Cull and Co. Ltd In the Media

Authors in the Media – September 2024

First up, travel writer Shafik Meghji was shortlisted in two categories of the British Guild of Travel Writers Awards. His Adventure.com feature on Dungeness, Winchelsea and climate change is up for the UK travel feature award, while his Evening Standard piece on Indigenous tourism is up for sustainability feature of the year.

His next book, Small Earthquakes (Hurst Publishing), will be published next year.

Mary Novakovich went island-hopping in Croatia for The Guardian, adrift in the Šibenik archipelago. Her memoir My Family and Other Enemies (Bradt Guides) was also featured in Electric Lit’s top 10 must-read books set in Croatia. Her research into her family’s complicated history results in a book that abounds with incredible stories of adversity and resilience, and a hearty dose of delicious meals.

Staying on the travel theme, Ros Belford was featured in The Times, about her recently published memoir Children of the Volcano (September Publishing).

Former bookseller Michael Robb appeared in the Bookseller to announce his debut book Shelf Life (The History Press), out in February next year. Robb commented:

“Books and bookshops have always been an important part of my life. I feel incredibly fortunate that I have worked with books for 40 years, first as a bookseller and then on the publishing side. During that time I have witnessed first-hand the huge changes that our industry has undergone and wanted to document this from my viewpoint… I hope this book will prompt many discussions within the trade. This is a wonderful business full of hard-working and passionate people and I hope I do justice to it in Shelf Life.”

The Conversation ran a terrific feature review of Rikki Stein‘s memoir Moving Music (Wordville). “[…] an astute storyteller as he weaves together a larger narrative about a life of triumphs, tragedies and cautionary tales. From its lush descriptions to its intimate accounts and previously unpublished photos, Stein’s autobiography offers readers a rare insider glimpse into the music business. His writing is rooted in a deep understanding of the industry and the artists who drive it forward.”

Rikki Stein (front left) next to Fela Kuti on his release from jail for his politically outspoken views. Godwin Usidamen/Courtesy Rikki Stein

Finally, Henry R. Schlesinger wrote a piece for AirMail about the original Abercrombie & Fitch where Amelia Earhart, Ernest Hemingway, and Clark Gable all shopped.

His next book The Age of Amateurs was recently bought by Pegasus Books.

Cull and Co. Ltd Latest Deals

THE AGE OF AMATEURS by Henry R. Schlesinger to Pegasus Books

North American rights have been snared by Pegasus Books for espionage writer Henry R. Schlesinger’s new book ‘The Age of Amateurs: The Hidden History of Espionage and American High Society’.

This book that traces American intelligence history from the use of upper crust Blue Bloods in largely ad hoc intelligence service to the more professional and egalitarian organisations of WWII up to the Cold War.

Central to this effort was the work of men (and a few women) from some of America’s most prominent families. Many born in the waning days of the Gilded Age, they entered the world of espionage from New York City, Philadelphia, Boston, and other bastions of Blue Blood aristocracy.

FDR on Vincent Astor’s yacht “Nourmahal” at the Navy Yard, Washington, DC, Sept. 5, 1933 (Bettmann Archive/Getty Images)

Among these citizen spies were names that would have been familiar to regular readers of the society pages of local papers. Living opulent lives, they transitioned into citizen spies such as Ralph Pulitzer; Griswold Lorillard; Wall Street legend Lawrence Waterbury; Nelson Doubleday, the publisher; Winthrop W. Aldrich, chairman of Chase National Ban; and Vincent Astor, of the prominent Astor family.

Henry R. SchlesingerHenry is the co-author of Spycraft: The Secret History of the CIA’s Spytechs from Communism to Al-Qaeda which was adapted for Netflix; Spy Sites of Washington, D.C., New York City & Philadelphia. His most recent book is Honey Trapped: Sex, Betrayal and Weaponized Love. His work has appeared in Popular Science, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian, and many trade publications, such as AirMail, Publisher’s Weekly, SpyTalk, The Daily Mail and appeared on podcasts for the International Spy Museum and New York’s Spyscape Museum.

The book will publish in May 2026.

Cull and Co. Ltd In the Media

Authors in the Media – August 2024

A huge response greeted Jake Donoghue‘s debut book Crypto Confidential (Flint Books), which published on August 22.

Reviews, podcasts and features ran in Disruption Banking, American Banker, and DL News, with more on the way in September.

Former IMF Chief Economist Olivier Blanchard says: “A brilliant and fascinating description of crypto. It makes painfully clear that, on the buying side, there is no limit to human credulity, and the faith in magic returns. And, on the selling side, no limit to hubris, deception and scamming. Read the book, and cry.”

Henry R. Schlesinger, author of Honey Trapped (The History Press) wrote an article for AirMail this month, entitled The New York Yacht Club Goes to War.

During World War I, the lavish yachts of New York’s richest families—replete with Tiffany interiors and pipe organs—were commandeered into hunting German submarines.

Stay tuned for more news about Henry’s upcoming project soon.

J. P. Morgan’s yacht Corsair III was leased to the U.S. Navy in 1917. In this photo, the crew spells out the ship’s name in semaphore.

Sarah-Louise Miller featured on Channel 4’s programme WW2: Women on the Frontline telling the stories of some of the most courageous, brilliant women in history – catch it now on demand!

She also was featured by Hawai’i Public Radio, as she is diving into the little-known work of Hawaiʻi women during World War II.

Miller is working on an upcoming book called “Hawaii’s Women at War.” for Pegasus Books. Her previous books include The Lancaster Story (Michael O’Mara) and The Women Behind the Few (Biteback).

U.S. Army Signal Corps / University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Library Digital Image Collections

 

Cull and Co. Ltd Latest Deals

Deal News: HONEY TRAPPED by Henry R. Schlesinger to The History Press & Rare Bird Books

Coauthor of THE SPY SITES OF NEW YORK CITY and SPYCRAFT: THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE CIA’S SPYTECHS FROM COMMUNISM TO AL-QAEDA Henry R. Schlesinger’s HONEY TRAPPED: SEX, BETRAYAL AND WEAPONIZED LOVE, examining some of the most famous honey traps, from Mata Hari to Anna Chapman and Maria Butina, but also “Romeo Spies” such as Roald Dahl and Dmitri Bystrolyotov.

If the so-called “honey trap” is a Hollywood cliche, it is also a tried and very true piece of tradecraft in the real-life world of spy versus spy and has been used by virtually every intelligence service from ancient times to the present day.