Dr. Samuel A. Mudd is famous for fixing the broken leg of President Abraham Lincoln's assassin John Wilkes Booth, and subsequently being convicted of conspiring with Booth, along with seven others, in a military trial. He spent four years in a military prison before being pardoned by President Andrew Johnson. Sam Mudd was leading a charmed life before becoming involved with Booth. He had been born into a prosperous Maryland tobacco plantation family, received an excellent education (except for one unfortunate incident at Georgetown College), married well, and received a farm, home, and slaves from his father as a wedding present. Then came the Civil War, the loss of farm income due to the emancipation of slaves in Maryland, two meetings with John Wilkes Booth, and then Booth's sudden appearance at the Mudd farm in the middle of the night seeking help for a broken leg. Booth was later shot and killed by Union Soldiers who had tracked him into Virginia. Dr. Mudd was convicted for aiding Booth's escape by misleading those hunting Booth, telling them he didn't know the man with the broken leg was Booth. But evidence at the trial showed he knew Booth well. The book explores why he misled the authorities. The book describes Dr. Mudd's time at Fort Jefferson, including his attempted escape that landed him in the dungeon, and his heroic work that saved many lives during a terrible yellow fever epidemic at the fort. He was pardoned by President Andrew Johnson in early 1869, in part for his work during the epidemic. After returning home to his wife and children, Dr. Mudd resumed his life as a country doctor and farmer, until passing away in 1883.

Named One of the 10 Best Books of the Year by The New York Times Book Review Named one of the Best Books of the Year by The Washington Post Book World, The Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, TheSan Francisco Chronicle Book Review, Los Angeles Times Book Review, USA Today, Time, and New York magazine. Winner of the Overseas Press Club’s Cornelius Ryan Award for Best Nonfiction Book on International Affairs Winner of the New York Public Library Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism The Assassins' Gate: America in Iraq recounts how the United States set about changing the history of the Middle East and became ensnared in a guerrilla war in Iraq. It brings to life the people and ideas that created the Bush administration's war policy and led America to the Assassins' Gate—the main point of entry into the American zone in Baghdad. The Assassins' Gate also describes the place of the war in American life: the ideological battles in Washington that led to chaos in Iraq, the ordeal of a fallen soldier's family, and the political culture of a country too bitterly polarized to realize such a vast and morally complex undertaking. George Packer's best-selling first-person narrative combines the scope of an epic history with the depth and intimacy of a novel, creating a masterful account of America's most controversial foreign venture since Vietnam.

Jonathan goes on a secret quest to Rome, and Flavia, Nubia and Lupus set out to find him. Their dangerous mission takes them to the Golden House of Nero where a deadly assassin is rumoured to be at work - and they learn what happened to Jonathan's family during the terrible destruction of Jerusalem nine years earlier.

Doctor Who is the world's longest-running science fiction television series, and has had children hiding behind sofa's since it was first broadcast in 1963. Eleven actors have played the famous Time Lord, starting with William Hartnell, and it has been a career landmark for all of them. Indeed, no other role in television history is as iconic, demanding, or as anticipated by its legions of fans as that of the famous time traveller with two hearts. Find out: * Who was a bouncer for The Rolling Stones before taking control of the Tardis. * Who was nearly blown up in the Second World War aboard HMS Hood. * Who had a fondness for woolly hats and had a grandson who would become Harry Potter's nemesis. * Who played a transvestite barmaid before becoming a Doctor Who heart-throb. Go back in time and read the human story behind a TV legend.