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John le Carré: The Biography
by Adam SismanOver half a century since The Spy Who came in from the Cold made John le Carré a worldwide, bestselling sensation, David Cornwell, the man behind the pseudonym, remains an enigma. He has consistently quarried his life for his writing, and his novels seem to offer tantalizing glimpses of their author - but in the narrative of his life fact and fiction have become intertwined, and little is really known of one of the world's most successful writers.In Cornwell's lonely childhood Adam Sisman uncovers the origins of the themes of love and abandonment which have dominated le Carré's fiction: the departure of his mother when he was five, followed by 'sixteen hugless years' in the dubious care of his father, a man of energy and charm, a serial seducer and conman who hid the Bentleys in the trees when the bailiffs came calling - a 'totally incomprehensible father' who could 'put a hand on your shoulder and the other in your pocket, both gestures equally sincere'. And in Cornwell's adult life - from recruitment by both MI5 and MI6, through marriage and family life, to his emergence as the master of the spy novel - Sisman explores the idea of espionage and its significance in human terms; the extent to which betrayal is acceptable in exchange for love; and the endless need for forgiveness, especially from oneself.Written with exclusive access to David Cornwell himself, to his private archive and to the most important people in his life - family, friends, enemies, intelligence ex-colleagues and ex-lovers - and featuring a wealth of previously unseen photographic material, Adam Sisman's extraordinarily insightful and constantly revealing biography brings in from the cold a man whose own life has been as complex and confounding and filled with treachery as any of his novels. 'I'm a liar,' Cornwell has written. 'Born to lying, bred to it, trained to it by an industry that lies for a living, practised in it as a novelist.'This is the definitive biography of a major writer, described by Ian McEwan as 'perhaps the most significant novelist of the second half of the twentieth century in Britain'.
John Leighton Stuart's Missionary-Educator's Career in China (China Perspectives)
by Hao PingIn China, John Leighton Stuart (1876-1962) is a controversial figure occupying an important position in the history of modern China and Sino-U.S. relations. As a scholar and educator, Stuart loved Chinese culture and contributed much to the development of Chinese education. While as a missionary, he was inherently prejudiced against Marxism. As the U.S. ambassador to China, Stuart executed U.S. government's policy, and was finally stereotyped as a symbol of "American imperialism". This book is a comprehensive and systematic study of Stuart's missionary-educator's career in China. It gives a detailed account of Stuart's missionary activities and contribution to the establishment and development of Yenching University as the founding president in China. Yenching, founded in 1919, left a significant and lasting legacy to Chinese education. It also contributed much to western studies on Asian culture with the Harvard-Yenching Institute established in 1928. By collecting substantial relevant materials both at home and abroad, both published and unpublished, this book reveals the multidimensional and complex features of Stuart, getting rid of the stereotype. Academic and general readers interested in Stuart, missionary education in modern China and modern Chinese history will be attracted by this book.
John Leighton Stuart's Missionary-Educator's Career in China (China Perspectives)
by Hao PingIn China, John Leighton Stuart (1876-1962) is a controversial figure occupying an important position in the history of modern China and Sino-U.S. relations. As a scholar and educator, Stuart loved Chinese culture and contributed much to the development of Chinese education. While as a missionary, he was inherently prejudiced against Marxism. As the U.S. ambassador to China, Stuart executed U.S. government's policy, and was finally stereotyped as a symbol of "American imperialism". This book is a comprehensive and systematic study of Stuart's missionary-educator's career in China. It gives a detailed account of Stuart's missionary activities and contribution to the establishment and development of Yenching University as the founding president in China. Yenching, founded in 1919, left a significant and lasting legacy to Chinese education. It also contributed much to western studies on Asian culture with the Harvard-Yenching Institute established in 1928. By collecting substantial relevant materials both at home and abroad, both published and unpublished, this book reveals the multidimensional and complex features of Stuart, getting rid of the stereotype. Academic and general readers interested in Stuart, missionary education in modern China and modern Chinese history will be attracted by this book.
John Leighton Stuart’s Political Career in China (China Perspectives)
by Hao PingIn China, John Leighton Stuart (1876-1962) is a controversial figure occupying an important position in the history of modern China and Sino-U.S. relations. As a scholar and educator, Stuart loved Chinese culture and contributed much to the development of Chinese education. While as a missionary, he was inherently prejudiced against Marxism. As the U.S. ambassador to China, Stuart executed U.S. government's policy, and was finally stereotyped as a symbol of "American imperialism". This book gives a detailed account of Stuart's complicated and deep political involvement in modern China. Stuart had close relationships with Chiang Kai-shek and other high-ranking officials of Kuomingtang (KMT), while he was also an honored guest of Mao Tse-tung and Chinese Communist Party (CCP). During his tenure as the U.S. Ambassador to China, Stuart did implement U.S. government's policy of supporting KMT. But when the CCP's gaining power became inevitable, he took a pragmatic attitude and urged the U.S. government to normalize its diplomatic relations with the Communist Government. These seemingly contradictory behaviors reveal Stuart's complex features and the changeable era. By collecting substantial relevant materials both at home and abroad, both published and unpublished, this book reveals Stuart's multidimensional characters, getting rid of the stereotype. Academic and general readers interested in Stuart, modern Chinese history and Sino-U.S. relations will be attracted by this book.
John Leighton Stuart’s Political Career in China (China Perspectives)
by Hao PingIn China, John Leighton Stuart (1876-1962) is a controversial figure occupying an important position in the history of modern China and Sino-U.S. relations. As a scholar and educator, Stuart loved Chinese culture and contributed much to the development of Chinese education. While as a missionary, he was inherently prejudiced against Marxism. As the U.S. ambassador to China, Stuart executed U.S. government's policy, and was finally stereotyped as a symbol of "American imperialism". This book gives a detailed account of Stuart's complicated and deep political involvement in modern China. Stuart had close relationships with Chiang Kai-shek and other high-ranking officials of Kuomingtang (KMT), while he was also an honored guest of Mao Tse-tung and Chinese Communist Party (CCP). During his tenure as the U.S. Ambassador to China, Stuart did implement U.S. government's policy of supporting KMT. But when the CCP's gaining power became inevitable, he took a pragmatic attitude and urged the U.S. government to normalize its diplomatic relations with the Communist Government. These seemingly contradictory behaviors reveal Stuart's complex features and the changeable era. By collecting substantial relevant materials both at home and abroad, both published and unpublished, this book reveals Stuart's multidimensional characters, getting rid of the stereotype. Academic and general readers interested in Stuart, modern Chinese history and Sino-U.S. relations will be attracted by this book.
John Lennon: A Biography (Greenwood Biographies)
by Jacqueline EdmondsonThis biography tells the complete story of John Lennon's life, including the controversial influence of his music, art, and philosophy upon the world.John Lennon was a singer, songwriter, activist, artist, and writer whose life and work left an indelible mark on rock music and the world. Lennon first became famous as the founding member of The Beatles, and his songwriting partnership with bandmate Paul McCartney remains legendary in the history of pop music. Lennon's creative work, which extended well beyond his years as a Beatle and lasted until his final days, still provides enjoyment and inspiration to millions around the world.This biography provides a comprehensive account of John Lennon's life for students and general readers, integrating information from interviews conducted during his life with published accounts of Lennon from a range of perspectives. It covers the time from his birth in Liverpool in 1940 to his murder in New York City in 1980.
John Lennon: A Biography (Greenwood Biographies)
by Jacqueline EdmondsonThis biography tells the complete story of John Lennon's life, including the controversial influence of his music, art, and philosophy upon the world.John Lennon was a singer, songwriter, activist, artist, and writer whose life and work left an indelible mark on rock music and the world. Lennon first became famous as the founding member of The Beatles, and his songwriting partnership with bandmate Paul McCartney remains legendary in the history of pop music. Lennon's creative work, which extended well beyond his years as a Beatle and lasted until his final days, still provides enjoyment and inspiration to millions around the world.This biography provides a comprehensive account of John Lennon's life for students and general readers, integrating information from interviews conducted during his life with published accounts of Lennon from a range of perspectives. It covers the time from his birth in Liverpool in 1940 to his murder in New York City in 1980.
John Lennon: The Life
by Philip NormanThe final word on music’s greatest legend, in which Philip Norman reveals a John Lennon the world has never seen. With ground-breaking insight into the pain, beauty and frustration that shaped the genius of modern music, John Lennon: The Definitive Biography redefines a legend.
The John Lennon Letters: Edited and with an Introduction by Hunter Davies
by Hunter Davies John LennonA lifetime of letters, collected for the first time, from the legendary The Beatles musician and songwriter John LennonJohn Lennon is one of the world's greatest-ever song writers, creator of 'Help!', 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds', 'Imagine' and dozens more. Now, his letters have been collected and published, illuminating as never before the intimate side of a private genius.Hunter Davies, author of the only authorised biography of The Beatles, has tracked down almost three hundred of Lennon's letters and postcards - to relations, friends, fans, strangers, lovers and even to the laundry. Some of the letters are tender, informative, funny, angry and abusive, and some are simply heart-breaking - from his earliest surviving thank-you note, written when he was ten, to his last scribbled autograph given on 8 December 1980, the day he was shot, aged forty.
John Lennon Story
by Guy CavillJohn Winston Ono Lennon, MBE (9th October 1940 - 8th December 1980) rose to world-wide fame as one of the founding members of the Beatles, and together with Paul McCartney formed one of the most successful song writing partnerships of the 20th century. Born and raised in Liverpool, Lennon became involved in the skiffle craze as a teenager with his first band. The Quarrymen, evolving into The Beatles in 1960. As the group began to undergo the disintegration that led to their break up towards the end of that decade, Lennon launched a solo career punctuated by critically acclaimed albums, including John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and Imagine, and iconic songs such as "Give Peace a Chance" and "Imagine". Lennon revealed a rebellious nature and acerbic wit in his music, his writing, on film, and in interviews, and became controversial through his work as a peace activist. He moved to New York City in 1971, where his criticism of the Vietnam War resulted in a lengthy attempt by Richard Nixon's administration to deport him, while his songs were adapted as anthems by the anti-war movement. Disengaging himself from the music business in 1975 to devote time to his family, Lennon reemerged in 1980 with a comeback album, Double Fantasy, but was murdered three weeks after its release, outside his flat in the Dakota Building.
John Lewis: In Search of the Beloved Community (Black Lives)
by Raymond ArsenaultThe first full-length biography of civil rights hero and congressman John Lewis For six decades John Robert Lewis (1940–2020) was a towering figure in the U.S. struggle for civil rights. As an activist and progressive congressman, he was renowned for his unshakable integrity, indomitable courage, and determination to get into "good trouble." In this first book-length biography of Lewis, Raymond Arsenault traces Lewis’s upbringing in rural Alabama, his activism as a Freedom Rider and leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, his championing of voting rights and anti-poverty initiatives, and his decades of service as the "conscience of Congress." Both in the streets and in Congress, Lewis promoted a philosophy of nonviolence to bring about change. He helped the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights leaders plan the 1963 March on Washington, where he spoke at the Lincoln Memorial. Lewis’s activism led to repeated arrests and beatings, most notably when he suffered a skull fracture in Selma, Alabama, during the 1965 police attack later known as Bloody Sunday. He was instrumental in the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and in Congress he advocated for racial and economic justice, immigration reform, LGBTQ rights, and national health care. Arsenault recounts Lewis’s lifetime of work toward one overarching goal: realizing the "beloved community," an ideal society based in equity and inclusion. Lewis never wavered in this pursuit, and even in death his influence endures, inspiring mobilization and resistance in the fight for social justice.
John MacBride: 16Lives (16lives Ser. #13)
by Donal FallonMajor John MacBride, who was Born in Westport, County Mayo in 1868, was a household name in Ireland when many of the leaders of the Easter Rising were still relatively unknown figures. As part of the ‘Irish Brigade’, a band of nationalists fighting against the British in the Second Boer War, MacBride’s name featured in stories in the Freeman’s Journal and Arthur Griffith’s United Irishman. The Major went on to travel across the United States, lecturing audiences on the blow struck against the British Empire in South Africa. His marriage to Maud Gonne, described as ‘Ireland’s Joan of Arc’, led to further notoriety. Their subsequent bitter separation involved some of the most senior figures in Irish nationalism. MacBride was dismissed by William Butler Yeats as a ‘drunken, vainglorious lout; Donal Fallon attempts to unravel the complexities of the man and his life and what led him to fight in Jacob’s factory in 1916. John MacBride was executed in Kilmainham Gaol on 5 May 1916, two days before his forty-eighth birthday.
John Maclean: Hero of Red Clydeside (Revolutionary Lives)
by Henry Bell'I am not here, then, as the accused; I am here as the accuser of capitalism dripping with blood from head to foot' – John Maclean, Speech from the Dock, 1918.*BR**BR*Feared by the government, adored by workers, celebrated by Lenin and Trotsky; the head of British Military Intelligence called John Maclean 'the most dangerous man in Britain'.*BR**BR*This new biography explores the events that shaped the life of a momentous man – from the Great War and the Great Unrest, to the Rent Strike and the Russian Revolution. It examines his work as an organiser and educator, his imprisonment and hunger strike, and how he became the early hero of radical Scottish Independence.
John Maclean: Hero of Red Clydeside (Revolutionary Lives)
by Henry Bell'I am not here, then, as the accused; I am here as the accuser of capitalism dripping with blood from head to foot' – John Maclean, Speech from the Dock, 1918.*BR**BR*Feared by the government, adored by workers, celebrated by Lenin and Trotsky; the head of British Military Intelligence called John Maclean 'the most dangerous man in Britain'.*BR**BR*This new biography explores the events that shaped the life of a momentous man – from the Great War and the Great Unrest, to the Rent Strike and the Russian Revolution. It examines his work as an organiser and educator, his imprisonment and hunger strike, and how he became the early hero of radical Scottish Independence.
John Major: Reappraising John Major
by Kevin Hickson Ben WilliamsThis year marks the twentieth anniversary of one of the most momentous general elections this country has ever seen. John Major's defeat in 1997 ended a record eighteen years of Tory government, prompting accusations of failure and ignominy.A controversial leader, Major oversaw numerous crises in international and domestic policy. Between 1990 and 1997, he presided over Britain's participations in the Gulf War, the start of the Northern Ireland peace process, the Maastricht Treaty negotiations and, famously, Black Wednesday and Britain's exit from the ERM.Towards the end, Major's government was split over Europe and ridden with allegations of sleaze. Widely criticised by the media and politicians from all parties, Major went on to be crushed by Tony Blair and New Labour in the 1997 general election.An Unsuccessful Prime Minister? is the first wide-ranging appraisal of John Major's government in nearly two decades. This book reconsiders the role of John Major as Prime Minister and the policy achievements of his government. Major's government faced many more constraints and left behind a more enduring legacy than his critics allowed at the time or since.
John Major: The Autobiography
by John Major‘The best memoir by a senior politician for years.’ Simon Jenkins, Sunday Times
John Marshall: The Man Who Made the Supreme Court
by Richard BrookhiserThe life of John Marshall, Founding Father and America's premier chief justice. In 1801, a genial and brilliant Revolutionary War veteran and politician became the fourth chief justice of the United States. He would hold the post for 34 years (still a record), expounding the Constitution he loved. Before he joined the Supreme Court, it was the weakling of the federal government, lacking in dignity and clout. After he died, it could never be ignored again. Through three decades of dramatic cases involving businessmen, scoundrels, Native Americans, and slaves, Marshall defended the federal government against unruly states, established the Supreme Court's right to rebuke Congress or the president, and unleashed the power of American commerce. For better and for worse, he made the Supreme Court a pillar of American life. In John Marshall, award-winning biographer Richard Brookhiser vividly chronicles America's greatest judge and the world he made.
John Marshall: The Chief Justice Who Saved the Nation
by Harlow Giles UngerA soul-stirring biography of John Marshall, the young republic's great chief justice, who led the Supreme Court to power and brought law and order to the nation
John Marshall Harlan: Great Dissenter of the Warren Court
by Tinsley E. YarbroughWhen David Souter was nominated by President Bush to the Supreme Court, he cited John Marshall Harlan as his model. It was an interesting choice. Admired by conservatives and deeply respected by his liberal brethren, Harlan was a man, as Justice William Brennan lamented, whose "massive scholarship" has never been fully recognized. In addition, he was the second Harlan to sit on the Court, following his grandfather--also named John Marshall Harlan. But while his grandfather was an outspoken supporter of reconstruction on a conservative court, the younger Harlan emerged as a critic of the Warren Court's liberal expansion of civil liberties. Now, in the first biography of this important but neglected jurist, Tinsley Yarbrough provides a detailed account of Harlan's life, from his privileged childhood to his retirement and death. Yarbrough examines the forces and events which shaped the Justice's jurisprudence--his early life and often complex family relationships, education at Princeton and Oxford, his work as a prosecutor during Prohibition, Republican Party activities, wartime service in the Army Air Force, and years as one of the nation's preeminent corporate lawyers (a career culminating in his defense of the du Pont brothers in the massive DuPont-GM antitrust suit). The book focuses, however, on Harlan's years on the high bench. Yarbrough weaves together discussions of the Justice's relations with his brethren, clerks, and staff, an examination of Harlan's role in the decision-making process on the Court, and an analysis of his jurisprudence. The Justice's approach to constitutional interpretation exalted precedent, deference to governmental power, and narrow decisions closely tied to case facts; but he also accepted an evolving, creative model of constitutional construction which permitted expansive readings of constitutional rights. Yarbrough's details Harlan's close relationship with Justice Frankfurter, showing how--despite their friendship and alliance--Harlan strongly marked out his own position, both personally and judicially, on the Warren and Burger courts. And he examines the substance and significance of his dissents in such famous cases as Miranda and the Pentagon Papers. Intensively researched, smoothly written, and incisively argued, Yarbrough's biography offers an absorbing account of the life and career of a great dissenter, hailed by admirers as a "lawyer's lawyer" and a "judge's judge." Coming at a time when the high court has begun to adopt many of Harlan's principles, this account provides an essential perspective on the Court, civil liberties, and a pivotal figure in the history of both.
John McCain: A Biography (Greenwood Biographies)
by Elaine S. PovichA rebel and risk-taker from childhood, John McCain—son and grandson of admirals—nevertheless chose to follow the traditional path marked out for him in the military. Nearly six years in a North Vietnamese prison tested his resolve and proved his extraordinary resilience and will to survive. Coming to Congress, McCain found that making his way in politics demanded a different set of survival skills, and he grew accustomed to the corridors of power while striving to keep his independence. This lively biography traces McCain's unlikely ascent to the verge of attaining the nation's highest office while never ceasing to challenge himself and others to serve a cause greater than self-interest.
John McCain: A Biography (Greenwood Biographies)
by Elaine S. PovichA rebel and risk-taker from childhood, John McCain—son and grandson of admirals—nevertheless chose to follow the traditional path marked out for him in the military. Nearly six years in a North Vietnamese prison tested his resolve and proved his extraordinary resilience and will to survive. Coming to Congress, McCain found that making his way in politics demanded a different set of survival skills, and he grew accustomed to the corridors of power while striving to keep his independence. This lively biography traces McCain's unlikely ascent to the verge of attaining the nation's highest office while never ceasing to challenge himself and others to serve a cause greater than self-interest.
John McGahern: Authority and vision
by Željka Doljanin Máire DoyleThis volume brings together contributions from a variety of disciplines to address the writer’s legacy and literary achievements. Essays on previously unexplored topics and reflective pieces on McGahern as a writer illuminate his body of work in new and challenging ways, expanding the boundaries of the McGahern debate.
John McGahern: Authority and vision
by Željka Doljanin Máire DoyleThis unique collection brings together essays by experts from a variety of disciplines, including history, sociology, education, journalism, creative writing and literary criticism, to offer new insights into the writer, his work and his legacy. Featuring a range of distinguished contributors, including Roy Foster, Paula Meehan, Frank McGuinness and Melvyn Bragg, along with a previously unpublished McGahern interview, the collection enhances the existing body of criticism, extending the McGahern conversation into new areas and deepening appreciation of the considerable achievements of this great writer. The volume, which also features an original poem by Paula Meehan written in honour of McGahern, will stimulate the interest of students, researchers and general readers of Irish literature and culture.
John Muir: From Scotland to the Sierra - A Biography (Sierra Club Bks.)
by Frederick TurnerImmigrant, inventor, botanist, writer and pioneering conservationist, Muir is one of the great Scots of the nineteenth century. From his humble origins in Dunbar, John Muir has risen to the status of an American icon as the father of American conservation. While others dreamed of becoming the archetypal New World Man, escaping into the wilderness beyond the confines and comfits of civilisation, very few actually lived the dream as Muir did, fully and deeply. Frederick Turner's monumental work is the definitive biography on Muir.
John Napier: Life, Logarithms, and Legacy
by Julian HavilJohn Napier (1550–1617) is celebrated today as the man who invented logarithms—an enormous intellectual achievement that would soon lead to the development of their mechanical equivalent in the slide rule: the two would serve humanity as the principal means of calculation until the mid-1970s. Yet, despite Napier's pioneering efforts, his life and work have not attracted detailed modern scrutiny. John Napier is the first contemporary biography to take an in-depth look at the multiple facets of Napier’s story: his privileged position as the eighth Laird of Merchiston and the son of influential Scottish landowners; his reputation as a magician who dabbled in alchemy; his interest in agriculture; his involvement with a notorious outlaw; his staunch anti-Catholic beliefs; his interactions with such peers as Henry Briggs, Johannes Kepler, and Tycho Brahe; and, most notably, his estimable mathematical legacy.Julian Havil explores Napier’s original development of logarithms, the motivations for his approach, and the reasons behind certain adjustments to them. Napier’s inventive mathematical ideas also include formulas for solving spherical triangles, "Napier’s Bones" (a more basic but extremely popular alternative device for calculation), and the use of decimal notation for fractions and binary arithmetic. Havil also considers Napier’s study of the Book of Revelation, which led to his prediction of the Apocalypse in his first book, A Plaine Discovery of the Whole Revelation of St. John—the work for which Napier believed he would be most remembered.John Napier assesses one man’s life and the lasting influence of his advancements on the mathematical sciences and beyond.