Nicholas Rankin (born 1950) is a British writer and broadcaster.
Biography
Rankin was born in
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
, England, but grew up in
Kenya
)
, national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
, ...
. He was educated at
Shrewsbury School
Shrewsbury School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13 –18) in Shrewsbury.
Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by Royal Charter, it was originally a boarding school for boys; girls have been admitted into ...
and
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...
. He has lived and worked in
Bolivia
, image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg
, flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center
, flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
and
Catalonia
Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy.
Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...
,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
.
He worked for the
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is an international broadcasting, international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government through the Foreign Secretary, Foreign Secretary's o ...
for 20 years. He was Chief Producer, Arts, at the
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is an international broadcasting, international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government through the Foreign Secretary, Foreign Secretary's o ...
, when his eight-part series on ecology and evolution, ''A Green History of the Planet'', won two UN awards.
He currently works as a freelance writer and broadcaster and lives in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
with his wife, the novelist
Maggie Gee. He has one daughter,
Rosa
Rosa or De Rosa may refer to:
People
*Rosa (given name)
* Rosa (surname)
*Santa Rosa (female given name from Latin-a latinized variant of Rose)
Places
*223 Rosa, an asteroid
*Rosa, Alabama, a town, United States
* Rosa, Germany, in Thuringia, G ...
.
He was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Literature
The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, th ...
in 2009.
Bibliography
Books
*''Dead Man's Chest: Travels after
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...
''. London,
Faber and Faber
Faber and Faber Limited, usually abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in London. Published authors and poets include T. S. Eliot (an early Faber editor and director), W. H. Auden, Margaret Storey, William Golding, Samuel B ...
, 1987.
*''Telegram from
Guernica
Guernica (, ), official name (reflecting the Basque language) Gernika (), is a town in the province of Biscay, in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, Spain. The town of Guernica is one part (along with neighbouring Lumo) of the mu ...
: The Extraordinary Life of
George Steer
Memorial to George Steer in Basque_Country,_ Guernica,_Biscay,_Basque_Country_(greater_region)">Basque_Country,_Spain">Biscay">Guernica,_Biscay,_Basque_Country_(greater_region)">Basque_Country,_ Guernica,_Biscay,_Basque_Country_(greater_region) ...
, War Correspondent''. London: Faber and Faber, 2003.
*
*''
Ian Fleming
Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer who is best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., a ...
's Commandos: The Story of
30 Assault Unit in WWII''. London: Faber and Faber, 2011.
*
Critical studies and reviews of Rankin's work
;''Churchill's wizards''
* Reviewed by
Andrew Roberts"Churchill's Wizards by Nicholas Rankin: review" in ''
The Sunday Telegraph
''The Sunday Telegraph'' is a British broadsheet newspaper, founded in February 1961 and published by the Telegraph Media Group, a division of Press Holdings.
It is the sister paper of ''The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', kn ...
'' (5 November 2008)
* Reviewed by
Michael Bywater
Michael Bywater (born 11 May 1953) is an English non-fiction writer and broadcaster. He has worked for many London newspapers and periodicals and contributed to the design of computer games.
Biography
Bywater was educated at the independent Nottin ...
"Churchill's Wizards: the British Genius for Deception, 1914-1945 - Nicholas Rankin" in ''
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was fo ...
'' (17 November 2008)
*
;''Ian Fleming's commandos''
* Reviewed by
William Boyd"Ian Fleming's Commandos by Nicholas Rankin – review" in ''The Guardian'' (22 October 2011)
;''Telegram from Guernica''
* Reviewed by
Robert Macfarlane"Write the good fight" in ''
The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...
'' (6 April 2003)
* Reviewed by
D. J. Taylor
David John Taylor (born 1960) is a British critic, novelist and biographer. After attending school in Norwich, he read Modern History at St John's College, Oxford, and has received the 2003 Whitbread Biography Award for his biography of Geo ...
"Their man in Africa" in ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' (12 April 2003)
References
External links
* Nick Rankin
"Covering arts robustly in the UK" BBC
* Audio Slideshow interview with Nick Rankin o
The Interview Online* Nick Ranki
interviewed for the Faber Podcast for Ian Fleming's Commandos October 2011
Short video interviewwith Faber and Faber, October 2011
* Q & A interview with Nick Rankin
discussing ''Ian Fleming's Commandos''on Faber blog
1950 births
Writers from Yorkshire
People educated at Shrewsbury School
Living people
Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature
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