Latest Work
Outstanding Olympics (Oxford University Press)
It's the greatest show on Earth and this book seeks to get across the Olympics' extraordinarily rich tradition.
Crammed inside are hundreds of astonishing Olympic facts and stories - ranging from long discontinued events such as live pigeon shooting to stirring tales of spirit and sportsmanship and extraordinary battling against the odds.
Learn about one-legged gold medallists, six-legged long jumping and all the standout feats, records and antics of the world's sporting heroes and zeroes. With the Olympics set to dominate sport in Britain over the next four years, this is the perfect title to arouse interest and excitement in the world's greatest sporting celebration.
Download a PDF double page on infamous Olympic cheats!
Crimebusters (Oxford University Press)
Crimebusters is an exciting, full-colour guide to the science behind fighting crime. The book looks not just at the many branches of forensic science – from ballistics matching and forensic botany to blood serology, toxicology and DNA fingerprinting – but at the whole investigative process including crime scene callouts, forgery and fake detection and witness interviewing. The book shows how the smallest clue, a flake of paint, a sample of pollen, a lip print or bite mark or some animal or clothing fibres can form the basis of an investigation.
The crimes covered range from high-tech data theft, art fraud and currency forgery to kidnappings, animal smuggling, assaults and murders. Topical and infamous case studies detail how scientific techniques provided a conviction or major lead in a notorious crime. Investigate! practical panels give readers the chance for some hands-on crime fighting and detection experience, learning the underlying science principles as a result.
Download a PDF double page on high-tech crimebusting.
Download a PDF double page on how crimes can be solved by studying marks, tears and breaks.
"A great way to catch the interest of children in both science and the new compulsory discipline of citizenship. I certainly can't retrieve it from my sons (currently fingerprinting themselves in the kitchen whilst using up all my cocoa powder) to write this review. The narrative itself is clear and concise and treads a fairly difficult path between over-simplification and over-complication very nicely." - BookBag, March 2007.
Kingfisher Knowledge: Spies
Spies features profiles of leading field agents and spymasters, looks at industrial espionage and sheds light on the murky realms of sabotage, spy swaps and assassination.
Foreword by Dame
Stella Rimington,
ex-head of MI5.
"From getting Dame Stella Rimington to agree to provide a foreword to practising concealments, message swaps and disguises and checking out bugging equipment at a secret address in Sheffield, every moment of working on Spies was a blast. Myself, Chief Editor, Melissa Fairley and top designer, Carol Evans had particular fun at the photo shoot for the pages on disguise. Guess who got the job as the model?"
Clive Gifford.
"This slim book provides a history of the trade, includes memorable spy stories, and discusses the future of espionage. The facts come fast and furiously, interspersed with attractive color photographs...Numerous high-interest archival photos, film stills, cartoons, and pictures of equipment fill the pages…An eye-catching introduction."
School Library Journal, May 2005
"Packed with information and superb images – a great weapon to have in your homework-busting armoury."
Sunday Times
"Despite not being much of a non-fiction person, I'm loving the vibrant, fascinating, and informative SPIES by Clive Gifford. Great for suspense fans; this photo-illustrated book features a design as exciting as its subject matter. Recommended for kids and grown-ups."
Cynthia Leitich Smith