Joaquín Guzmán Loera, known universally by his nickname of 'El Chapo' ('Shorty' in Spanish), is the highest-profile narco-terrorist since the demise of Pablo Escobar in the 1990s. Loera began work at the age of nine as a gomero - a farmhand harvesting opium - and as he grew up he shot and murdered his way to the top. In 2009, he made the Forbes annual billionaires list and, before his capture by Mexican marines in 2016, the Sinaloa cartel which he commanded was turn...

Pirates have an almost mythical status in the public imagination - we think of rogue heroes riding the high seas and 'X marks the spot'. But this image is flawed at best.Using contemporary sources, Nigel Cawthorne turns the spotlight on the reality of pirate life, revealing the truth behind the legends. It gives us an insight into infamous the men and women who plundered ship and shore, including Captain Kidd, Blackbeard and Mary Read. We learn of the hazy distinct...

What dark thoughts roam the mind of a murderer?Serial killers like Ed Kemper, Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer and David Berkowitz have committed some of the most horrible crimes known to man. Their evil deeds seem unthinkable to the rest of us. Yet each had their own twisted logic for their dastardly deeds. In this book, author Al Cimino examines these serial killers by their own words - through the confessions they gave to police, their outbursts in court and the chilli...

Bloomsbury presents Shopping Mall by Matthew Newton, read by Mack Gordon.Object Lessons is a series of short books about the hidden lives of ordinary things.The mall near Mat thew Newton’s childhood home in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was one of the state’s first enclosed shopping malls. Like all malls in their heyday, this one was a climate-controlled pleasuredome where strangers converged. It boasted waterfalls, fish ponds, an indoor ice skating rink larger than Ro...