Desert Island Discs: 70 years of castaways

The iconic Radio 4 series Desert Island Discs celebrates its 70th birthday in 2012. Since the programme's deviser Roy Plomley interviewed comedian Vic Oliver in January 1942, nearly 3,000 distinguished people from all walks of life have been stranded on the mythical island, accompanied only by eight records, one book and a luxury.

This beautifully illustrated landmark book tells the absorbing story of Britain's favourite radio programme in all its rich and intriguing detail through an exclusive selection of just 100 castaways, the cr me de la cr me of the great and the good.

Over the years each has been interviewed by one of just three further eminent successors to Roy Plomley: Michael Parkinson, Sue Lawley or today's presenter, Kirsty Young.

Discover how:
-Diana Mosley caused outrage by fondly remembering Hitler's magnetic charm and disputing the scale of the Holocaust.
-Roy Plomley interviewed the wrong Alistair McLean .
-Terry Pratchett took the Chrysler Building in New York as his luxury, Julian Clary a prosthetic arm and Kathy Burke a laminated surfboard of James Caan.
-Self-proclaimed 'tough big guy' Tony Adams broke down when telling Kirsty Young about the support of his parents.

Desert Island Discs: 70 Years of Castaways is not simply the history of a radio programme. It is a record of our lives and society over the last seventy years and the one book you will want to take with you when cast away yourself.