Including his most memorable pieces – his 'Postcard from Rome', his observations on Margaret Thatcher, his insights into Heaney, Larkin and Orwell – this book also contains brilliantly funny examinations of characters like Barry Humphries, as well as showcasing James's more thoughtful, analytical side. From Germaine Greer to Marilyn Monroe, from the nature of celebrity to German culpability for the Holocaust, Reliable Essays is an unmissable collection from one of the best writers of our time. 'He has widened the "tonal range" of criticism, permitting it to be both sober and skittish, learned and lewd, rhetorically rambunctious and epigrammatically concise . . . an intellectual as well as a joker, a wise man as well as a wit' Peter Conrad, Observer 'His writing is impeccably witty, flexible and urbane . . . immensely enjoyable to read. It's a pleasure to see the metropolitan critic back in action' Christopher Taylor, Sunday Telegraph 'He can both get to the heart of... Views: 36
A compelling memoir about trying to live meaningfully with illness and triumph beyond it, by breast cancer survivor Alana Somerville, a teacher and mother of two young children.I looked at all the sick people around me. Was I going to be like them? Was that already me? Did I suddenly have a time stamp on my life? Would I make it out of this alive? Alana Somerville—wife, teacher and mother of two small children—was thirty-three years old when she was diagnosed with stage-two, triple-negative breast cancer. The diagnosis changed her world and the relationships she had with everyone around her. Suddenly she was faced with endless medical appointments, multiple surgeries and procedures, the challenges of chemotherapy, and all the decisions involved in her treatment. She also had to deal with the trauma of realizing that her support network—sometimes even her closest friends—could struggle with how to help or even how to react to her... Views: 36
For the bicentennial of its original publication—the first full-length book from the father of the American short storyIn 1809, New Yorkers were buzzing about a series of classified ads concerning the whereabouts of Dutch historian Diedrich Knickerbocker. They were unaware that Washington Irving had invented the man entirely and placed the ads himself. Knickerbocker's purported manuscript, A History of New York, was Irving's own. Told from Knickerbocker's point of view, A History of New York is a chronicle of New York's fifty years under Dutch rule in the 1600s that plays fast and loose with the facts, to uproarious effect. Irving's good-humored spoofing had staying power, and his satire provided the city with its first self-portrait. A History of New York propelled Irving to the heights of literary stardom and even made a little history of its own: New Yorkers are called Knickerbockers to this day. Views: 36
The meeting drew to a close, and both the Soviet chairman and the US security adviser were standing to shake hands.Then one of the men in the Soviet chairman’s own party — later I learned that he was the Russian ambassador — took a step toward the Communist chairman. He was holding a grenade that he had pulled from his pocket. The man unpinned the grenade and dropped it on the plush carpet directly at the Russian leader’s feet.In the split second of frozen horror that followed not a sound could be heard in the room. I could see the pure terror on the face of the Soviet chairman as he gazed down in helpless fascination at the lethal activated grenade lying at the tips of his shoes.At that moment, with every person in the room paralyzed, the Russian ambassador — the man who had dropped the unpinned grenade — flung himself on top of the explosive. There was a muffled blast; the grenade’s deadly power was smothered by the man’s body. He was blown apart, his head torn from his torso . . . . Views: 35
The Holy Grail is found! Sir Patrick, the Irish knight who brought the cup to Greensprings on the Isle of Avalon, never intended for it to stay there. He had only wished to save his love from the clutches of death with its miraculous abilities. Now, Roman Church officials, politically ambitious nobility, and ancient supernatural creatures fight to lay claim to it. In the resulting battle, it is not enough to be strong—one must also be ruthless. To live with the consequences of his act, Sir Patrick assumes the burden of leadership to protect his comrades and the woman he loves. But in his struggles to set matters aright, he risks losing that love forever. Patrick must grow stronger in body and soul to keep the chalice out of the wrong hands, and to keep his world intact. Views: 35
A moving memoir of growing up Irish Catholic & poor in New York City. Told in the first person, this lyrical remembrance is a powerful odyssey of one young man coming of age in a confusing & sometimes hostile world. Views: 35
Ever since Vladamir Putin came to power in Russia, his critics have turned up dead on a regular basis. According to Amy Knight, this is no coincidence. In Orders to Kill, the KGB scholar ties dozens of victims together to expose a campaign of political murder during Putin's reign that even includes terrorist attacks such as the Boston Marathon Bombing. Russia is no stranger to political murder, from the tsars to the Soviets to the Putin regime, during which many journalists, activists and political opponents have been killed. Kremlin defenders like to say, "There is no proof," however convenient these deaths have been for Putin, and, unsurprisingly, because he controls all investigations, Putin is never seen holding a smoking gun,. But Amy Knight offers mountains of circumstantial evidence that point to Kremlin involvement.Called "the West's foremost scholar" of the KGB by The New York Times, Knight traces Putin's journey from the Federal... Views: 35
Michael O'Leary is a business giant. He transformed Ryanair from a loss-making joke of an Irish carrier into one of the most valuable airlines in the world, and in the process he has revolutionized the very nature of commercial aviation. In this, the first biography of O'Leary, Alan Ruddock portrays the man in three dimensions and examines the business miracle - often talked about but poorly understood - that O'Leary has wrought.'Ruddock's fast-paced retelling of Ryanair's rise and rise confirms O'Leary's insistence that his success has little to do with the management maxims of business gurus and everything to do with graft and ruthless attention to detail' Observer'Probably the definitive Ryanair story ... a good read' Sunday Independent'The fullest and most accurate picture of O'Leary to date' Irish Daily Mail'Unlike previous books which simply chart the growth of the... Views: 35
