Nigel Cawthorne

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

He has written more than 150 books on a wide range of subjects, in addition to contributing 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.

Cawthorne's own web site refers to a description of his home as a "book-writing factory" and says: "More than half my books were commissioned by publishers and packagers for a flat fee or for a reduced royalty". One of his most notable works was Taking Back My Name, an autobiography of Ike Turner, for which he spent a number of weeks working with Turner and took up residence in his house. The autobiography caused much controversy, resulting in court cases reaching three years following its release.

Cawthorne currently lives in Bloomsbury, London with his girlfriend and his son Colin (born 1982).

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

Standalone books

• Against Their Will: Sadistic Kidnappers and the Courageous Stories of Their Innocent Victims
• Serial Killers and Mass Murderers: Profiles of the World's Most Barbaric Criminals
• Mafia: The History of the Mob
• Tyrants: History's 100 Most Evil Despots & Dictators
• Tesla: The Life and Times of an Electric Messiah
• Jack the Ripper's Secret Confession
• 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)
• Taking Back My Name
• 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)
• Flight MH370: The Mystery

Criticism and accusations of plagiarism

Cawthorne has received much criticism for his lack of primary sources. Furthermore, many reviews of his true crime and history books claim that he replicates much of the text entirely from already existing material, such as archived newspaper articles and other secondary sources. His book on the murder of Tia Sharp was especially criticised for doing so. Several reviewers have called him a "copy and paste" author. Many of his books are compilations of popular history, without footnotes, references, or bibliographies.