{"title":"Books by Martin Sixsmith","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9780753559253","title":"The Russia Conundrum","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e'I'm a fairly calm fellow; I don't usually get het up about things. But I was, let's say, concerned when I tuned into the Moscow Echo radio station and heard that the Kremlin had put a price on my head. The announcement didn't quite say 'dead or alive'. But it came close...' \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eMikhail Khodorkovsky, March 2021\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Mikhail Khodorkovsky has seen behind the mask of Vladimir Putin. Once an oil tycoon and the richest man in Russia, Khodorkovsky spoke out against the corruption of Putin's regime - and was punished by the Kremlin, stripped of his entire wealth and jailed for over ten years.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Now freed, working as a pro-democracy campaigner in enforced exile, Khodorkovsky brings us the insider's battle to save his country's soul. Offering an urgent analysis of what has gone wrong with Putin, \u003ci\u003eThe Russia Conundrum\u003c\/i\u003e maps the country's rise and fall against Khodorkovsky's own journey, from Soviet youth to international oil executive, powerful insider to political dissident, and now a high-profile voice seeking to reconcile East and West.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e With unparalleled insight, written with \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author Martin Sixsmith, \u003ci\u003eThe Russia Conundrum\u003c\/i\u003e exposes the desires and damning truths of Putin's Russia, and provides an answer to the West on how it must challenge the Kremlin - in order to pave the way for a better future.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43128863424690,"sku":"9780753559253","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780753559253_92f1864c-bfbb-4dc0-b784-8a9686e1dec7.jpg?v=1786016333"},{"product_id":"9781447245223","title":"Philomena","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe extraordinary true story that inspired an acclaimed film starring Steve Coogan and Judi Dench, \u003ci\u003ePhilomena\u003c\/i\u003e, by Martin Sixsmith, is a gripping tale of heartache, hypocrisy and ultimately, redemption. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt follows the lives of Philomena Lee, who, after falling pregnant in 1952, was treated as a fallen woman by Irish Catholic society, and her son, torn from her by the Church and swept across the Atlantic as one among many forced adoptions.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePhilomena, shamed and coerced into signing a document promising never to attempt to see her son again, wages a secret, decades-long battle to reconnect with her lost, beloved son. Unbeknownst to her, her son has been renamed Michael Hess, and grew up to become a high-powered lawyer in the homophobic climate of the Reagan and Bush administrations. But he was a gay man in a homophobic party where he had to conceal not only his sexuality but, eventually, the fact that he had AIDS. With little time left, he returned to Ireland and the convent where he was born: his desperate quest to find his mother before he died left a legacy that was to unfold with unexpected consequences for all involved.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn this searing narrative, Sixsmith exposes a clandestine world of love, loss, secrets, and the unbroken bond of a mother and child.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43204433445042,"sku":"9781447245223","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781447245223_50573b29-8906-4e8b-8d6d-28d47ca10c5c.jpg?v=1786020596"},{"product_id":"9781781259139","title":"The War of Nerves","description":"'Essential ... endlessly fascinating ... to read Sixsmith is to want to read more Sixsmith' ForbesMore than any other conflict, the Cold War was fought on the battlefield of the human mind. And, nearly thirty years since the collapse of the Soviet Union, its legacy still endures - not only in our politics, but in our own thoughts, and fears. Drawing on a vast array of untapped archives and unseen sources, Martin Sixsmith vividly recreates the tensions and paranoia of the Cold War, framing it for the first time from a psychological perspective. Revisiting towering personalities like Khrushchev, Kennedy and Nixon, as well as the lives of the unknown millions who were caught up in the conflict, this is a gripping account of fear itself - and in today's uncertain times, it is more resonant than ever.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43205021073586,"sku":"9781781259139","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781781259139_d07a6cad-a579-47ca-a197-7cea18cffb66.jpg?v=1786025536"},{"product_id":"9781399409858","title":"Putin and the Return of History","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn original history of Russia's thousand-year past, tracing the forces and the myths that have shaped Putin's politics and rekindled the Cold War.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eVladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has reshaped history. In the decades after the collapse of Soviet communism, the West convinced itself that liberal democracy would henceforth be the dominant, ultimately unique, system of governance - a hubris that shaped how the West would treat Russia for the next two decades. But history wasn’t over. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePutin is a paradox. In the early years of his presidency, he appeared to commit himself to friendship with the West, suggesting that Russia could join the European Union or even NATO. He said he supported free-market democracy and civil rights. But the Putin of those years is unrecognisable today. The Putin of the 2020s is an autocratic nationalist, dedicated to repression at home and anti-Western militarism abroad. So, what happened? Was he lying when he proclaimed his support for freedom, democracy and friendship with the West? Or, was he sincere? Did he change his views at some stage between then and now? And if that is the case, what happened to change him?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePutin and the Return of History\u003c\/i\u003e examines these questions in the context of Russia’s thousand-year past, tracing the forces and the myths that have shaped Putin’s politics of aggression: the enduring terror of encirclement by outsiders, the subjugation of the individual to the cause of the state, the collectivist values that allow the sacrifice of human lives in battle, the willingness to lie and deceive, the co-opting of religion and the belief in Great Russia’s mission to change the world.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55896528093557,"sku":"9781399409858","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781399409858_87c5bc53-29fb-4f44-882c-33cd33cbd384.jpg?v=1786019259"},{"product_id":"9781471149832","title":"My Sins Go With Me","description":"‘Highly engaging . . . The creeping escalation of oppression and rebellion is often thrillingly told . . . A powerful story of a history that remains far from settled’ Daily Telegraph In the darkest days of the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, Anna-Maria van der Vaart sheltered Allied pilots, gave refuge to persecuted Jews and participated in audacious acts of sabotage. She survived when others did not, a witness to their courage and to the terrible treachery that betrayed so many of them to the Nazis.    Tens of thousands of Dutchmen elected to fight with the Germans, while many civilians turned over their Jewish neighbours to an almost certain death. Holland’s Jewish leaders prevaricated, hoping to save their people and their own skins. But the exploits of the Dutch Resistance produced unimaginable heroism and unparalleled self-sacrifice.  A chance meeting with Martin Sixsmith in 2019 led to Anna-Maria telling him her story. In Dutch and German archives, interviews with survivors, personal diaries and contentious memoirs by those with things to hide, Sixsmith came across a drama on a scale he could never have imagined. My Sins Go with Me is a story of remarkable bravery, and of cowardice and betrayal in the hardest of times.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":57685873983861,"sku":"9781471149856","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":56299985011061,"sku":"9781471149832","price":22.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781471149856.jpg?v=1792599095"},{"product_id":"9781471149818","title":"An Unquiet Heart","description":"\u003cb\u003eFrom the bestselling author of \u003ci\u003ePhilomena \u003c\/i\u003ecomes a beautiful and heartbreaking tale about Sergei Yesenin, one of Russia’s most beloved poets. It vividly captures the extraordinary life of a man navigating love, loss and loneliness in the midst of the Russian Revolution.   \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSergei Yesenin\u003c\/b\u003e is a young poet, formed by childhood abandonment, set on becoming the most famous poet in Russia in a time of war, revolution and terror. A sensitive soul in a senseless time, searching for meaning through poetry, fame and passionate affairs with both women and men – until a meeting with the beautiful actress Zinaida Raikh changes everything.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e‘If thou art near, I’ll leave all behind, \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eRenounce the world, the call of fame. \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eAll I need is to kiss your hand, your lips, \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eAnd hear you call me by my name.’\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e His success will bring him to the Tsar’s family, to \u003cb\u003eRasputin\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003eTrotsky\u003c\/b\u003e and to the world’s most famous dancer, \u003cb\u003eIsadora Duncan\u003c\/b\u003e. He befriends other prominent poets and is revered by millions. Schoolchildren learn his verses by heart. Red Army soldiers carry them going into battle. \u003cb\u003eYuri Gagarin\u003c\/b\u003e would later take them into space. But Yesenin’s obsession with fame is dangerous and destructive, for him, and for those who love him.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eAn Unquiet Heart\u003c\/i\u003e is a magnificent insight into history, and into the life of a tender, troubled man. This is a story about the power of poetry in turbulent times, about triumph and tragedy and about how true love never fades.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":56300403589493,"sku":"9781471149818","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781471149818.jpg?v=1792686149"},{"product_id":"suing-the-kremlin","title":"Suing the Kremlin","description":"\u003cp\u003eVladimir Putin came to power by destroying the Russian oligarchs, the entrepreneurs who grew rich during Russia’s chaotic transition from communism and exercised unseemly influence over the government of Boris Yeltsin. Putin confiscated their companies and used the profits to build the Kremlin’s war chest for the invasion of Ukraine. He and his cronies siphoned off billions for themselves.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDrawing on exclusive interviews and explosive new material, in \u003cem\u003eSuing the Kremlin\u003c\/em\u003e Martin Sixsmith tells the astonishing story of what happened to the men Putin dispossessed. Some were sent to labour camps, forced into exile or murdered. Some attempted to fight back, but with no success.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYet for the past twenty years, a small, determined team of legal experts based in London has been pursuing Putin and his rogue state through courts across the globe. Acting on behalf of Group Menatep – the holding company founded by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, once Russia’s wealthiest oligarch – they have set out to reclaim this vast stolen fortune and to prove that even the most powerful men in the world are not beyond the reach of international law.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57487902540149,"sku":"9781800755062","price":25.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781800755062.jpg?v=1786355124"},{"product_id":"russia","title":"Russia","description":"\u003cp\u003eRussia is a country of contradictions: a nation of cultural refinement and artistic originality and yet also a country that rules by 'the iron fist'. In this riveting history, Martin Sixsmith shows how Russia's complex identity has been formed over a thousand years, and how it can help us understand its often baffling behaviour at home and abroad.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCombining in-depth research and interviews with his personal experiences as a former BBC Moscow correspondent, Sixsmith skilfully traces the conundrums of modern Russia to their roots in its troubled past, and explains the nation's seemingly split personality as the result of influences that have divided it for centuries.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestseller, \u003ci\u003eRussia\u003c\/i\u003e is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the complex political landscape of this country, and its unique place in the modern world.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57490156945781,"sku":"9781849900737","price":20.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781849900737.jpg?v=1786442042"},{"product_id":"despots","title":"Despots","description":"\u003cb\u003eA razor-sharp analysis of the increasing – and terrifying – parallels between Trump’s America and Putin’s Russia, from the former BBC Moscow Correspondent and Sunday Times bestselling author Martin Sixsmith.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Gripping, terrifying, urgent, necessary.\" \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e- Ian Rankin \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Anyone who cares for democracy and freedom, and who fears for the future of both, should go and read this book.\" \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e- Jonathan Dimbleby\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eLong Live the King.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSince his re-election as US president, Donald Trump has made good on things he only dreamed of accomplishing in his first term. He has smashed constitutional constraints, trampled on free speech, suborned the judiciary, demonised the media and crushed protests on the streets. He has secured the backing of America’s oligarchs by the offer of mutual enrichment and inflated his personal wealth by flouting ethical standards. US foreign policy is no longer based on values but on greed, while at home the White House has intervened in almost every area of people’s lives, sending the National Guard into America’s cities, telling educators what schoolchildren should be taught and threatening universities when they beg to differ.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAccording to Martin Sixsmith, the BBC’s long-serving former Moscow and Washington Correspondent, it is all eerily familiar from what Russia went through in the early-2000s.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eDespots\u003c\/i\u003e is Sixsmith's account of how two aspiring dictators came to power in nominally electoral democracies then dismantled the pillars of democracy from within, one following confidently in the footsteps of the other. As in Putin's Russia, so in Trump's America: the US is fast-forwarding through what Russia endured in the first five years under Putin, and the parallels this time are much clearer, more overt and increasingly terrifying.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for Martin Sixsmith\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e“To read Sixsmith is to want to read more Sixsmith”\u003cb\u003e - FORBES\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e“Sixsmith has the knack of delivering complex material with a clear voice” \u003cb\u003e- THE TIMES\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e“The virtue and originality of Martin Sixsmith’s The War on Nerves is to see almost every aspect of the stand-off in psychological terms” \u003cb\u003e- THE ECONOMIST\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e“The Russia Conundrum is essential reading for anyone who really wants to understand 21st century Russia”\u003cb\u003e - BUSINESS INSIDER\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\"Highly engaging . . . thrillingly told . . . My Sins Go With Me is a powerful story of a history that remains far from settled\" \u003cb\u003e- DAILY TELEGRAPH\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":57499208843637,"sku":"9780753562420","price":22.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":57682742018421,"sku":"9780753562444","price":11.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780753562420.jpg?v=1792511619"},{"product_id":"a-spirit-of-love","title":"A Spirit of Love","description":null,"brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57503654347125,"sku":"9781398536579","price":20.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}]}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-martin-sixsmith.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}