Nigel Cawthorne

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

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

Works

Series

Prisoner of War series
*''The Bamboo Cage: The Full Story of the American Servicemen Still Missing in Vietnam'', 1991
*''The Iron Cage''

Sex Lives series
*''Sex Lives of the Popes''
*''Sex Lives of the US Presidents''
*''Sex Lives of the Great Dictators''
*''Sex Lives of the Kings and Queens of England''
*''Sex Lives of the Hollywood Goddesses''
*''Sex Lives of the Hollywood Goddesses 2''
*''Sex Lives of the Hollywood Idols''
*''Sex Lives of the Great Artists''
*''Sex Lives of the Great Composers''
*''Sex Lives of the Famous Gays''
*''Sex Lives of the Famous Lesbians''
*''Sex Lives of the Roman Emperors''

Old England series
*''Strange Laws of Old England''
*''Curious Cures of Old England''
*''Amorous Antics of Old England''
*''Sex Secrets of Old England''

The Art of series
*''The Art of Japanese Prints''
*''The Art of India''
*''The Art of Native North America''
*''The Art of the Aztecs''
*''The Art of Icons''
*''The Art of Frescoes''

Mammoth Books
*''The Mammoth Book of New CSI''
*''The Mammoth Book of Inside the Elite Forces''
*''The Mammoth Book of Sex Scandals''

Brief Histories
*''A Brief Guide to James Bond''
*''A Brief Guide to Jeeves and Wooster''
*''A Brief Guide to Sherlock Holmes''
*''A Brief History of Robin Hood''

Complete Illustrated Encyclopedias
*''The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Lancaster Bomber: The history of Britain's greatest night bomber of World War II, with more than 275 photographs''
*''The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Spitfire: The history of Britain's most iconic aircraft of World War II, with more than 250 photographs''

Books

* '' Takin' Back My Name: The Confessions of Ike Turner''
*
Tyrants: History's 100 Most Evil Despots & Dictators
'
*''Tesla vs Edison: The Life-Long Feud That Electrified The World''
*''Tesla: The Life and Times of an Electric Messiah''
*''Shipwrecks''
*''The Story of the SS: Hitler's Infamous Legions of Death''
*''Public Executions: From Ancient Rome to the Present Day''
*''Confirmed Kill: Heroic Sniper Stories from the Jungles of Vietnam to the Mountains of Afghanistan''
*''Heroes: The True Stories Behind Every VC Winner Since World War II''
*''The World's Worst Atrocities (World's Greatest)''
*''Reaping the Whirlwind: Personal Accounts of the German, Japanese and Italian Experiences of WW II''
*''The New Look: The Dior Revolution''
*''Pirates: An Illustrated History''
*''Stalin: The Murderous Career of the Red Tsar''
*''The "Who": And the Making of "Tommy" (Vinyl Frontier)''
*''Satanic Murder: Chilling True Stories of Sacrificial Slaughter (Virgin)''
*''The World's Most Evil Gangsters''
*''Victory: 100 Great Military Commanders''
*''Stalin's Crimes: The Murderous Career of the Red Tsar''
*''Blitzkrieg: Hitler's Masterplan for the Conquest of Europe''
*''History's Greatest Battles: Masterstrokes of War''
*''Special Forces: War on Terror''
*''Warrior Elite: 31 Heroic Special-Ops Missions from the Raid on Son Tay to the Killing of Osama bin Laden''
*''World at War (Picture This)''
*''Canine Commandos: The Heroism, Devotion, and Sacrifice of Dogs in War''
*''Pirates of the 21st Century: How Modern-Day Buccaneers are Terrorising the World's Oceans''
*''A History of Pirates: Blood and Thunder on the High Seas''
*''Alexander the Great (Life&Times)''
*
*''Witches: A History of Persecution'' (2012, Arcturus Publishing, Reprinted 2021)

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:

''Jack the Ripper's Secret Confession''

"Television director avidMonaghan 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."

''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'. ''The Daily Telegraph'' reported some relatives of the victims were angered by the book 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.

''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."Williams, Merryn. "Jeremy Corbyn – The First Two Biographies", ''Oxford Left Review'', 6 December 2015
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cawthorne, Nigel
20th-century English novelists
21st-century English novelists
English non-fiction writers
People from Bloomsbury
1951 births
Living people
English male novelists
People involved in plagiarism controversies