Nigel Cawthorne

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Nigel Cawthorne (born 27 March 1951 in Wolverhampton) is a British freelance writer of fiction and non-fiction, [1] and an editor.

Contents

According to Cawthorne's website, he has written more than 150 books on a wide range of subjects. [2] He also contributed to The Guardian , the Daily Mirror , the Daily Mail , and the New-York Tribune . [3] He has appeared on television and BBC Radio 4's Today programme.[ citation needed ]

Works

Series

Prisoner of War series

Sex Lives series

Old England series

The Art of series

Mammoth Books

Brief Histories

Complete Illustrated Encyclopedias

Other books

Reception

Cawthorne's work has been negatively received by journalists and academics. In particular, Cawthorne's lack of an academic background and poor editorial standards have attracted criticism.

Tyrants

Ann W. Moore sharply criticized Tyrants in a School Library Journal review of the book:

This chronological look at 55 men and 5 women covers a wide range of geographical areas and time periods, although half the individuals are from the 20th century. Unfortunately, Cawthorne never defines the word "tyrant" or explains his selection process. His list is sure to offend — while all of the featured subjects exercised absolute power, they didn't necessarily do so with nefarious intent, and many are national heroes. Most readers would not mention Peter the Great or Napoleon in the same breath as Stalin, Hitler, or Idi Amin. The further reading is ridiculous, with only one general title, which isn't generally available, and four individual biographies, one on Mao Tse-tung, who isn't even included in the book. There is no introduction or conclusion, and the entries are unbalanced. The author also assumes a vast general knowledge, providing little to no historical context; the result is an often confusing jumble of names, dates, and places. The book contains numerous errors, typos, and internal inconsistencies, and none of the many quotations are footnoted. The few illustrations are primarily unappealing black-and-white reproductions and there are no maps. [6]

Jack the Ripper's Secret Confession

"Television director [David] Monaghan and author Cawthorne (Serial Killers and Mass Murderers ) fail to prove their case that Jack the Ripper, ...and a pseudonymous author known only as “Walter” were one and the same. ...the links Monaghan and Cawthorne try to establish with the Ripper ...are flimsy." [7]

Flight MH370: The Mystery

The 2014 Flight MH370: The Mystery proposes a conspiracy theory regarding disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. The book was fiercely criticised in The Australian by David Free, who described it as an 'information gumbo' that 'reproduces the slapdash atmosphere of the worst kind of 24-hour news show' and advised readers 'Next time you're in one (a shop), buy any book other than this. I guarantee it won't be worse'. [8] The Daily Telegraph reported some relatives of the victims were angered by the book [9] In a May 2014 segment of the Australian television program Today, co-host Karl Stefanovic also took issue with guest Cawthorne. Stefanovic characterized the book as "disgusting" and insensitive to the families. [10]

Jeremy Corbyn: Leading from the Left

Merryn Williams, writing for the Oxford Left Review said regarding the 2015 book Jeremy Corbyn: Leading from the Left, "His book is neither pro nor anti, though it sometimes uses loaded terms like ‘moderate’ and ‘hard left’. It has been unkindly described on Amazon as ‘a fleshed-out Wikipedia entry’, and there are very many typos, but it does give a fairly accurate account of Jeremy’s career up to September 2015. Hardly anything is said, though, about the fascinating subject of exactly how and why he got elected." [11]

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References

  1. "Nigel Cawthorne", Freelanced.com
  2. "nigel-cawthorne.com", nigel-cawthorne.com, retrieved 13 May 2014[ non-primary source needed ]
  3. Charles, Alexander (10 June 2010). "Who's behind the Times". Between the Lines . Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  4. "Cawthorne, Nigel 1951–". Contemporary Authors . 1 January 2008. Archived from the original on 10 June 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
  5. "Takin' Back My Name – The Confessions of Ike Turner". nigelcawthorne.com.
  6. Moore, Ann W. (September 2013). "Cawthorne, Nigel. Notorious Tyrants". School Library Journal . Vol. 59, no. 9. Library Journals, LLC. pp. 180–181. ISSN   0362-8930.
  7. "Jack the Ripper's Secret Confession", Publishers' Weekly, 11/23/2009
  8. David Free (21 June 2014). "Flying low: cashing in on MH370".
  9. Jonathan Pearlman (18 May 2014). "MH370: author's claims Malaysia Airlines plane accidentally shot down angers victim". Telegraph.
  10. "Today's Karl Stefanovic criticised author Nigel Cawthorne for his new book 'Flight MH370: The Mystery'". News.com.au. 21 May 2014. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  11. Williams, Merryn. "Jeremy Corbyn – The First Two Biographies", Oxford Left Review, 6 December 2015