{"product_id":"9781408721704","title":"Gimson's Heroes","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'A witty, unforgettable celebration of the courage, genius and defiance that changed the course of history' Jacob Rees-Mogg\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 'Gimson makes excellent cases for all his choices. His 'cardinal point' about heroes, 'seen from Homer to Hollywood, is that they are enjoyable'. That is so right: no one who is immensely worthy but boring can be a hero' Charles Moore\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 'This is a lovely book to dip in and out of, every visit an education' John Rentoul\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e A brilliant compendium of Britain's most renowned heroes from Boudicca to Mandela, illustrated by Martin Rowson.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Heroes have flaws, but their stories stir the soul. In \u003ci\u003eGimson's Heroes\u003c\/i\u003e, bestselling author Andrew Gimson traces the lives of fifty astonishing individuals who had the courage to defy conventional wisdom.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e From Horatio Nelson disobeying orders to Lord Byron scandalising polite society; Grace Darling rowing through a deadly storm to Florence Nightingale teaching the British how to nurse - these icons are no mere monuments of history, but living, breathing people of daring and defiance. Here are stories of resolve and sacrifice: Wallace Hartley plays on as the Titanic goes down, Noor Inayat Khan refuses to flee from occupied France, Stan Hollis storms an enemy pillbox and Nelson Mandela brings down the white regime in South Africa.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e A hero, Gimson concludes, is someone with the courage, originality and genius to see what must be done - and to dare to do it, no matter the cost. Complemented by Martin Rowson's uniquely charming illustrations, \u003ci\u003eGimson's Heroes\u003c\/i\u003e is a witty, fascinating and lively celebration of the extraordinary legacies of those who went further than most would ever dream.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The fifty Heroes included in the book are:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Boudicca c.25-60\/61 AD\u003cbr\u003e Alfred the Great 848-899\u003cbr\u003e King Harold c.1022-1066\u003cbr\u003e Robert the Bruce 1274-1329\u003cbr\u003e Julian of Norwich 1342-1416\u003cbr\u003e Owain Glyndwr c.1359 - c.1415\u003cbr\u003e Bess of Hardwick c.1522 or 1527-1608\u003cbr\u003e Queen Elizabeth I 1533-1603\u003cbr\u003e Sir Francis Drake 1540-1596\u003cbr\u003e Sir Walter Raleigh 1552-1618\u003cbr\u003e Sir Philip Sidney 1554-1586\u003cbr\u003e William Shakespeare 1564-1616\u003cbr\u003e George Herbert 1593-1633\u003cbr\u003e Gerrard Winstanley 1609-1676\u003cbr\u003e Prince Rupert of the Rhine 1619-1682\u003cbr\u003e Robert Boyle 1627-1691\u003cbr\u003e Thomas Coram 1668-1751\u003cbr\u003e Samuel Johnson 1709-1784\u003cbr\u003e James Wolfe 1727-1759\u003cbr\u003e Edmund Burke 1729-1797\u003cbr\u003e James Boswell 1740-1795\u003cbr\u003e Thomas Telford 1757-1834\u003cbr\u003e Horatio Nelson 1758-1805\u003cbr\u003e Mary Wollstonecraft 1759-1797\u003cbr\u003e Thomas Clarkson 1760-1846\u003cbr\u003e Jane Austen 1775-1817\u003cbr\u003e Elizabeth Fry 1780-1845\u003cbr\u003e George Stephenson 1781-1848\u003cbr\u003e Lord Byron 1788-1824\u003cbr\u003e Lord Shaftesbury 1801-1885\u003cbr\u003e Benjamin Disraeli 1804-1881\u003cbr\u003e Isambard Kingdom Brunel 1806-1859\u003cbr\u003e Charles Dickens 1812-1870\u003cbr\u003e David Livingstone 1813-1873\u003cbr\u003e Grace Darling 1815-1842\u003cbr\u003e Prince Albert 1819-1861\u003cbr\u003e Florence Nightingale 1820-1910\u003cbr\u003e Octavia Hill 1838-1912\u003cbr\u003e Fred Burnaby 1842-1885\u003cbr\u003e Ernest Shackleton 1874-1922\u003cbr\u003e Sir Winston Churchill 1874-1965\u003cbr\u003e Wallace Hartley 1878-1912\u003cbr\u003e Ernest Bevin 1881-1951\u003cbr\u003e The Unknown Warrior died c. 1914\u003cbr\u003e John Betjeman 1906-1984\u003cbr\u003e Stan Hollis 1912-1972\u003cbr\u003e Michael Wharton 1913-2006\u003cbr\u003e Noor Inayat Khan 1914-1944\u003cbr\u003e Prince Alexander Obolensky 1916-1940\u003cbr\u003e Nelson Mandela 1918-2013\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003ePraise for the three previous Gimson books:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eGimson's Kings \u0026amp; Queens: Brief Lives of the Monarchs since 1066\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 'The most entertaining and instructive book on the English monarchy you will ever read' \u003ci\u003eDaily Telegraph\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eGimson's Prime Ministers: Brief Lives from Walpole to Johnson\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 'The best general book on British politics I've ever come across. Learned, witty and wise, and splendidly illustrated by Martin Rowson' Tibor Fischer, \u003ci\u003eGuardian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eGimson's Presidents: Brief Lives from Washington to Trump\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 'This is history at its liveliest and most enjoyable. Most presidential biographies are abominably long-winded and reverential. With miniaturist wit and precision, Gimson manages to compress all the salient facts about each president into five or six pages, while offering beautifully crafted insights into their characters and temperaments ...There is something fascinating or funny on every page' Craig Brown,\u003ci\u003e Mail on Sunday\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gimson, Andrew","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56733578723714,"sku":"9781408721704","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0936\/6575\/5522\/files\/9781408721704.jpg?v=1782397692","url":"https:\/\/archwaybookshop.co.uk\/products\/9781408721704","provider":"Archway Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}