Diamond Boy

A high-stakes, page-turning adventure set in the diamond fields of Zimbabwe.

Michael Williams is a writer of plays, musicals, operas and novels and the Managing Director of Cape Town Opera in South Africa. He has written operas for young people based on African mythology, as well as the libretti for symphonic operas that have premiered around the world.

'Diamonds for everyone.' That's what fifteen-year-old Patson Moyo hears when his family arrives in the Marange diamond fields, leaving his previous life, school and friends behind with hopes for a better life. Soon Patson is working in the mines along with four friends in the Gwejana Syndicate – teen diamond miners, secretly pooling their profits and hoping to find the priceless stone that will change everything. But when the government's soldiers come to Marange, Patson's world is shattered. 
 
Set against the backdrop of President Mugabe's brutal regime in Zimbabwe, this is the story of a young man who succumbs to greed, but finds his way out through a transformative journey to South Africa in search of his missing sister, in search of freedom, and in search of himself.

How Britain's Railways Won the War

Steaming to Victory

The definitive history of the British railways during the Second World War.

As gripping as a fictional thriller…It is the human tales of evacuees, locomotive cleaners, crews, porters and ticket collectors that make this such an enthralling read…Michael Williams has written this book in an easy reading graphic style bringing to life the heroics and anecdotes of those he interviewed.  His journalistic style makes this a compelling read 4 stars

Thoroughly researched…a good summary of the character shown by railwaymen and women

Stirring, awe-inspiring and quirky. 4 stars

An elegant evocation of the wartime railways, a facet of Britain’s richly detailed ‘home front’ story that deserves the prominence that this book will help to attain.

Michael Williams has written a highly readable book and one that is accessible to all.

Books about railway history seem to appear in an endless stream, so it is a real pleasure to find one that not only has something new to say, but tells its story with style and enthusiasm.

a compelling, easy read, and one that provides an excellent overview of a huge and complex subject

David Edgerton, Prof of Modern History, Imperial College, author of Britain's War Machine

A change to my diary found me returning home from York this morning by train and bus, so I took the opportunity to start reading your manuscript. I enjoyed so much what I was reading that I kept going through the afternoon and finished it off. I think you're on to a winner!

Professor Colin Divall Institute for Transport Studies, York University

an interesting contribution to social as well as railway history

hugely readable...Williams has written this book that is both informative and scholarly but also easy read and that brings to life the heroics and anecdotes of the many railways workers he interviewed in the writing of this book. His style makes this a compelling read... All in all it's a important book that fills a gap in the story not just of Britain's railways but also of the Second World War on the home front.

Fresh and accessible – makes you feel you were there

Michael Williams writes widely on railways for many publications, including the Daily Mail, The Independent, the Independent on Sunday, the New Statesman, The Oldie and the railway specialist press. He is a veteran Fleet Street journalist, having held many senior positions, including Deputy Editor of the Independent on Sunday, Executive Editor of the Independent and Head of News at The Sunday Times. He is currently Senior Lecturer in the School of Journalism, Media and Communication at the University of Central Lancashire. He commutes regularly by train on the 440-mile return journey between his home in London's Camden Town and his office at Preston in Lancashire.

In the seven decades since the darkest moments of the Second World War it seems every tenebrous corner of the conflict has been laid bare, prodded and examined from every perspective of military and social history. 
 
But there is a story that has hitherto been largely overlooked. It is a tale of quiet heroism, a story of ordinary people who fought, with enormous self-sacrifice, not with tanks and guns, but with elbow grease and determination. It is the story of the British railways and, above all, the extraordinary men and women who kept them running from 1939 to 1945. 
 
Churchill himself certainly did not underestimate their importance to the wartime story when, in 1943, he praised ‘the unwavering courage and constant resourcefulness of railwaymen of all ranks in contributing so largely towards the final victory.’ 
 
And what a story it is. 
 
The railway system during the Second World War was the lifeline of the nation, replacing vulnerable road transport and merchant shipping. The railways mobilised troops, transported munitions, evacuated children from cities and kept vital food supplies moving where other forms of transport failed. Railwaymen and women performed outstanding acts of heroism. Nearly 400 workers were killed at their posts and another 2,400 injured in the line of duty. Another 3,500 railwaymen and women died in action. The trains themselves played just as vital a role. The famous Flying Scotsman train delivered its passengers to safety after being pounded by German bombers and strafed with gunfire from the air. There were astonishing feats of engineering restoring tracks within hours and bridges and viaducts within days. Trains transported millions to and from work each day and sheltered them on underground platforms at night, a refuge from the bombs above. Without the railways, there would have been no Dunkirk evacuation and no D-Day. 
 
Michael Williams, author of the celebrated book On the Slow Train, has written an important and timely book using original research and over a hundred new personal interviews. 
 
This is their story.

Now is the Time for Running

An award-winning novel about the plight of young Zimbabwean refugees and the power of brotherly love

The triumph of human endeavour against a harrowing landscape... A gripping, powerful tale that will more than touch your soul. Quite simply, this story needs to be read.

Jason Wallace, multi-award-winning author of 'Out of Shadows'

A wonderfully written, thought-provoking novel. . . It deserves a wide audience.

From the dusty fields of Zimbabwe to the refugee camps of South Africa, this is a heartbreaking, unputdownable tale of prejudice, resilience and brotherly love.

Gripping, suspenseful and deeply compassionate

This is a moving and important story about the brutality that takes place when dictators rule and hatred mounts. But it is ultimately uplifting when, united by football, a group of South African refugees reach the Street Soccer World Cup final.

Wonderful. A must-read for anyone who loves international YA fiction . . . very brave

Gut-wrenching . . . plenty of material to captivate readers: fast-paced soccer matches every bit as tough as the players . . . heartbreaking twists of fate, that will endure in readers' minds

I found this story incredibly troubling and moving; Deo and Innocent will stay with you.

A tough and heart-rending story, but one that needs telling

Michael Williams is a writer of plays, musicals, operas and novels and the Managing Director of Cape Town Opera in South Africa. He has written operas for young people based on African mythology as well as the libretti for symphonic operas that have premiered around the world. Michael is bringing Porgy and Bess and the Nelson Mandela Trilogy operas to the UK in June 2012

Winner of the 2014 UKLA Award 
 
Deo is a great footballer, a fierce protector of his older brother, Innocent. His brother is easily nervous, easily happy but good at keeping score on the dusty fields of Zimbabwe where the boys play. 
 
Then Mugabe's soldiers come, destroying the only home the boys have known. Now, Deo has nothing but his brother, and a football stuffed with billions of worthless dollars. And so starts their journey to find their father. But with soldiers everywhere, they have only one chance to cross the border, one chance to escape. 
 
In face of such a challenge, it is Deo's brotherly love that endures, his belief that he will lead them both to safety. Micheal Williams's is a masterful storyteller who pulls you along the journey of a lifetime. Deo and Innocent's journey is a universal story of hope in the face of despair, and the search for a better life.

On the Slow Train Again

In a follow-up to the hugely successful On The Slow Train, here are twelve more of the most beautiful and historic railway journeys in Britain. Extravagantly well-reviewed, the Daily Mail eulogised author Michael Williams' ability to recreate 'a magical world barely changed since the golden age of rail'.

For the jaundiced commuter, On the Slow Train Again is the perfect tonic. Michael Williams is a knowledgeable and entertaining companion.

A delicious read, an evocative tour of our heritage, and a past that, in some places at least, still remain in the present

A wonderful follow-up to his excellent On The Slow Train ... The author weaves the strands of past times, and how the railways have changed, in with the details of the present day places wonderfully well ... Williams has a languid, charming, almost hypnotic style of writing which is well worth reading for the sheer pleasure of his language

One man's joyous account of his two-year, 30,000 mile quest to find Britain's most enchanting rail journeys

Williams is an ardent train buff… and a first class journalist with a keen eye and gift for info-packed prose

Michael Williams writes widely on railways for many publications. He is a veteran Fleet Street journalist, having held many senior positions, including Deputy Editor of the Independent on Sunday, Executive Editor of the Independent and Head of News at The Sunday Times. He is currently Senior Lecturer in the School of Journalism, Media and Communication at the University of Central Lancashire.

Michael Williams has spent the past year travelling along the fascinating rail byways of Britain for this new collection of journeys. Here is the 'train to the end of the world' running for more than four splendid hours through lake, loch and moorland from Inverness to Wick, the most northerly town in Britain. He discovers a perfect country branch line in London's commuterland, and travels on one of the slowest services in the land along the shores of the lovely Dovey estuary to the far west of Wales. He takes the stopping train across the Pennines on a line with so few services that its glorious scenery is a secret known only to the regulars. Here, too, is the Bittern Line in Norfolk and the Tarka Line in North Devon as well as the little branch line to the fishing port of Looe in Cornwall, rescued from closure in the 1960s and now celebrating its 150th anniversary taking families on holiday to the seaside. From the most luxurious and historic - aboard the Orient Express - to the most futuristic - on the driverless trains of London's Docklands Light Railway - here is a unique travel companion celebrating the treasures of our railway heritage from one of Britain's most knowledgeable railway writers.

Twelve Great British Railway Journeys

On The Slow Train

An unashamed tug at the heartstrings for a lost era, a time before Dr Beeching chopped the heart out of the British countryside. Renowned railway writer Michael Williams takes us on 12 of the most beautiful and historic railway journeys in Britain. Revised and updated for paperback.

'A trip back in time' DAILY TELEGRAPH 
 
A love of railways, a love of history, a love of nostalgia. 
______________________________ 
 
Get ready to board the slow train to another era, to a time when travel meant more than hurrying from one place to the next. On the Slow Train will reconnect you with that long-missed need for escape, and reminds us to lift our heads from the daily grind and remember that there are still places in Britain where we can take the time to stop and stare. 
 
This book is a paean to another age: before milk churns, train porters and cats on seats were replaced by security announcements and Burger King wrappers. These 12 spectacular journeys will help free us from what Baudelaire denounced as 'the horrible burden of time.' 
___________________________________ 
 
'Captivating' SUNDAY EXPRESS 
 
'Deep in our soul, the railways represent an idyll that we love' INDEPENDENT 
 
'A magical world, barely changed since the golden age of rail' DAILY MAIL 
 
'Superb' RAILYWAY MAGAZINE 
 
'Memory lane . . . An intriguing social snapshot' HERITAGE RAILWAY

The author does take us along memory lane , but his description of each route also encapsulates a taste of 21st century Britain gleaned from talking to the people he meets along the way ... an intriguing social snapshot

The author's superb narrative, interspersed with dry humour, acute observations and some excellent anecdotes that make you feel you know the lines so well that you want to travel on them ... there are some wonderful bitter-sweet moments emerging from the pages, as the reader is taken on a fascinating series of journeys ... I enjoyed this book immensely. It's a great anytime read and hope the publishers can be persuaded to to commission a second volume

A magical world barely changed since the golden age of rail

Williams manages to meet a range of characters who enliven the book and provide evidence of a Britain that is as forgotten as the lines on which he travels. That is the strength of the book. Williams does not just offer the journey but takes us through the history of each line and importantly meets the people who have campaigned to keep them open or ensure their smooth operation ...

Deep in our soul, the railways represent an idyll that we love

'A magical world barely changed since the golden age of rail' Daily Mail 
 
'Captivating' Sunday Express 
 
Renowned railway writer Michael Williams takes us on twelve of today's most captivating and historic British railway journeys - harking back to an era when travel meant more than hurrying from one place to the next in crowded carriages, before small country stations with their milk churns, porters and slumbering cats on seats were replaced by the modern world of security announcements, 'leaves on the line' and Burger King. 
 
On the Slow Train reconnects with the long missed need to lift our heads from the daily grind and reflect that there are still places in Britain where we can stop and stare. In its pages you will find many things: a love of railways, a love of history, a love of nostalgia, a love of the exuberance of people, and a love of life. 
 
'Deep in our soul, the railways represent an idyll that we love' Independent

This beautifully-packaged book will take the reader on the slow train to another era when travel meant more than hurrying from one place to the next, the journey meaning nothing but time lost in crowded carriages, condemned by broken timetables. On the Slow Train will reconnect with that long-missed need to lift our heads from the daily grind and reflect that there are still places in Britain where we can stop and stare. It will tap into many things: a love of railways, a love of history, a love of nostalgia. 
 
This book will be a paean to another age before milk churns, porters and cats on seats were replaced by security announcements and Burger King. These 12 spectacular journeys will help free us from what Baudelaire denounced as 'the horrible burden of time.' 
 
Updated for the paperback.

Michael Williams

This is a wistful and sepulchral affair yet … The Trains Now Departed is more than just a lamentation for the days of steam and soot.

In elegant prose Michael Williams takes us on nostalgic journeys, reminding us - with smuts and smells - of what we have lost.

Revel in what we've lost and wonder how on earth we ever had it. It's a perfect book for a leisurely, long rail journey. If the scenery leaves you uninspired, then read a chapter, refresh your mind, and gaze once more from your window.

A nostalgic thrill for anyone with the least longing for the lost age of steam.

Williams is to railway writing what his namesake Portillo is to railway television

Chock full with enjoyment – will capture and transport

An excellent read, and amongst the most enjoyable and entertaining railway books of the year...Underlying Williams's prose is a sense of joy...and real knowledge of his subject.

Even if you are not particularly interested in railways, you will find much to enjoy in this book. Williams writes well and engages you in his passion

From charming rural branch lines to the glamourous Night Ferry, the accounts in Williams’ new book are sure to give a nostalgic thrill to anyone with the least longing for the lost age of steam. Anecdotes detail eccentric lines where crews would stop services to pick mushrooms, then fry them on the firebox; luxurious carriages are lovingly detailed, producing a pang in anyone familiar with drab modern services.

Williams explores old routes and services with an historian's eye for detail and a novelist's sense of pace. Who can now imagine having kippers on a commuter train or know that the 'Slow and Dirty' was the nickname for the old Somerset and Dorset line? Well written, with a wealth of detail for the railway buff.

”Dreamlike” is the word for many of Williams’s skilful evocations

The fascinating stories are very readable, peppered with anecdotes and obscure facts… Once started, it was difficult to put it down until the whole chapter had been read.

Sixteen Excursions into the Lost Delights of Britain's Railways

SOMETIMES you come across a lofty railway viaduct, marooned in the middle of a remote country landscape. Or a crumbling platform from some once-bustling junction buried under the buddleia. If you are lucky you might be able to follow some rusting tracks, or explore an old tunnel leading to…well, who knows where? Listen hard. Is that the wind in the undergrowth? Or the spectre of a train from a golden era of the past panting up the embankment? 
 
These are the ghosts of The Trains Now Departed. They are the railway lines, and services that ran on them that have disappeared and gone forever. Our lost legacy includes lines prematurely axed, often with a gripping and colourful tale of their own, as well as marvels of locomotive engineering sent to the scrapyard, and grand termini felled by the wrecker's ball. Then there are the lost delights of train travel, such as haute cuisine in the dining car, the grand expresses with their evocative names, and continental boat trains to romantic far-off places. 
 
The Trains Now Departed tells the stories of some of the most fascinating lost trains of Britain, vividly evoking the glories of a bygone age. In his personal odyssey around Britain Michael Williams tells the tales of the pioneers who built the tracks, the yarns of the men and women who operated them and the colourful trains that ran on them. It is a journey into the soul of our railways, summoning up a magic which, although mired in time, is fortunately not lost for ever. 
 
THIS EDITION REVISED AND UPDATED TO INCLUDE MAPS.

Michael Williams

Praise for The Trains Now Departed

This is a wistful and sepulchral affair yet … The Trains Now Departed is more than just a lamentation for the days of steam and soot.

In elegant prose Michael Williams takes us on nostalgic journeys, reminding us - with smuts and smells - of what we have lost.

Revel in what we've lost and wonder how on earth we ever had it. It's a perfect book for a leisurely, long rail journey. If the scenery leaves you uninspired, then read a chapter, refresh your mind, and gaze once mo ...

This is a wistful and sepulchral affair yet … The Trains Now Departed is more than just a lamentation for the days of steam and soot.

In elegant prose Michael Williams takes us on nostalgic journeys, reminding us - with smuts and smells - of what we have lost.

Revel in what we've lost and wonder how on earth we ever had it. It's a perfect book for a leisurely, long rail journey. If the scenery leaves you uninspired, then read a chapter, refresh your mind, and gaze once mo ...

This is a wistful and sepulchral affair yet … The Trains Now Departed is more than just a lamentation for the days of steam and soot.

In elegant prose Michael Williams takes us on nostalgic journeys, reminding us - with smuts and smells - of what we have lost.

Revel in what we've lost and wonder how on earth we ever had it. It's a perfect book for a leisurely, long rail journey. If the scenery leaves you uninspired, then read a chapter, refresh your mind, and gaze once mo ...

Books by Michael Williams

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