{"title":"Bill Whiteside","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"everybody-knows-a-salesman-can-t-write-a-book-book-bill-whiteside-9798986660707","title":"Everybody Knows a Salesman Can't Write a Book","description":"\u003cp\u003eThere is a story about Winston Churchill and a deadly incident from World War II that most people have never heard. This is my account of how I learned to research and write about this unlikely clash between the British and French Navies while working a full-time job as a software salesman.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMy research included deep dives into the archives of Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt, as well as the archives of other statesmen, diplomats, and admirals who played key roles in my story. I accessed the private papers of historians who knew many of those key players, and I made a special pilgrimage to a historic rail car in Compiegne (near Paris) to enrich my research.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI've written chapters about used books, old words, how I taught myself to read French, and how I applied lessons from my business career to organize my research and writing. You will meet three loathsome characters whose stories repulsed me, and 11 men who so fascinated me, I wished I could have joined them across a pint of beer.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eEverybody Knows ...\u003c\/em\u003e is for fans of history, especially anyone with an interest in learning more about Winston Churchill and an intriguing cast of admirals, diplomats, statesmen, and other writers of history.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMy book is also for anyone who dreams of turning a creative idea into commercial reality, especially anyone who wonders how to manage the intellectual and the business challenges of writing a book while working a traditional job.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is not a how-to guide. Instead, it is more of a here's-why-you-should source of enlightenment and inspiration. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49584239509777,"sku":"GOR013672003","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/B0BK7DKS6R.jpg?v=1751129460"},{"product_id":"operation-catapult-book-bill-whiteside-9781682479698","title":"Operation Catapult","description":"In July 1940, just weeks after France signed an armistice with Germany, Winston Churchill made one of World War II’s most shocking and controversial decisions: he ordered the Royal Navy to open fire on the French fleet at Mers-el-Kébir, killing more than 1,200 of Britain’s recent allies. The Associated Press called it “the strangest of all naval actions in the world’s history.” Churchill feared that Hitler would seize the powerful French fleet and turn it against Britain, so when French commanders refused British demands to move their ships to Allied ports, he gave the order to strike. The bombardment stunned the world, strained relations between Britain and France, and resonated through Churchill’s speech to Parliament, which, according to one observer, “echoed like no other ever heard in its ancient halls.”   The fallout reached far beyond the Algerian coast. In Alexandria, British and French admirals negotiated a fragile truce, but trust between the two navies was shattered. Many Royal Navy officers were tormented by the attack, forced to fire on men they had fought beside only weeks earlier. Even Churchill, who deeply admired France, was anguished by his decision. Through the intertwined stories of French admiral Jean Louis Xavier François Darlan and British vice admiral Sir James Somerville—leaders tested by loyalty, duty, and the chaos of war—this dramatic episode reveals the tension, sacrifice, and unflinching resolve that defined Churchill’s wartime leadership.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51816591032593,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":51816591065361,"sku":"NGR9781682479698","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":53134461698321,"sku":"NIN9781682479698","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":53521480384785,"sku":"NLS9781682479698","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9781682479698.jpg?v=1779443491"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-gb\/collections\/author-books-by-bill-whiteside.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}