2012 marks the centenary of the birth of novelist and poet Lawrence Durrell, one of the leading writers of the post-war years. Born in India and resident at various times in England, Greece, Egypt, Cyprus and France, Durrell was a cosmopolitan, whose work was greatly influence by the Mediterranean places and cultures he experienced.
Arctic explorer, survival expert and naturalist Freddy Spencer Chapman was trapped behind enemy lines when the Japanese overran Malaya in 1942. His response was to begin a commando campaign of such lethal effectiveness that the Japanese deployed an entire regiment against him, hunting for him as they did for no other. He was wounded, and racked by tropical disease. His companions were killed, or captured...