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Private Notes
First of a six-part series seeking the truth behind public perceptions of prominent figures. Harold Macmillan 's slogan was" " you've never had it so good." But behind his cool façade was a private life in turmoil.
Second of a six-part series seeking the truth behind public perception of prominent figures.Her good name was secured with the publication of her book Born Free and her work with wildlife. But there were indications of a much darker side.
His achievements over 15 years in professional boxing justified Muhammad Ali's self-promotion as "The Greatest". But his public conversion to Islam and his controversial refusal to fight in Vietnam were stances for which Ali is almost equally remembered.
His work changed for ever the way Americans regarded sex. But this conservative man seemed an unlikely pioneer.
Overthrown in 1979 in the revolution led by the Ayatollah Khomeini, the late Shah of Iran believed himself to be a visionary king leading his people on the path to what he called the "Great Civilisation". Others, however, have simply dismissed him as a Third-World dictator ousted by popular consent.
Once a hitman for Al Capone, Sam Giancana enjoyed a career at the pinnacle of organised crime. Suspected of receiving a request from the CIA to assassinate Cuban leader Fidel Castro, Giancana had his reign ended in when he was gunned down in Chicago. A man who mixed with film stars and loved Hollywood, Giancana's cruelty was legendary, but he was most famous for his alleged role in the 1963 assassination of President John F Kennedy.
Albert Speer was Hitler's architect, his arms minister, and his only friend. After the war, he became the only Nazi tried at Nuremberg to say sorry, even apologising for crimes which he claimed had been kept secret from him. He was imprisoned for war crimes and after his release he wrote his best-selling memoirs. But was his remorse genuine, or just a clever strategy? Did he know more than he admitted, and was he still secretly proud of his meteoric career under Hitler? Last in the series.
