{"title":"Books by Nigel McCrery","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9781399020145","title":"The Coming Storm","description":"The outbreak of the Second World War came towards the closing stages of the 1939 cricket season. ‘Hitler permitted us almost to complete an exceptionally interesting season,’ Sir Home Gordon, wrote in the Cricketer magazine, ‘When shall we see the stumps pitched again?’As the West Indies touring team cancelled their last five matches and sailed home before the U-boat threat developed, the treasures at Lord’s, including the Ashes, were sent to a secret location for safe-keeping. The Marylebone Cricket Club cancelled its tour to India - England played under the MCC banner then.During the ensuing conflict twelve test cricketers (five English, two South Africans, one Australian and one New Zealander) perished together with 130 first class players. In this superbly researched sequel to Final Wicket, covering cricketing fatalities during The Great War, this book reveals each man’s career details, including cricketing statistics, and the circumstances of death. There is also a brief history of the game during the War.Arguably the period between the two world wars was the golden age of cricket, and this book honours those who made it so only to die serving their countries in a different way.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56298331242869,"sku":"9781399020145","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781399020145_3cba6b93-7f6b-4819-b0a4-9bd4ec339ce4.jpg?v=1786019817"},{"product_id":"9781399014939","title":"Final Scrum","description":"After the terrible losses of The Great War, twenty years later the Second World War resulted in the death of some of the finest sporting icons. This book honours the ninety international rugby players who lost their lives. Fifteen were Scottish, fourteen English, eleven Welsh and eight Irish. Australia and New Zealand suffered with ten and two internationals killed respectively and France eight. Germany topped the list with nineteen. In the same way that the Authors best-selling Into Touch remembered the 130 Internationals lost in the First World War, Final Scrum gives an individual biography of each of the ninety with their international and club playing record as well as their backgrounds, details of their military careers and circumstances of their death. We learn where they are buried or commemorated together with at least one photograph of each player. Rugby enthusiasts will find this book a fascinating and moving record of the sacrifice of the finest young men of their generation who fought in the second worldwide conflict of the 20th Century.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":56298503242101,"sku":"9781399014939","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":57685729018229,"sku":"9781473894501","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781399014939.jpg?v=1792598893"},{"product_id":"9781399020107","title":"Into Touch","description":"\u003cp\u003eAmong the million plus British and Empire soldiers that fell in the slaughter of The Great War were an elite band of International Rugby players.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTragically, over 130 caps from England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa and France - lost their lives on land, in the air and at sea. Even their legendary strength, fitness and courage were not enough to spare and save them.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe book will contain a brief history of International Rugby up to and including The First World War and there will be biographies of each player along with their individual and team photographs. Details of the manner of their death, their burial place and any memorials will also be included, alongside their international playing record.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNigel McCrery is best known for his crime writing but his previously published works reflect his interest in The Great War, notably All The Kings Men, a best seller and successful film starring David Jason.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56298509959541,"sku":"9781399020107","price":17.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781399020107_84f4d95e-0db6-4626-aed1-505aa55dbab8.jpg?v=1786019815"},{"product_id":"9781473827134","title":"Season in Hell","description":"Professional football was officially suspended at the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939\\. With their contracts terminated, players were free to join the Armed Forces and, by April 1940, 514 were enlisted in the Army, 84 in the RAF and 31 in the Royal Navy. Many others were involved in war work; one factory in Oldbury boasted 18 West Bromwich Albion players.   Of those who joined up 80 were to die. These included English International Tom Cooper who had played for Liverpool, Derby County and Port Vale, Alan Fowler of Swindon Town who died after D Day serving with the Dorsets, and Herbie Robert of Arsenal. Many were household names as Gareth Bale and Wayne Rooney are today.   In this powerful and evocative memorial book the author traces the footballing and military careers of these talented men who sacrificed all for King and Country.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56301372375413,"sku":"9781473827134","price":25.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781473827134_21af6ad5-7e28-4582-bd67-1913d625182c.jpg?v=1786020430"},{"product_id":"9781787396876","title":"The Complete History of the SAS","description":"Specializing in covert reconnaissance, counter-terrorism and hostage rescue, the SAS is one of the world's most famous, feared and respected elite fighting forces. This book tells the full, fascinating story of the regiment, from formation in the sand dunes of Africa during World War II to present action in the Middle East, and incorporates jungle, desert and urban warfare, counter-terrorism and an insider's view at the selection and training methods employed by this usually secretive unit.   As well as an insightful foreword by Andy McNab – one of the most famous members of the SAS – this revised, updated edition includes completely new chapters, features and information, including Key Missions in WWII, The Battle of Mirbat, Iranian Embassy Siege, Kenyan Hotel Rescue and Victoria Cross Awards.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56305255317877,"sku":"9781787396876","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781787396876_467958ca-ebfe-4f49-b19c-6956889fb1a8.jpg?v=1786026215"},{"product_id":"9781399020091","title":"Final Wicket","description":"While cricket remains popular today, at the beginning of the 20th Century it was THE national game. Cricketers were the sporting icons of their age, as footballers are today.When the call to arms was made in 1914 and the years of war that followed, it was answered in droves by young men, including Test and First Class cricketers. The machine guns and gas of the Western Front and other theatres did not discriminate and many hundreds of these star performers perished alongside their lesser known comrades.The author has researched the lives and deaths of over 200 top-class cricketers who made the ultimate sacrifice. He includes not just British players but those from the Empire. The enormity of the horror and wholesale loss of life during The Great War is well demonstrated by these moving biographies.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56312263704949,"sku":"9781399020091","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781399020091_3c15a37a-538d-402f-8ac6-2ca8244e0135.jpg?v=1786019815"},{"product_id":"9781784294823","title":"The Thirteenth Coffin","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA heart-stopping delve into the twisted mind of a serial killer from the creator of the hit BBC drama \u003ci\u003eSilent Witness\u003c\/i\u003e. Perfect for fans of M.J. Arlidge and Angela Marsons. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eStretching along the shelf, standing upright, were twelve wooden coffins. Nine were closed, and three open . . . with little dolls standing inside them . . .\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt was supposed to be the most special day of her life - until the unthinkable happened. Leslie Petersen is shot dead on her wedding day.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith the bride's killer vanished without a trace, the investigation into the murder grinds to a halt before it's even begun. But then, the decomposing body of an unidentified homeless man is found in an old Cold War bunker, and DCI Mark Lapslie makes a bizarre discovery. Hidden near the body is a shrine full of miniature wooden coffins. Each coffin contains a little doll, all dressed differently.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOne of the dolls is dressed as a bride - could this be a link to Leslie's murder? And if so, who do the other dolls represent? Can Lapslie and his team stop the countdown of the 'dying dolls' before it's too late?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eDiscover the other books in the DCI Mark Lapslie series: \u003ci\u003eCore of Evil\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eTooth and Claw\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eScream\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eFlesh and Blood\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56312835866997,"sku":"9781784294823","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781784294823_9776aa25-59d3-4aa7-ad3a-a49f308dd62e.jpg?v=1786025400"},{"product_id":"silent-witnesses","title":"Silent Witnesses","description":"\u003cp\u003eA crime scene. A murder. A mystery.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe most important person on the scene? The forensic scientist. And yet the intricate details of their work remains a mystery to most of us. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eSilent Witnesses \u003c\/i\u003elooks at the history of forensic science over the last two centuries, during which time a combination of remarkable intuition, painstaking observation and leaps in scientific knowledge have developed this fascinating branch of detection. Throwing open the casebook, it introduces us to such luminaries as 'The Wizard of Berkeley' Edward Heinrich, who is credited with having solved over 2000 crimes, and Alphonse Bertillon, the French scientist whose guiding principle 'no two individuals share the same characteristics' became the core of identification. Along the way, it takes us to India and Australia, Columbia and China, Russia, France, Germany, Spain and Italy. And it proves that, in order to solve ever more complicated cases, science must always stay one step ahead of the killer.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57466509492597,"sku":"9780099569244","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780099569244.jpg?v=1785654568"},{"product_id":"the-final-season","title":"The Final Season","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA moving narrative history of the professional footballers who fought and died in World War I, with a foreword by Gary Lineker.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn 1914, as today, successful footballers were heroes and role models. They were the sporting superstars of their time; symbols of youth, health and vigour. Naturally enough, when war broke out they felt it was their duty to join up and fight. Between 1914 and 1918, 213 professional players fell in action. Some teams lost half their players, either killed or else so badly injured in mind and body that they were never to play again.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003ci\u003eThe Final Season \u003c\/i\u003eis the powerfully moving account of these young men who swapped the turf of the pitch and the cheers of the fans for the freezing mud of the battlefield and the terrible scream of shell fire. It follows them as they leave their fans and families behind, undergo training and then travel on to the bloody arenas of war: Ypres, Gallipoli, the Somme, Passchendaele. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNigel McCrery paints these men in vivid detail. From their achievements on the football pitch to their heroic conduct on the battlefield, we will learn of the selfless courage and determination they displayed in the face of adversity. For far too many, we will also learn when, and how, they made the ultimate sacrifice.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57466593640821,"sku":"9780099594666","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780099594666.jpg?v=1785654651"},{"product_id":"undying-flame","title":"The Undying Flame","description":"Over 60,000,000 people died worldwide during the course of the Second World War and, in contrast to those slaughtered in The Great War, it was civilian populations that bore the brunt. They perished in the Holocaust, in internment camps, in bombed towns and cities and as ‘collateral damage’, in war zones, such as the Eastern Front and in Asia.Among this carnage were hundred of individuals of all nations who had competed in Olympic Games. Imagine the loss of so many of the world’s greatest sportsmen and women of the present era.The author has painstakingly researched the lives, achievements and circumstances of death of almost five hundred athletes of the period. While many were household names at the time, this exceptional work honours these fallen Olympians and reminds us of the futility and wastefulness of war.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57503829524853,"sku":"9781399020114","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781399020114.jpg?v=1786867543"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-nigel-mccrery.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}