Nigel Cawthorne (born 27 March 1951 in Wolverhampton) is a British freelance writer, conspiracy theorist and editor of both fiction and non-fiction. He is also a journalist and specializes in writing about history. 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 Sex Lives series Old England series The Art of series Mammoth Books Brief Histories Complete Illustrated Encyclopedias

Other books

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: "This chronological look at 55 men and 5 women covers a wide range of geographical areas and time periods, although half the individuals are from the 20th century. Unfortunately, Cawthorne never defines the word 'tyrant' or explains his selection process. His list is sure to offend — while all of the featured subjects exercised absolute power, they didn't necessarily do so with nefarious intent, and many are national heroes. Most readers would not mention Peter the Great or Napoleon in the same breath as Stalin, Hitler, or Idi Amin. The further reading is ridiculous, with only one general title, which isn't generally available, and four individual biographies, one on Mao Tse-tung, who isn't even included in the book. There is no introduction or conclusion, and the entries are unbalanced. The author also assumes a vast general knowledge, providing little to no historical context; the result is an often confusing jumble of names, dates, and places. The book contains numerous errors, typos, and internal inconsistencies, and none of the many quotations are footnoted. The few illustrations are primarily unappealing black-and-white reproductions and there are no maps."

Jack the Ripper's Secret Confession

A review by Publishers Weekly heavily critiqued the book, writing "Television director [David] Monaghan 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."