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The Great Glen: From Columba To Telford
by Catriona FfordeThis book provides a picture of the Great Glen, stretching from Fort William to Inverness, from AD550 to 1850. It begins with a description of the glen as it is today and an account of its geological development. This is followed by eleven chapters describing major characters or events in the glen. These are: St. Columba, King Brude, Macbeth, Alasdair Carrach (an early chief of the Keppoch MacDonalds), the Battle of the Shirts, the 1st Marquis of Montrose, Sir Ewen Cameron of Lochiel, Viscount (Bonnie) Dundee, the building of the Military Roads, the 1745 Jacobite Rising and its aftermath and the building of the Caledonian Canal. There is a short final chapter which makes some reference to the poets and musicians of the glen. Brief passages throughout on political and social developments serve to link the chapters together. The book is academic to some degree but perfectly comprehensible to the general reader with any interest in history. It will be particularly welcome to the hundreds of people who walk the Great Glen Way each year.
Great God A'Mighty! The Dixie Hummingbirds: Celebrating the Rise of Soul Gospel Music
by Jerry ZoltenFrom the Jim Crow world of 1920s Greenville, South Carolina, to Greenwich Village's Café Society in the '40s, to their 1974 Grammy-winning collaboration on "Loves Me Like a Rock," the Dixie Hummingbirds have been one of gospel's most durable and inspiring groups. Now, Jerry Zolten tells the Hummingbirds' fascinating story and with it the story of a changing music industry and a changing nation. When James Davis and his high-school friends starting singing together in a rural South Carolina church they could not have foreseen the road that was about to unfold before them. They began a ten-year jaunt of "wildcatting," traveling from town to town, working local radio stations, schools, and churches, struggling to make a name for themselves. By 1939 the a cappella singers were recording their four-part harmony spirituals on the prestigious Decca label. By 1942 they had moved north to Philadelphia and then New York where, backed by Lester Young's band, they regularly brought the house down at the city's first integrated nightclub, Café Society. From there the group rode a wave of popularity that would propel them to nation-wide tours, major record contracts, collaborations with Stevie Wonder and Paul Simon, and a career still vibrant today as they approach their seventy-fifth anniversary. Drawing generously on interviews with Hank Ballard, Otis Williams, and other artists who worked with the Hummingbirds, as well as with members James Davis, Ira Tucker, Howard Carroll, and many others, The Dixie Hummingbirds brings vividly to life the growth of a gospel group and of gospel music itself.
Great God A'Mighty! The Dixie Hummingbirds: Celebrating the Rise of Soul Gospel Music
by Jerry ZoltenFrom the Jim Crow world of 1920s Greenville, South Carolina, to Greenwich Village's Caf? Society in the '40s, to their 1974 Grammy-winning collaboration on "Loves Me Like a Rock," the Dixie Hummingbirds have been one of gospel's most durable and inspiring groups. Now, Jerry Zolten tells the Hummingbirds' fascinating story and with it the story of a changing music industry and a changing nation. When James Davis and his high-school friends starting singing together in a rural South Carolina church they could not have foreseen the road that was about to unfold before them. They began a ten-year jaunt of "wildcatting," traveling from town to town, working local radio stations, schools, and churches, struggling to make a name for themselves. By 1939 the a cappella singers were recording their four-part harmony spirituals on the prestigious Decca label. By 1942 they had moved north to Philadelphia and then New York where, backed by Lester Young's band, they regularly brought the house down at the city's first integrated nightclub, Caf? Society. From there the group rode a wave of popularity that would propel them to nation-wide tours, major record contracts, collaborations with Stevie Wonder and Paul Simon, and a career still vibrant today as they approach their seventy-fifth anniversary. Drawing generously on interviews with Hank Ballard, Otis Williams, and other artists who worked with the Hummingbirds, as well as with members James Davis, Ira Tucker, Howard Carroll, and many others, The Dixie Hummingbirds brings vividly to life the growth of a gospel group and of gospel music itself.
The Great Guide: What David Hume Can Teach Us about Being Human and Living Well
by Julian BagginiInvaluable wisdom on living a good life from one of the Enlightenment's greatest philosophersDavid Hume (1711–1776) is perhaps best known for his ideas about cause and effect and his criticisms of religion, but he is rarely thought of as a philosopher with practical wisdom to offer. Yet Hume's philosophy is grounded in an honest assessment of nature—human nature in particular. The Great Guide is an engaging and eye-opening account of how Hume's thought should serve as the basis for a complete approach to life.In this enthralling book, Julian Baggini masterfully interweaves biography with intellectual history and philosophy to give us a complete vision of Hume's guide to life. He follows Hume on his life's journey, literally walking in the great philosopher's footsteps as Baggini takes readers to the places that inspired Hume the most, from his family estate near the Scottish border to Paris, where, as an older man, he was warmly embraced by French society. Baggini shows how Hume put his philosophy into practice in a life that blended reason and passion, study and leisure, and relaxation and enjoyment.The Great Guide includes 145 Humean maxims for living well, on topics ranging from the meaning of success and the value of travel to friendship, facing death, identity, and the importance of leisure. This book shows how life is far richer with Hume as your guide.
The Great Irish Famine – A History in Four Lives: Personal accounts of the Great Irish Potato Famine
by Enda DelaneyThe Great Irish Famine of 1845–52 was the defining event in the history of modern Ireland. In proportional terms one of the most lethal famines in global history, the consequences were shocking: at least one million people died, and double that number fled the country within a decade. The Great Irish Famine surveys the history of this great tragedy through the testimonies of four key contemporaries, conveying the immediacy of the unfolding disaster as never before.They are:John MacHale – the Catholic Archbishop of TuamJohn Mitchel – the radical nationalistElizabeth Smith – the Scottish-born wife of a Wicklow landlordCharles E. Trevelyan – the assistant secretary to the TreasuryEach brings a unique perspective, influenced by who they were, what they witnessed, and what they stood for. It is an intimate and compelling portrayal of these hungry years. The book shows how misguided policies inspired by slavish adherence to ideology worsened the effects of a natural disaster of catastrophic proportions. ‘A significant and sophisticated addition to the historiography of the Famine.’Christopher Cusack, Times Literary Supplement‘Delaney’s approach to the story is innovative … (it will be found) in the hands of those who appreciate first-rate history … a very impressive book.’Breandán Mac Suibhne, Dublin Review of Books‘… a genuinely original and illuminating perspective on a subject too often dealt with by means of second-hand narrative and unexamined clichés.’ Roy Foster, Professor of Irish History, Oxford University‘There are many books on this terrible event, but this is one of the most fluent and original. Although it is based on large amounts of primary research its style is accessible and engaging, and the result is a valuable study of a truly harrowing crisis.’ The Times Higher Education Supplement‘… an extraordinarily important subject … focusing on four fascinating characters.’Ryan Tubridy‘Delaney offers an insightful, readable overview of this overwhelming disaster … highly recommended.’Choice, America's Library Association publicationThe Great Irish Famine: Table of ContentsPROLOGUE: THE LAND OF THE DEADPART I. BEFORE THE FAMINEEncountersLand and peoplePolitics and powerPART II. THAT COMING STORMSpectre of faminePeel’s brimstonePART III. INTO THE ABYSSA starving nationThe fearful realityProperty and povertyPART IV. LEGACIESVictoria’s subjectsExilesEPILOGUE: THE DEATH OF MARTIN COLLINS
The Great Justices, 1941-54: Black, Douglas, Frankfurter, and Jackson in Chambers
by William DomnarskiThe Great Justices offers a revealing glimpse of a judicial universe in which titanic egos often clash, and comes as close as any book ever has to getting inside the minds of Supreme Court jurists. This is rare and little-examined territory: in the public consciousness the Supreme Court is usually seen as an establishment whose main actors, the justices, remain above emotion, vitriol, and gossip, the better to interpret our nation of laws. Yet the Court's work is always an interchange of ideas and individuals, and the men and women who make up the Court, despite or because of their best intentions, are as human as the rest of us. Appreciating that human dimension helps us to discover some of the Court's secrets, and a new way to understand the Court and its role. Comparing four brilliant but very different jurists of the Roosevelt Court-Hugo Black, William O. Douglas, Felix Frankfurter, and Robert Jackson-William Domnarski paints a startling picture of the often deeply ambiguous relationship between ideas and reality, between the law and the justices who interpret and create it. By pulling aside the veil of decorous tradition, Domnarski brings to light the personalities that shaped one of the greatest Courts of our time-one whose decisions continue to affect judicial thinking today. William Domnarski is the author of In the Opinion of the Court (1996), a study of the history and nature of federal court judicial opinions. He holds a J.D. from the University of Connecticut and a Ph.D. in English from the University of California. Domnarski currently practices law in California, where he is also working on a forthcoming biography of legendary Hollywood lawyer Bert Fields.
The Great Leader and the Fighter Pilot: Escaping Tyranny in North Korea
by Blaine HardenA non-fiction thriller by international bestselling author Blaine Harden (Escape from Camp 14) that explores the world's most repressive state through the intertwined lives of two North Koreans, one infamous, one obscure: Kim Il Sung, the former North Korean leader and No Kum Sok, once the state's youngest jet fighter pilot.Shortly before the Korean War ended, No Kum Sok met Kim Il Sung, who congratulated him for his flying skill and his courage. A few months later, No Kum Sok stole a Soviet-made MiG-15 and flew it to a US airfield in South Korea. Beginning with the arbitrary division of Korea in 1945 and ending two months after the shaky armistice that halted combat in the Korean War, The Great Leader & the Fighter Pilot is an ambitious and gripping book which digs deeply into the character of the Kim family dictatorship.At once an irresistible adventure story and an authoritative guide to the notorious state, it explains why North Korea remains so isolated, why it created and maintains a vast gulag of concentration camps, and why it is still so angry at the western world.
The Great Man: Sir Robert Walpole: Scoundrel, Genius and Britain's First Prime Minister
by Edward PearceThe year 1721 has many splendours: great houses built by William Kent, fine pictures and the fruits of commerce. But there are also thirteen public hanging days a year, drunkenness is endemic, organised crime rampages through the streets. And politics are ferocious. Only a generation earlier, The Pretender failed to take the Crown; the new King is cursed as a damned foreigner; James's followers - the Jacobites - conspire and are persecuted; the South Sea Bubble collapses.Robert Walpole, once imprisoned for financial chicanery, assumes political control and becomes 'Prime Minister'. He personally detects a Jacobite plot, is dismissed in 1727 on the death of George I, recruits the new King's clever wife, Caroline, and bounces cheerfully back. Coarse, corrupt and cynical, Walpole dominates King, Parliament and Government until 1742. This is Mr Worldywiseman, keeping England out of war for twenty years and setting up a stable and growing economy. All politics of a kind we can recognise today begin with Robert Walpole. And here, in Edward Pearce's elegant book, he is brought vividly back to life.
Great Meadow: An Evocation
by Dirk BogardeFirst published in 1992, Great Meadow is volume five of Bogarde's best-selling memoirsEmploying both the language and lucidity of the young boy that he evokes, the actor turned author, Dirk Bogarde, presents us with a charming recollection of his childhood. From 1927 to 1934 he lived in a remote cottage in the Sussex Downs with his sister Elizabeth and their strict but loving nanny, Lally. For the children it was an idyllic time of joy and adventure: of gleaning at the end of summer, of oil lamps and wells, of harvests and harvest mice in the Great Meadow.With sensitivity and poignancy, this memoir captures the sounds, scents, love and gentleness that surrounded the young boy as the outside world prepared to go to war.
Great Moments in Baseball History
by Matt ChristopherCapturing the suspense and play-by-play action of nine major league plays and the personalities of the athletes that made them, a fan's treasury includes Willie May's 1954 World Series catch and Jim Abbott's no-hitter.
Great Ormond Street Hospital Nurse: The life of a trainee nurse at GOSH in the 1960s
by Vanessa Martin"You must learn to hold in your feelings," Matron said, firmly but not unkindly. "One day it will be your duty to support the family and other staff through this tragedy. You need to be strong." From the first time Vanessa Martin sets foot inside the world's most renowned children's hospital, she knows that she will never have another dull moment. From her first confrontation with the legendary matron, to consoling hordes of worried parents and caring for the wonderful bundles of joy themselves, Vanessa enters a world full of laughter, heartache and, most importantly, hard work.In this heartwarming memoir of a passionate, determined young woman trying to help as many children as she can, Vanessa pulls back the curtain on the bustling world of 60s London, and tells the remarkable story of finding her place within it.Nostalgic, charming and full of heart, The Great Ormond Street Nurse is the heroic tale of a woman who has dedicated over 40 years to the NHS.
The Great Passion
by James RuncieFrom acclaimed bestselling author James Runcie, a meditation on grief and music, told through the story of Bach's writing of the St. Matthew Passion.In 1727, Stefan Silbermann is a grief-stricken thirteen-year-old, struggling with the death of his mother and his removal to a school in distant Leipzig. Despite his father's insistence that he try not to think of his mother too much, Stefan is haunted by her absence, and, to make matters worse, he's bullied by his new classmates. But when the school's cantor, Johann Sebastian Bach, takes notice of his new pupil's beautiful singing voice and draws him from the choir to be a soloist, Stefan's life is permanently changed.Over the course of the next several months, and under Bach's careful tutelage, Stefan's musical skill progresses, and he is allowed to work as a copyist for Bach's many musical works. But mainly, drawn into Bach's family life and away from the cruelty in the dorms and the lonely hours of his mourning, Stefan begins to feel at home. When another tragedy strikes, this time in the Bach family, Stefan bears witness to the depths of grief, the horrors of death, the solace of religion, and the beauty that can spring from even the most profound losses.Joyous, revelatory, and deeply moving, The Great Passion is an imaginative tour de force that tells the story of what it was like to sing, play, and hear Bach's music for the very first time.
The Great Passion
by James Runcie'A wise, refreshing novel, and a touching human story ... Runcie has an expert imagination' HILARY MANTELLove and Death.Grief and Joy.Music that lasts forever.Leipzig, 1726. Eleven-year-old Stefan Silbermann, a humble organ-maker's son, has just lost his mother. Sent to Leipzig to train as a singer in the St Thomas Church choir, he struggles to stay afloat in a school where the teachers are as casually cruel as the students.Stefan's talent draws the attention of the Cantor – Johann Sebastian Bach. Eccentric, obsessive and kind, he rescues Stefan from the miseries of school by bringing him into his home as an apprentice. Soon Stefan feels that this ferociously clever, chaotic family is his own. But when tragedy strikes, Stefan's period of sanctuary in their household comes to a close.Something is happening, though. In the depths of his loss, the Cantor is writing a new work: the Saint Matthew Passion, to be performed for the first time on Good Friday. As Stefan watches the work rehearsed, he realises he is witness to the creation of one of the most extraordinary pieces of music that has ever been written.'[A] moving and fascinating portrait of a rare moment in musical history ... memorable and rewarding' LUCY JAGO
The Great Passion
by James Runcie'A wise, refreshing novel, and a touching human story ... Runcie has an expert imagination' HILARY MANTELLove and Death.Grief and Joy.Music that lasts forever.Leipzig, 1726. Eleven-year-old Stefan Silbermann, a humble organ-maker's son, has just lost his mother. Sent to Leipzig to train as a singer in the St Thomas Church choir, he struggles to stay afloat in a school where the teachers are as casually cruel as the students.Stefan's talent draws the attention of the Cantor – Johann Sebastian Bach. Eccentric, obsessive and kind, he rescues Stefan from the miseries of school by bringing him into his home as an apprentice. Soon Stefan feels that this ferociously clever, chaotic family is his own. But when tragedy strikes, Stefan's period of sanctuary in their household comes to a close.Something is happening, though. In the depths of his loss, the Cantor is writing a new work: the Saint Matthew Passion, to be performed for the first time on Good Friday. As Stefan watches the work rehearsed, he realises he is witness to the creation of one of the most extraordinary pieces of music that has ever been written.'[A] moving and fascinating portrait of a rare moment in musical history ... memorable and rewarding' LUCY JAGO
The Great Peace: A Memoir
by Mena SuvariA memoir by award-winning actor Mena Suvari, best-known forher iconic roles in American Beauty, American Pie, and Six Feet Under.The Great Peace is a harrowing, heartbreaking coming-of-age story set in Hollywood, in which young teenage model-turned-actor Mena Suvari lost herself to sex, drugs and bad, often abusive relationships even as blockbuster movies made her famous. It's about growing up in the 90s, with a soundtrack ranging from The Doors to Deee-Lite, fashion from denim to day-glo, and a woman dealing with the lasting psychological scars of abuse, yet knowing deep inside she desires so much more from life.Within these vulnerable pages, Mena not only reveals her own mistakes, but also the lessons she learned and her efforts to understand and grow rather than casting blame. As such, she makes this a timeless story of girl empowerment and redemption, of somebody using their voice to rediscover their past, seek redemption, and to understand their mistakes, and ultimately come to terms with their power as an individual to find a way and a will to live—and thrive. Poignant, intimate, and powerful, this book will resonate with anyone who has found themselves lost in the darkness, thinking there's no way out. Ultimately, Mena's story proves that, no matter how hopeless it may seem, there's always a light at the end.
Great Physicists: The Life and Times of Leading Physicists from Galileo to Hawking
by William H. CropperHere is a lively history of modern physics, as seen through the lives of thirty men and women from the pantheon of physics. William H. Cropper vividly portrays the life and accomplishments of such giants as Galileo and Isaac Newton, Marie Curie and Ernest Rutherford, Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr, right up to contemporary figures such as Richard Feynman, Murray Gell-Mann, and Stephen Hawking. We meet scientists--all geniuses--who could be gregarious, aloof, unpretentious, friendly, dogged, imperious, generous to colleagues or contentious rivals. As Cropper captures their personalities, he also offers vivid portraits of their great moments of discovery, their bitter feuds, their relations with family and friends, their religious beliefs and education. In addition, Cropper has grouped these biographies by discipline--mechanics, thermodynamics, particle physics, and others--each section beginning with a historical overview. Thus in the section on quantum mechanics, readers can see how the work of Max Planck influenced Niels Bohr, and how Bohr in turn influenced Werner Heisenberg. Our understanding of the physical world has increased dramatically in the last four centuries. With Great Physicists, readers can retrace the footsteps of the men and women who led the way.
Great Physicists: The Life and Times of Leading Physicists from Galileo to Hawking
by William H. CropperHere is a lively history of modern physics, as seen through the lives of thirty men and women from the pantheon of physics. William H. Cropper vividly portrays the life and accomplishments of such giants as Galileo and Isaac Newton, Marie Curie and Ernest Rutherford, Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr, right up to contemporary figures such as Richard Feynman, Murray Gell-Mann, and Stephen Hawking. We meet scientists--all geniuses--who could be gregarious, aloof, unpretentious, friendly, dogged, imperious, generous to colleagues or contentious rivals. As Cropper captures their personalities, he also offers vivid portraits of their great moments of discovery, their bitter feuds, their relations with family and friends, their religious beliefs and education. In addition, Cropper has grouped these biographies by discipline--mechanics, thermodynamics, particle physics, and others--each section beginning with a historical overview. Thus in the section on quantum mechanics, readers can see how the work of Max Planck influenced Niels Bohr, and how Bohr in turn influenced Werner Heisenberg. Our understanding of the physical world has increased dramatically in the last four centuries. With Great Physicists, readers can retrace the footsteps of the men and women who led the way.
The Great Pretender: A Catalogue of Chaos and Creativity
by Nick PerryTinkering with alchemy in an old stable he shared with a Shire horse, Nick discovered how to create the most convincing antique replicas ever made. He started by selling a few of his netsukes on a market stall at the Birmingham Rag Marketand met extraordinary and eccentric people, the risk-taking gamblers with fast tongues. Each had their own moneyspinning ideas; you name it, he replicated it for the wheeler-dealers chasing the dream. When Nick and his crew reached the rarefied circles of the London art world he realised he could be dangerously out of his depth.This is the unlikely and often hilarious story of where nothing but enthusiasm and self-belief can take you.
The Great Reformer: Francis and the Making of a Radical Pope
by Austen IvereighSince his surprise appointment in March 2013, Pope Francis has emerged as the most talked-about and most revolutionary pope in living memory. He has become a subject of fascination, conversation, and headlines not only to the 1.2 billion Catholics in the world, but to virtually everyone. This biography of Pope Francis describes how this revolutionary thinker became who he is, and how he will use the power of his position to challenge and redirect one of the world's most formidable religions.Drawing on extensive interviews in Argentina and other countries and now featuring an updated epilogue, The Great Reformer traces the roots of his papacy in Francis's childhood in Buenos Aires, in his Jesuit training, and in the dramatic events during the Perón era and the military government in Argentina in the 1970s. It shows how these experiences have shaped his beliefs, and with his commitment to the discernment of God's will, enabled him to challenge and redirect the Church.Pope Francis was elected in the midst of one of the biggest crises in the Church in modern times. This is the story of a true radical who is transforming the Church by restoring what it has lost.
Great Rides According to G
by Geraint ThomasAcross the UK, into Europe and further afield, these are the training rides, races and journeys closest to his heart. From one-day classics in the Peak District and Snowdonia to the rolling roads of Tuscany and the wide-open vistas of New Zealand's South Island, these are the routes you'll want to ride alongside Britain's favourite cycling superstar.We ride out with him from his winter home in the south of France, and around his old Tuscan training base as a GB Olympic hopeful at the very start of his career. We take in the valley roads of the Tour de Suisse (overall winner, 2022), and the sinuous coastal roads of Milan - San Remo.We go long in Mallorca and bounce along the short cobbled secteurs of Belgium; we take in the vineyards around Adelaide and the bright blue skies of southern California.And we have guest rides too: from world champion Remco Evenepoel and his favourite winter training ride in Calpe, Spain; around Yorkshire, with Olympic mountain bike champion, world cyclo-cross champion and newly crowned winner of Strade Bianche, Tom Pidcock; in the wilds of western Ireland from champion sprinter Sam Bennett.Twenty rides, twenty adventures you'll never forget. All of this in a small-size hardback that can slide just as easily into your hand luggage as the back pocket of your jersey.
The Great Rivalry: Gladstone and Disraeli
by Dick LeonardBenjamin Disraeli and William Ewart Gladstone are without doubt the two most iconic figures of nineteenth century British politics. Their distinctly different personalities and policies led to 28 years of bitter political rivalry. Between 1853 and Disraeli's death in 1881, the two leaders repeatedly succeeded each other in Westminster, first as Chancellors of the Exchequer and later as Prime Ministers, with Disraeli leading the Conservatives and Gladstone the Liberals.For the first time, this book provides the full story of their rivalry and its origins, comparing the upbringing, education and personalities of the two leaders, as well as their political careers and time in office. Dick Leonard compares the impact of religion – Judaism and Christianity respectively - on the two men, their contrasting oratorical skills, their attitudes to political and social reform, foreign affairs and imperialism. It is well known that Queen Victoria was much fonder of Disraeli than she was of Gladstone, but Leonard provides new facets on the relationship between each premier and the monarch. In their private lives he sheds new light on Gladstone's guilt-ridden obsession with seeking out prostitutes, ostensibly in order to 'reform' them, and Disraeli's passion for older women – his wife was 12 years his senior - as well as his almost completely successful efforts to conceal the existence of two illegitimate children. Providing important new perspectives on the two towering political characters of the Victorian Age and the enduring legacy of a great rivalry, this book will be essential reading for anyone interested in nineteenth century British history and politics.
The Great Run: Conquering The Sleeping Dragon Within: Life's Lessons On The Run
by Braam MalherbeEveryone said it couldn't be done; even internationally renowned sports scientists such as Dr. Tim Noakes. Certainly no-one had done it before, though many had tried: to run the Great Wall of China, end to end, non-stop. The journey would start in the Gobi Desert, cross the jagged Taihang Shan range, and end at the Bo Sea. It would involve blood boiling heat and mummifying sandstorms, soul-numbing mountain nights, incidents with bandits and draconian officials, pig's-hean soup and witnessing large-scale environmental devastation. But on-one had counted on teh tenacity of South African nature-lover Braam Malherbe. In runningthe main intact section of the Grat Wall, 4 500 kilometres end to end, Braam and his running partner David Grier set a world first. But Braam would have to call on reserves far deeper - physically and emotionally - than even he realised he had. China was never going to let him off lightly; then again, it would not leave a worthy traveller unmoved or unchanged. What began as a running-away, from long-buried childhood trauma, family suffering and loss, as well as hurt felf for the state of the planet, would eventually become a journey towards inner peace and understanding. The book concludes with the writer running into a new vision of healing the planet, step by small step, one person at a time.
The Great Successor: The Secret Rise and Rule of Kim Jong Un
by Anna Fifield'Astonishing and insightful - the inside story of the mercurial man now making headlines, and history. Essential reading' Lyse Doucet'By far the most complete insight into the Hermit Kingdom I have ever seen' Christina LambThe Great Successor is an irreverent yet insightful quest to understand the life of Kim Jong Un, one of the world's most secretive dictators. Kim's life is swathed in myth and propaganda, from the plainly silly--he supposedly ate so much Swiss cheese that his ankles gave way--to the grimly bloody stories of the ways his enemies and rival family members have perished at his command.One of the most knowledgeable journalists on modern Korea, Anna Fifield has exclusive access to Kim's aunt and uncle who posed as his parents while he was growing up in Switzerland, members of the entourage that accompanied Dennis Rodman on his quasi-ambassadorial visits with Kim, and the Japanese sushi chef whom Kim befriended and who was the first outsider to identify him as the inevitable successor to his father as supreme ruler. She has been able to create a captivating portrait of the oddest and most isolated political regime in the world, one that is broken yet able to summon a US president for peace talks, bankrupt yet in possession of nuclear weapons. Kim Jong Un; ridiculous but deadly, and a man of our times.
A Great Task of Happiness: The Life Of Kathleen Scott
by Louisa YoungLouisa Young, the best-selling author of MY DEAR I WANTED TO TELL YOU is also the granddaughter of the celebrated sculptor, Kathleen Scott. In A Great Task of Happiness: The Life of Kathleen Scott she tells us about an extraordinary woman and a celebrated artist.
Great-Uncle Harry: A Tale of War and Empire
by Michael Palin'An important historical record and a well-paced story in its own right, Great-Uncle Harry is also much more than that: a tremendous act of love.' Guardian___________________________________From the time, many years ago, when Michael Palin first heard that his grandfather had a brother, Harry, he was determined to find out more about him.The quest that followed involved hundreds of hours of painstaking detective work. Michael dug out every bit of family gossip and correspondence he could. He studied every relevant official document. He tracked down what remained of his great-uncle Harry's diaries and letters, and pored over photographs of First World War battle scenes to see whether Harry appeared in any of them. He walked the route Harry took on that fatal, final day of his life amid the mud of northern France. And as he did so, a life that had previously existed in the shadows was revealed to him.Great-Uncle Harry is an utterly compelling account of an ordinary man who led an extraordinary life. A blend of biography, history, travelogue and personal memoir this is Michael Palin at his very finest.___________________________________________PRAISE FOR EREBUS:'Beyond terrific. I didn't want it to end.' BILL BRYSON'Magisterial . . . Palin brings energy, wit and humanity to a story that has never ceased to tantalise people.' THE TIMES'Everybody's talking about it . . . A brilliant book.' CHRIS EVANS'I absolutely loved it: I had to read it at one sitting.' LORRAINE KELLY