Unsung Heroes: The Twentieth Century's Forgotten History-Makers

Bestselling author Erik Durschmied turns his acute eye for detail and narrative skills to some of those who have shaped history - but whose names are unknown to most of us. They are the "Unsung Heroes".

Here are instances of heroic deeds with no immediate witness - such as the Scholls' attempt in 1943 to raise their nation's consciousness, suppressed by Hitler; the nuclear physicist Dr Louis Slotin whose heroism was not made public, because in 1946 "the bomb" was supposed to be fail-safe; the sergeant who in 1916 blundered into an "impregnable fortress" and took it single-handedly.

These brave men and women were not inspired by a desire of glory. Some dared to stand up to injustice and some had to pay a bitter price for remaining loyal to their principles: all of them changed the course of history.