What connects the discovery of America, the creation of Coca-Cola and the van Gogh painting found in a chicken coop? That's right - just plain luck!

Call ir serendipity, divine providence, good karma - sometimes even the best of us need a bit of it. Daniel Smith's essential guide to history's luckiest buggers celebrates the type of unexpected good fortune we all dream of.

Hear about the Japanese trader who made a fortune after a share price typo, the fight that landed Mel Gibson his first major film, the German novelist who lost his manuscript on a train - only to find it wrapped around the fish supper he bought at the station - and many more ...