How did a ship involved in the failed searches for the lost explorer, Sir John Franklin, alter the course of history forever and become the lasting symbol of Anglo-American friendship? Sent into the Canadian Arctic in 1852 to find Franklin as part of the Belcher Expedition, the officers and men of HMS Resolute spent two years under their gallant and kind Captain Kellett unsuccessfully searching for the Franklin Expedition until they were forced by the expedition's commander, Edward Belcher, to abandon ship. Then an American whaler, James Munro Buddington, salvaged Resolute in Baffin Bay, and brought her into his New England homeport on Christmas Eve 1855. Meanwhile, Britain, seeking soldiers for her Crimean War, and against all international laws about the sovereignty of nations, recruited soldiers in five US cities despite America's declared neutrality. President Franklin Pierce, desperately seeking a way to unify his country riven by the issue of slavery, seized upon this affront. Prime Minister Palmerston, hoping to divert the attention of the British people from his extremely unpopular Crimean War, did not respond with an apology but rather tripled the number of Royal Navy ships just outside American waters. President Pierce appealed for Congressional approval to match that response. The jingoistic war of words was in danger of exploding into open hostilities as the opposing naval forces faced off: Britain and America were on the brink of their third war until Resolute became the focus of the rising tensions...and then she changed history forever In this work of maritime historical fiction follow our young American hero, Abraham Fairfax III, as he wrestles with his Quaker conscience over slavery and goes whaling in the Canadian Arctic. There he falls into the clutches of the sadistic British squadron leader, Edward Belcher, and is rescued by Resolute's intrepid captain, Henry Kellett. Arriving in Ireland Abraham falls in love with Kellett's beautiful but headstrong daughter. Read about their adventures as they are inextricably entwined with the divergent lives of Arctic explorers, salt-encrusted Yankee whalers, and cross-Atlantic warmongering politicians in the incredible story of Her Majesty's Ship Resolute "Elizabeth Matthews, an American writer, knows more about the history of HMS Resolute, and the complicated political background which threatened war between Great Britain and the US, than anyone else." --the late Michael Phillips-- leading British naval historian

The National Book Award–winning author “pulls off a significant historic and literary achievement . . . by melding the stories of two historic searches” (The Associated Press). Acclaimed historian Martin Sandler—a two-time Pulitzer Prize nominee, winner of seven Emmy® Awards, and author of more than fifty books—finally brings to light an amazing high-seas adventure. Fascinating rare photographs, paintings, engravings, and maps illustrate the book throughout. It all began when, in one of the biggest news stories of the 19th century, Sir John Franklin and his ships the Erebus and the Terror disappeared while attempting to locate the fabled Northwest Passage. At the request of Franklin’s wife, Lady Jane, the first mission set out from England in hopes of finding him; many others followed in its wake, none successful. Among these was the Resolute, the finest vessel in Queen Victoria’s Navy. But in 1854 it became locked in Arctic ice and was abandoned by its captain. A year later, a Connecticut whaler discovered it 1,200 miles away—drifting and deserted, a 600-ton ghost ship. He and his small crew boarded the Resolute, and steered it through a ferocious hurricane back to New London, Connecticut. The United States government then reoutfitted the ship and returned it to the thankful Queen. In 1879, when the Resolute was finally retired, she had the best timbers made into a desk for then-President Rutherford B. Hayes. It is still used by U.S. presidents today . . . one of the most celebrated pieces of furniture in the White House. “[A] gripping historical adventure.” —Publishers Weekly

The story of the bold voyage of HMS Investigator and the modern-day discovery of its wreck by Parks Canada’s underwater archaeologists. When Sir John Franklin disappeared in the Arctic in the 1840s, the British Admiralty launched the largest rescue mission in its history. Among the search vessels was HMS Investigator, which left England in 1850 under the command of Captain Robert McClure. While the ambitious McClure never found Franklin, he and his crew did discover the fabled Northwest Passage. Like Franklin’s ships, though, Investigator disappeared in the most remote, bleak and unknown place on Earth. For three winters, its 66 souls were trapped in the unforgiving ice of Mercy Bay. They suffered cold, darkness, starvation, scurvy, boredom, depression and madness. When they were rescued in 1853, Investigator was abandoned. For more than a century and a half, the ship’s fate remained a mystery. Had it been crushed by the ice or swept out to sea? In 2010, Parks Canada sent a team of archaeologists to Mercy Bay to find out. It was a formidable challenge, demanding expertise and patience. There, off the shores of Aulavik National Park, they found Investigator. Lost Beneath the Ice is a tale of endurance, daring, deceit, courage, and irony. It is a story about a tempestuous crew, their mercurial captain, cynical surgeon and kind-hearted missionary. In the end, McClure found fame but lost his ship, some of his crew and much of his honour. Written with elegance and authority, illustrated with archival imagery and startling underwater photographs of Investigator and its artifacts, this is a sensational story of discovery and intrigue in Canada’s Arctic. Andrew Cohen is a best-selling author and award-winning journalist. Among his books are While Canada Slept, a finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Award, The Unfinished Canadian, and Extraordinary Canadians: Lester B. Pearson. He writes a nationally syndicated column for The Ottawa Citizen and comments regularly on CTV. A professor of journalism and international affairs at Carleton University, he is founding president of the Historica-Dominion Institute. He has twice received Queen’s Jubilee Medals.

The President’s Desk is the story of America as seen through the eyes of its most powerful piece of furniture. Standing in the most important office in the land for over a hundred years, it has been sat at by no less than twenty-four of the greatest men who ever lived (I’m leaving out Nixon, obviously). This epic retelling of the history of the United States takes us from the desk’s early life as the humble timbers of a barquentine frozen in the waters of the Arctic, through its transformation by decree of Queen Victoria, to over a century in the Oval Office as an eventual antique.

Contains 1000 UNTOLD SECRETS of the American presidency, including:

• Why Jimmy Carter destroyed Washington
• How George W. Bush killed John Howard
• When Calvin Coolidge appeared nude on his own coin
• Who drowned Warren Harding in his own hotel room
What Herbert Hoover really thought when he was attacked by Rin-Tin-Tin

Written by Shaun Micallef, star of Shaun Micallef's Mad as Hell, Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation and, to a lesser extent, Mr and Mrs Murder.

'One of the greatest comic voices of our time' Matt Lucas, Little Britain

'Australia's finest satirist and comic surrealist.', Ben Elton

'Read it for too long and you get grin aches in your jawbones.' The Herald Sun

‘Shaun Micallef has a gift for the surreal. The English language is a sunlit garden. Shaun has a Harley-Davidson and a cast-iron alibi. He will be home by nightfall. You may hear some noise. It will be made by you. You will feel much better afterwards.’ John Clarke

From 1850 to 1854, the ambitious Commander Robert McClure captained the HMS Investigator on a voyage in search of the missing Franklin Expedition, which sailed from England into the Arctic in 1845 to map the last uncharted section of the North-West Passage. The Investigator and her consort the Enterprise were to pass through the Bering Strait from the west but a Pacific storm separated them, never to meet again. Obsessed with traversing the passage, McClure pressed on and HMS Investigator spent three years trapped in pack ice in Mercy Bay before the crew abandoned ship on foot. This book chronicles the voyage in detail. McClure and his relationships with his officers are at the heart of the story of the arduous journey, vividly illustrated by the paintings of Lt. Samuel Cresswell.

Jake Dalton confronts with his worst nightmare; someone high in the United States government is doing the unthinkable. He's not selling secrets for financial gain or leaking classified information for political purposes, he's actively engaged in trying to destroy the country. After gathering the evidence to confirm his suspicions about the actions of politically powerful traitor, Jake begins his quest to stop the lunatic before his plan to cripple the United States turns into a reality. What he doesn't know is that his enemy is aware of his activities and determines that Jake knows too much and must remain forever silent. Before Jake can address the wanton act of treason, he must first deal with those who would kill him. He uses every bit of knowledge and skill he has to deal with those who want him dead. While he struggles to stay alive, he must also come to the aid of his nation. His only concern is if he has enough time to do the impossible before his country falls into the dustbin of history.