A-Z of Ealing

WINNER OF THE TIMES BIOGRAPHY OF THE YEAR AT THE BRITISH SPORTS BOOK AWARDS<BR><BR>In the 1930s, as the world hurtled towards terrible global conflict, speed was all the rage. It was described by Aldous Huxley as 'the one genuinely modern pleasure', and one of the fastest and most thrilling ways to attain it was through the new sport of bobsledding. Exotic, exciting and above all dangerous, it was by far the most popular event at the Lake Placid Winter Olympics. It required an abundance of skill and bravery. And the four men who triumphed at those Games lived the most extraordinary lives.<BR><BR>Billy Fiske was an infamous daredevil, blessed with a natural talent for driving. He would later become the first American airman to die in the war - flying for the RAF. Clifford Gray was a notorious playboy and a player on both Broadway and Hollywood. Or was he? His identity was a mystery for decades. Jay O'Brien was a gambler and a rogue who, according to one ex-wife, forced women to marry him at gunpoint. And Eddie Eagan, a heavyweight boxer and brilliant lawyer, remains the only man to win gold at both the Summer and Winter Olympics.<BR><BR>This is their story, of loose living, risk-taking and hell-raising in an age of decadence, and of their race against the odds to become the fastest men on ice. We will never see their like again. Especially after the world did descend into that second, terrible global conflict.

The seaside town of Ramsgate in Kent developed as an important port in medieval England, associated with the Cinque Port of Sandwich. Close to the Continent, its harbour was a major embarkation point for the Napoleonic Wars and during the Dunkirk evacuation in the Second World War. In the nineteenth century Ramsgate became popular as a seaside resort, and was the home of architect A. W. Pugin, who built several buildings in the town, and later Vincent van Gogh lived and worked as a teacher in Ramsgate. Today Ramsgate is the major fishing port on the Kent coast and also attracts visitors to its large marina and beaches.In this book author Andy Bull reveals the hidden history of Ramsgate, from the landing of Roman invasion forces, St Augustine's mission to bring Christianity to this country, the famous writers who lived in or regularly visited the town such as Wilkie Collins, Jane Austen, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels and how the future Queen Victoria almost died here and the crucial role of a Ramsgate doctor in saving her life, to the country's only royal harbour, the secret harbour built at Richborough to transport munitions during the First World War and the vast network of tunnels built to shelter 60,000 people during the Second World War. With tales of remarkable characters, unusual events and buildings lost or hidden, and fully illustrated throughout, Secret Ramsgate will appeal to all those with an interest in the history of this Kentish town.

Tisch-Kalender