Diana Preston Knihy

Strhující příběh katastrofy velké zaoceánské lodě.

A history of the Atomic Bomb from Marie Curie to Hiroshima.“I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds”— Oppenheimer quoting the Bhagavad Gita after witnessing the successful demonstration of the atom bomb.The bomb, which killed an estimated 140,000 civilians in Hiroshima and destroyed the countryside for miles around, was one of the defining moments in world history. That mushroom cloud cast a terrifying shadow over the contemporary world and continues to do so today. But how could this have happened? What led to the creation of such a weapon of mass destruction?From the moment scientists contemplated the destructive potential of splitting the atom, the role of science changed. Ethical and moral dilemmas faced all those who realized the implications of their research. Before the Fall-Out charts the chain of events from Marie Curie’s scientific breakthrough through the many colourful characters such as Einstein, Robert Oppenheimer and Lord Rutherford, whose discoveries contributed to the bomb.The story of the atomic bomb spans 50 years of prolific scientific innovation, turbulent politics, foreign affairs and world-changing history. Through personal stories of exile, indecision and soul-searching, to charges of collaboration, spying and deceit, Diana Preston presents the human side of an unstoppable programme with a lethal outcome.From the Hardcover edition.

A riveting minute-by-minute chronicle of the February 1945 conference that shaped the outcome of one war - and gave birth to another.

When twenty-two-year-old aspiring geologist Charles Darwin boarded the HMS Beagle in 1831, he had no idea he was embarking on a transformative voyage in scientific history. Accompanied by ship's captain Robert FitzRoy, Darwin's five-year journey around the globe involved challenging conditions and remarkable discoveries that laid the groundwork for his groundbreaking theories on the origin of species and natural selection. Utilizing a wealth of letters, diary entries, and accounts from those who met him, Diana Preston chronicles this epic voyage, highlighting Darwin's evolution from an inexperienced young man to a skilled adventurer and natural scientist. Often leaving the ship to explore remote terrains, Darwin traveled with local guides, collecting unique specimens across diverse landscapes, from Patagonia to the Galápagos Islands. He observed various species, including the Argentinian rhea and Galápagos finch, which helped him recognize connections between the past and present. After returning to Britain in 1836, Darwin never traveled again, yet his intellectual journey continued, culminating in the publication of his influential work in 1859. This portrayal of Darwin offers vital insights into one of history's most significant figures and enhances our understanding of life on Earth.

An account of the 1915 sinking of the Lusitania offers a portrait of early twentieth-century maritime history and the terrible impact of the disaster on the course of World War I.

Celebrated historian Diana Preston presents betrayals, escapes, and survival at sea in her account of the mutiny of the Bounty and the flight of convicts from the Australian penal colony. The story of the mutiny of the Bounty and William Bligh and his men's survival on the open ocean for 48 days and 3,618 miles has become the stuff of legend. But few realize that Bligh's escape across the seas was not the only open-boat journey in that era of British exploration and colonization. Indeed, 9 convicts from the Australian penal colony, led by Mary Bryant, also traveled 3,250 miles across the open ocean and some uncharted seas to land at the same port Bligh had reached only months before. In this meticulously researched dual narrative of survival, acclaimed historian Diana Preston provides the background and context to explain the thrilling open-boat voyages each party survived and the Pacific Island nations each encountered on their journey to safety. Through this deep-dive, readers come to understand the Pacific Islands as they were and as they were perceived, and how these seemingly utopian lands became a place where mutineers, convicts, and eventually the natives themselves, were chained.

The narrative explores the groundbreaking discovery of radioactivity by Marie Curie in 1898, leading to a pivotal moment in 1945 when two physicists anxiously prepare for the first atomic bomb test in the New Mexico desert. Their fears of unleashing catastrophic consequences highlight the tension between scientific advancement and existential risk, capturing a dramatic intersection of innovation and potential disaster in human history.

Fuelled by hatred of foreigners and all they stood for, the ferocious uprising of Chinese peasants and ensuing siege of Peking in the summer of 1900 sent shockwaves around the world. Diana Preston brings thundering to life this 55-day conflict between the 'Boxers', so-called for their martial-arts skills, and the Westerners - such as the young Herbert Hoover - they terrorized.

"Wilful Murder is the story of the sinking of the Lusitania. The first book to look at events in their full historical context, it is also the first to place the human dimension at its heart. Using first-hand accounts of the tragedy, Diana Preston brings the characters to life, recreating the splendour of the Cunard luxury liner as she set sail from New York and the horror of her final moments. Using British, American and German research material, Diana Preston answers many of the unsolved, controversial questions surrounding the Lusitania: why didn't Cunard listen to warnings that the ship would be a target of the Germans? Was the Lusitania sacrificed in order to bring the Americans into the war? What was really in the Lusitania's hold? Was the verdict of wilful murder, from the inquest held the day after the sinking, justified? And did the Kaiser's decision to cease unrestricted U-boat warfare in response to international outrage at the sinking effectively change the outcome of the First World War?"--Jacket