Books

Ex-FBI boss James Comey photographed exclusively for the Daily Express (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster) James Comey knows the exact moment his life changed forever. It was a Friday night, October 28, 1977, and the future head of the FBI was home alone with his 15-year-old brother. Comey, aged 16 and a …

Bram Stoker’s penniless widow was rescued from poverty by the Dracula author – from beyond the grave. Long-lost documents reveal he was one of the first writers in history to copyright his work. He took the groundbreaking step because the boom in Victorian theatre-going had led to the rise of …

It was as integral a part of post-war Sundays in Britain as roast beef and Yorkshire pudding and the Sunday Express. For 15 years, from 1957 to 1972, up to a quarter of the households in the country tuned in on Sunday lunchtime to listen to the latest escapades of …

Best-selling author Jo Nesbo has a specially imported desk with a stunning view across Oslo, the city which has been the backdrop for his Harry Hole thrillers for nearly two decades. But this is the one place at which the footballer-turned-author cannot write. Almost a decade ago, Jo revealed sitting …

Sir Anthony and Raymond Newell lay out their evidence in more than 600 pages in this, the latest in Sir Anthony’s mission to document the times in office of Prime Ministers. He began with John Major. One wonders if there will be enough material to produce a Truss At 10. …

To quote the old cliché, I know nothing about art but I know what I like. This book was an education. Nick Trend has curated a collection of art firsts to explain the art world. Everyone has heard of van Gogh and Rembrandt but do you know what the first …

Bus drives through the abandoned village of Imber (Image: PA) Ghost villageImber, Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire Four years into the Second World War, the residents of this remote Wiltshire village were given just days to evacuate their homes so it could be used by American troops practising for the D-Day invasion …

A pilot ejects (Image: Supplied) The F-117 Nighthawk looked like a black dart with a V-shaped tail. The world’s first Stealth fighter, many branded it invisible and invincible. Its secret state-of-the-art coating of radar-absorbent material, and angled airframe, made it hard for an enemy radar to lock on to. Yet …

One of Martin-Baker’s Gloster Meteor jets carries out a live ejection seat test (Image: John Nichol) The cocoon-like cockpit of the AW52 prototype jet was snug for a man of John “Jo” Lancaster’s imposing, square-shouldered build – like being behind the wheel of a Formula 1 ­racing car. But the …

Frederick Cook starred in a movie short (Image: Getty) It was one of the biggest stories of the new century. In September 1909, American explorer Frederick Cook returned from a two-year expedition during which he claimed to have become the first person in history to reach the North Pole. But …