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A Forgotten Man: The Life and Death of John Lodwick (20170615 Ser. #20170615)
by Geoffrey ElliottJohn Lodwick (1916-1959) was one of the great novelists of the early twentieth century. Yet his novels, and indeed his own extraordinary life story, have been virtually lost to the mists of time. Geoffrey Elliott here, for the first time, pieces together Lodwick's eventful life, from his youth in Ireland, to his wartime experiences in the SOE and Special Boat Service, his subsequent literary career and his untimely death in a car crash in Spain at the age of just 43. Initially acclaimed by Somerset Maugham and Anthony Burgess, soon after his death Lodwick's novels fell out of fashion and they have largely remained out-of-print since. Elliott makes the case for a revival in the fortunes of this singular English novelist, in a biography which sheds new light on the early twentieth century literary scene, the surrealist art world and the real-life experiences of World War II.
The Forgotten Memoir of John Knox: A Year in the Life of a Supreme Court Clerk in FDR's Washington
by John Knox"My name will survive as long as man survives, because I am writing the greatest diary that has ever been written. I intend to surpass Pepys as a diarist." When John Frush Knox (1907-1997) wrote these words, he was in the middle of law school, and his attempt at surpassing Pepys—part scrapbook, part social commentary, and part recollection—had already reached 750 pages. His efforts as a chronicler might have landed in a family attic had he not secured an eminent position after graduation as law clerk to Justice James C. McReynolds—arguably one of the most disagreeable justices to sit on the Supreme Court—during the tumultuous year when President Franklin D. Roosevelt tried to "pack" the Court with justices who would approve his New Deal agenda. Knox's memoir instead emerges as a record of one of the most fascinating periods in American history. The Forgotten Memoir of John Knox—edited by Dennis J. Hutchinson and David J. Garrow—offers a candid, at times naïve, insider's view of the showdown between Roosevelt and the Court that took place in 1937. At the same time, it marvelously portrays a Washington culture now long gone. Although the new Supreme Court building had been open for a year by the time Knox joined McReynolds' staff, most of the justices continued to work from their homes, each supported by a small staff. Knox, the epitome of the overzealous and officious young man, after landing what he believes to be a dream position, continually fears for his job under the notoriously rude (and nakedly racist) justice. But he soon develops close relationships with the justice's two black servants: Harry Parker, the messenger who does "everything but breathe" for the justice, and Mary Diggs, the maid and cook. Together, they plot and sidestep around their employer's idiosyncrasies to keep the household running while history is made in the Court. A substantial foreword by Dennis Hutchinson and David Garrow sets the stage, and a gallery of period photos of Knox, McReynolds, and other figures of the time gives life to this engaging account, which like no other recaptures life in Washington, D.C., when it was still a genteel southern town.
Forgotten Patriot: Douglas Hyde And The Foundation Of The Irish Presidency
by Brian MurphyIt had been a busy few days for Adolf Hitler, but Douglas Hyde had not slipped his mind … On 25 June 1938, Douglas Hyde became the first President of Ireland. His values stood in stark contrast to those of the continental dictator. As a Protestant nationalist and a leading figure in the language revival, he made the office an inclusive one and determined to be a president for all the people of Ireland. He also played a highly significant, but previously unheralded, role in the state’s policy of neutrality during the Second World War. Hitler’s fleeting fixation with Hyde was that the new presidency significantly diluted Ireland’s bonds with the British Empire. The accepted wisdom is that Hyde’s transition to the presidency was a seamless process, but new research shows it only came about on foot of a late political compromise. He may have been a compromise candidate, but with his non-partisan background, he was also an inspired choice. Forgotten Patriot shows Hyde’s considerable impact on the development and perception of the office of President of Ireland.
The Forgotten Soldier: War On The Russian Front, A True Story (Cassell Military Paperbacks Ser.)
by Guy SajerAn international bestseller, this is a German soldier's first-hand account of life on Russian front during the second half of the Second World War.When Guy Sajer joins the infantry full of ideals in the summer of 1942, the German army is enjoying unparalleled success in Russia. However, he quickly finds that for the foot soldier the glory of military success hides a much harsher reality of hunger, fatigue and constant deprivation. Posted to the crack Grosse Deutschland division, with its sadistic instructors who shoot down those who fail to make the grade, he enters a violent and remorseless world where all youthful hope is gradually ground down, and all that matters is the brute will to survive. As the biting cold of the Russian winter sets in, and the tide begins to turn against the Germans, life becomes an endless round of pounding artillery attacks and vicious combat against a relentless and merciless Red Army. A book of stunning force, this is an unforgettable reminder of the horrors of war.
Forgotten Soldiers
by Brian MoynahanForgotten Soldiers is an enthralling work of military history that shows how the courage, intelligence or simple good fortune of the individual can exert a decisive influence on the outcome of a battle or campaign. It tells the stories of fifteen unsung heroes, none of a rank higher than major, whose deeds changed the course of important battles and - arguably - the course of history. These vivid and gripping accounts - largely drawn from the Second World War, but with tales too from other conflicts - have each been selected to illustrate one of the dictums of the great Prussian theorist of war, Carl von Clausewitz, about the importance of having the right man in the right place at the right time. From the Roman standard bearer who plunged into the waves off Deal in 55 BC, saving Julius Caesar's military honour and political career, to the young Israeli tank lieutenant who almost single-handedly stalled the advancing Syrian armour in 1973, these are above all tales of courage. But it is not just courage that wins wars, as these stories demonstrate: such elements as surprise, determination, good intelligence, chance, insight, inventiveness and clear thinking all play their parts in eventual victory. And it may only take one man, often of lowly rank, his name largely forgotten, to embody such qualities for the effect to be felt around the world.
Forgotten Soldiers: The Story of the Irishmen Executed by the British Army during the First World War
by Stephen WalkerDrawing upon war diaries, court martial papers and interviews with veterans and family members, award-winning BBC journalist Stephen Walker explains how, often exhausted by battle, or suffering shell-shock, men who refused to fight were branded as cowards, and shot at dawn by a firing squad. From the cities and townlands of Ireland to the killing fields of the Western Front and Gallipoli, Forgotten Soldiers traces the lives of men who enlisted to fight an enemy but ended up being killed by their own side. For decades the full story of how the Irishmen died has largely remained a secret, but now one of the most controversial chapters in British military history can at last be told. In 2006 the British government finally pardoned those soldiers who were shot at dawn. Forgotten Soldiers is the first book to chronicle how relatives and campaigners fought to clear the men’s names.
Forgotten Voices Of The Great War: A New History Of World War I In The Words Of The Men And Women Who Were There
by Max ArthurIn 1960, the Imperial War Museum began a momentous and important task. A team of academics, archivists and volunteers set about tracing WWI veterans and interviewing them at length in order to record the experiences of ordinary individuals in war. The IWM aural archive has become the most important archive of its kind in the world. Authors have occasionally been granted access to the vaults, but digesting the thousands of hours of footage is a monumental task. Now, forty years on, the Imperial War Museum has at last given author Max Arthur and his team of researchers unlimited access to the complete WWI tapes. These are the forgotten voices of an entire generation of survivors of the Great War. The resulting book is an important and compelling history of WWI in the words of those who experienced it.
Forgotten Women: The Scientists (Forgotten Women)
by Zing Tsjeng'To say this series is "empowering" doesn't do it justice. Buy a copy for your daughters, sisters, mums, aunts and nieces - just make sure you buy a copy for your sons, brothers, dads, uncles and nephews, too.' - indy100'Here's to no more forgotten women.' Evening StandardThe women who shaped and were erased from our history.The Forgotten Women series will uncover the lost histories of the influential women who have refused over hundreds of years to accept the hand they've been dealt and, as a result, have formed, shaped and changed the course of our futures. The Scientists celebrates 48* unsung scientific heroines whose hugely important, yet broadly unacknowledged or incorrectly attributed, discoveries have transformed our understanding of the scientific world. Mary Anning, the amateur paleontologist whose fossil findings changed scientific thinking about prehistoric life Emmy Noether, dubbed "The Mighty Mathematician You've Never Heard Of"Ynés Mexía, the Mexican-American botanist who discovered over 500 new plant species Wangari Maathai, who started an environmental and ecological revolution in KenyaMargaret Sanger, the maverick nurse who paved the way for the legalization of contraceptionChapters including Earth & Universe; Biology & Natural Sciences; Medicine & Psychology; Physics & Chemistry; Mathematics and Technology & Inventions profile the female scientists who have defied the odds, and the opposition, to change the world around us.*The number of Nobel-prize-winning women.
Forgotten Women: The Artists (Forgotten Women)
by Zing Tsjeng'To say this series is "empowering" doesn't do it justice. Buy a copy for your daughters, sisters, mums, aunts and nieces - just make sure you buy a copy for your sons, brothers, dads, uncles and nephews, too.' - IndependentThe women who shaped and were erased from our history.Forgotten Women is a new series of books that uncover the lost herstories of influential women who have refused over hundreds of years to accept the hand they've been dealt and, as a result, have formed, shaped and changed the course of our futures.The Artists brings together the stories of 48* brilliant woman artists who made huge yet unacknowledged contributions to the history of art, including Camille Claudel, the extraordinarily talented sculptor who was always unfairly overshadowed by her lover, Rodin; Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven, who has been claimed as the true originator of Marcel Duchamp's Fountain; and Ana Mendieta, the Cuban refugee who approached violence against women through her performance art before her own untimely death. With chapters ranging from Figurative to Photography, and Craft to Conceptual, this is an alternative guide to art history that demonstrates the broad range of artistic movements that included, and were often pioneered by, female artists who have been largely overlooked.*The number of Nobel-prize-winning women.
Forgotten Women: The Writers (Forgotten Women)
by Zing Tsjeng'To say this series is "empowering" doesn't do it justice. Buy a copy for your daughters, sisters, mums, aunts and nieces - just make sure you buy a copy for your sons, brothers, dads, uncles and nephews, too.' - IndependentThe women who shaped and were erased from our history.Forgotten Women is a new series of books that uncover the lost herstories of influential women who have refused over hundreds of years to accept the hand they've been dealt and, as a result, have formed, shaped and changed the course of our futures. The Writers celebrates 48* unsung genius female writers from throughout history and across the world, including the Girl Stunt Reporters, who went undercover to write exposés on the ills of 1890s America; Aemilia Lanyer, the contemporary of Shakespeare whose polemical re-writing of The Bible's Passion Story is regarded as one of the earliest feminist works of literature; and Sarojini Naidu, the freedom fighter and 'Nightingale of India' whose poetry echoed her political desire for Indian independence.Including writers from across a wide spectrum of disciplines including poets, journalists, novelists, essayists and diarists, this is an alternative gynocentric history of literature that will surprise, empower, and leave you with a reading list a mile long.*The number of Nobel-prize-winning women.
Forgotten Women
by Zing Tsjeng'To say this [book] is "empowering" doesn't do it justice. Buy a copy for your daughters, sisters, mums, aunts and nieces - just make sure you buy a copy for your sons, brothers, dads, uncles and nephews, too.' - indy100'Here's to no more forgotten women.' - Evening StandardForgotten Women reaches around the world and its history to rediscover, retell and reinstate the lives of over 190 important and significant women. From Neolithic times to modernity, Zing Tsjeng has traced the women who have shaped their age and revolutionised society. In this book lies the strength, lives and sacrifices of women who have refused to accept the hand they've been dealt and have changed the course of our futures accordingly.
A Fork in the Road
by André BrinkThis is André Brink's story of a life lived in tumultuous times. He describes with searing honesty his conflicting experiences of growing up in a world where innocence was always surrounded by violence and storytelling was a means of reconciling the stark contrasts of his world. His time spent in Paris in the 1960s confirmed in him the desire to become a writer but his opposition to the apartheid establishment resulted in years of harassment by the South African secret police; it also led to extraordinary friendships with leaders of the ANC in exile.A Fork in the Road is André Brink's love song to the country where he was born and where, despite recent tragedies, he still lives today.
Forman's Games: The Dark Underside of the London Olympics
by Lance FormanOn 6 July 2005, the world held a collective intake of breath as IOC president Jacques Rogge declared: 'The games of the 30th Olympiad in 2012 are awarded to the city of … London.'Despite the images of jubilant crowds in the streets of Britain's capital, there were some, like Lance Forman, for whom those words spelled only dread and uncertainty. His 100-year-old, fourth-generation family business, H. Forman & Son, was facing eviction to make way for the Olympic Stadium, and teetered on the brink of collapse.A full, unexpurgated account of his fight to keep the firm alive, Forman's Games lifts the lid on the fierce battle that pitched Forman's, the country's finest purveyor of smoked salmon, against the combined might of the UK authorities and the IOC in the run-up to the 2012 London Olympics. It is a story of skulduggery and bullying mounted against 350 local businesses, employing over 12,00 people, who stood in the way not just of the world's most famous sporting event, but of an opportunity to develop the land on which they had successfully run businesses over decades.
The Formula: How Rogues, Geniuses, and Speed Freaks Reengineered F1 into the World's Fastest-Growing Sport
by Joshua Robinson Jonathan Clegg'HANDS DOWN THE GREATEST BOOK EVER WRITTEN ABOUT F1.' -Sam Walker, author of The Captain Class'MODERN F1 IS THE SPORTS STORY OF THIS ERA AND NO ONE COULD TELL IT BETTER' -Kevin Clark, ESPN'THE FASTEST READ YOU WILL EVER PICK UP' -A.J. Baime, author of Go Like HellF1 is now the fastest growing sport in the world; the full story of its unbelievable rise is a riveting saga only hinted at by the likes of Drive to Survive. In this book - the first, definitive account of how F1 came to achieve total global fandom - Wall Street Journal reporters Joshua Robinson and Jonathan Clegg take us inside a world full of racing obsessives, glamorous settings, petrolheads, engineering geniuses, dashing racers and bitter rivalries.The story of F1's world dominance is one of near-constant transformation and experimentation. This is a sport where the only way to win championships is to land a series of technical moon shots - and then do it all over again. With fast cars, big money, beautiful people, and glamorous locations from Monaco to Melbourne, The Formula tells the full, epic story of the sport. Starting in 1950s Britain, where six years of wartime engineering laid the foundations for a new type of motorcar racing; to the first global star partnership of Senna and Ecclestone; Spygate; Crashgate and its transition into an entertainment juggernaut. Bringing unique insight and access to F1's most storied teams and personalities - from Ferrari to Lewis Hamilton to Christian Horner and Daniel Ricciardo -The Formula offers a riveting portrait of the drivers, corporations, cars, rivalries, and audacious gambles that have shaped the sport for half a century.The end result is a high-octane history of how modern F1 racing came to be - the first book to tell the story of the outrageous successes and spectacular crashes that led F1 to this extraordinary yet precarious moment. More than just a sports story, it is the tale of a commercial empire, one built in the 20th century, rendered almost obsolete in the early 21st, and re-emerged world-dominant today; a disrupter that claimed its place in the crowded sports marketplace through cash, personality, and a new understanding of what a sport needs to be in the age of wall-to-wall entertainment.
Forsake Fear: Memoirs of an Historian (Routledge Revivals)
by Aleksandr M NekrichFirst published in 1991, Forsake Fear is the history of historians in post-war Soviet society. Nekrich, in recounting his own brave story, tells us how he dared to challenge the prevailing conformism. From his unique ad riveting vantage point, Nekrich also provides a broader picture of Soviet society and its intellectual life during high Stalinism and after. In 1945, Aleksandr Nekrich returned from the front. He spent the next three decades at the centre of the Soviet historical profession. He maintained friendships with such noted public figures such as Ivan Maisky, Soviet ambassador to Britain, and Abram Deborin, whom Stalin branded a ‘Menshevik-idealist.’ He also encountered writers, artists, scientists, and even spies. Among Soviet historians, Nekrich was the only one who dared to break the taboo and declare that the Stalin-Hitler pact was advantageous to Nazi Germany. This book will be of interest to students of history, literature, international relations, and political science.
Forsake Fear: Memoirs of an Historian (Routledge Revivals)
by Aleksandr M NekrichFirst published in 1991, Forsake Fear is the history of historians in post-war Soviet society. Nekrich, in recounting his own brave story, tells us how he dared to challenge the prevailing conformism. From his unique ad riveting vantage point, Nekrich also provides a broader picture of Soviet society and its intellectual life during high Stalinism and after. In 1945, Aleksandr Nekrich returned from the front. He spent the next three decades at the centre of the Soviet historical profession. He maintained friendships with such noted public figures such as Ivan Maisky, Soviet ambassador to Britain, and Abram Deborin, whom Stalin branded a ‘Menshevik-idealist.’ He also encountered writers, artists, scientists, and even spies. Among Soviet historians, Nekrich was the only one who dared to break the taboo and declare that the Stalin-Hitler pact was advantageous to Nazi Germany. This book will be of interest to students of history, literature, international relations, and political science.
Fortuine: Die wel en wee van Afrikaner-magnate
by Ebbe DommisseDie ongekende sukses van Afrikaner-sakelui het die afgelope drie dekades verras en verstom. ’n Aantal is vandag dollar-miljardêrs met uitgebreide internasionale belange. Die opkoms van die Afrikaner-magnaat is veral merkwaardig in die lig van die regering se omvattende program van swart ekonomiese bemagtiging.Onder leiding van Koos Bekker het Naspers die Johannesburgse aandelebeurs begin domineer en is dié mediagroep tot ’n internasionale beleggingshouergroep omvorm. Johann Rupert het Richemont as die naasgrootste groep in die mark vir luukse goedere gevestig, terwyl Christo Wiese en Whitey Basson onderskeidelik Pepkor en Shoprite tot die grootste kleinhandelgroepe in klerasie en voedsel in Afrika uitgebou het.Fortuine verklap waarom alles wat sakeleiers soos Jannie Mouton, Michiel le Roux, GT Ferreira, Johan van Zyl, Douw Steyn en ’n aantal megaboere aanraak skynbaar in goud verander. Dit ondersoek ook die sensasionele ineenstorting van Steinhoff Internasionaal onder Markus Jooste, waardeur soveel welvaart uitgewis is.’n Onthullende boek, wat hoofsaaklik op persoonlike onderhoude gebaseer is en lig werp op die werksetiek, strategiese vennootskappe en aptyt vir risiko wat hierdie groep Afrikaners die reënmakers van die ekonomie maak.
A Fortunate Man: The Story of a Country Doctor (Canons #43)
by John BergerIn 1966 John Berger spent three months in the Forest of Dean shadowing an English country GP, John Sassall. Sassall is a fortunate man - his work occupies and fulfils him, he lives amongst the patients he treats, the line between his life and his work is happily blurred. In A Fortunate Man, Berger's text and the photography of Jean Mohr reveal with extraordinary intensity the life of a remarkable man. It is a portrait of one selfless individual and the rural community for which he became the hub. Drawing on psychology, biography and medicine A Fortunate Man is a portrait of sacrifice. It is also a profound exploration of what it means to be a doctor, to serve a community and to heal. With a new introduction by writer and GP, Gavin Francis.
Fortunate Son: My Life, My Music
by John FogertyThe long-awaited memoir from John Fogerty, the legendary singer-songwriter and creative force behind Creedence Clearwater Revival. Creedence Clearwater Revival is one of the most important and beloved bands in the history of rock, and John Fogerty wrote, sang, and produced their instantly recognizable classics: "Proud Mary," "Bad Moon Rising," "Born on the Bayou," and more. Now he reveals how he brought CCR to number one in the world, eclipsing even the Beatles in 1969. By the next year, though, Creedence was falling apart; their amazing, enduring success exploded and faded in just a few short years. Fortunate Son takes readers from Fogerty's Northern California roots, through Creedence's success and the retreat from music and public life, to his hard-won revival as a solo artist who finally found love.
A Fortunate Woman: A Country Doctor’s Story
by Polly Morland'Polly Morland and Richard Baker have more than done justice to the original John Berger book - and produced a work that stimulates the eye and mind in equal measure.' Alain de BottonA Fortunate Woman is a compelling, thoughtful and insightful look at the life and work of a country doctor. Funny, moving and not afraid of the dark, it will speak to readers everywhere.Polly Morland was clearing her late mother’s house when she found a battered paperback fallen behind the family bookshelf. Opening it, she was astonished to see an old photograph of the remote, wooded valley in which she lives. The book was A Fortunate Man, John Berger’s classic account of a country doctor working in the same valley more than half a century earlier. This chance discovery led Morland to the remarkable doctor who serves that valley community today, a woman whose own medical vocation was inspired by reading the very same book as a teenager.A Fortunate Woman tells her compelling, true story, and how the tale of the old doctor has threaded through her own life in magical ways. Working within a community she loves, she is a rarity in contemporary medicine: a modern doctor who knows her patients inside out, the lives of this ancient, wild place entwined with her own.Revisiting Berger’s story after half a century of seismic change, both in our society and in the ways in which medicine is practised, A Fortunate Woman sheds light on what it means to be a doctor in today’s complex and challenging world. Interweaving the doctor’s story with those of her patients, reflecting on the relationship between landscape and community, and upon the wider role of medicine in society, a unique portrait of a twenty-first century family doctor emerges.Illustrated throughout with photographs by Richard Baker.'All human life is here in this evocative portrayal of the challenges and joys of rural family doctoring in modern times. Enthralling and uplifting.' James LeFanu, author The Rise & Fall of Modern Medicine'I was consoled and compelled by this book’s steady gaze on healing and caring. The writing is beautiful.' Sarah Moss, author of Summerwater and Ghost Wall'A vibrant and authentic portrait of the rural family doctor in these difficult contemporary times.' Trisha Greenhalgh, Professor of Primary Care at the University of Oxford
The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food
by Jennifer B. LeeIf you think McDonald's is the most ubiquitous restaurant experience in America, consider that there are more Chinese restaurants in America than McDonalds, Burger Kings, and Wendys combined. New York Times reporter and Chinese-American (or American-born Chinese). In her search, Jennifer 8 Lee traces the history of Chinese-American experience through the lens of the food. In a compelling blend of sociology and history, Jenny Lee exposes the indentured servitude Chinese restaurants expect from illegal immigrant chefs, investigates the relationship between Jews and Chinese food, and weaves a personal narrative about her own relationship with Chinese food. The Fortune Cookie Chronicles speaks to the immigrant experience as a whole, and the way it has shaped our country.
The Fortune Men: Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2021
by Nadifa Mohamed'Chilling and utterly compelling, The Fortune Men shines an essential light on a much-neglected period of our national life' Sathnam Sanghera, author of EmpirelandMahmood Mattan is a fixture in Cardiff's Tiger Bay, 1952, which bustles with Somali and West Indian sailors, Maltese businessmen and Jewish families. He is a father, chancer, some-time petty thief. He is many things, in fact, but he is not a murderer. So when a shopkeeper is brutally killed and all eyes fall on him, Mahmood isn't too worried. It is true that he has been getting into trouble more often since his Welsh wife Laura left him. But Mahmood is secure in his innocence in a country where, he thinks, justice is served. It is only in the run-up to the trial, as the prospect of freedom dwindles, that it will dawn on Mahmood that he is in a terrifying fight for his life - against conspiracy, prejudice and the inhumanity of the state. And, under the shadow of the hangman's noose, he begins to realise that the truth may not be enough to save him.'A writer of great humanity and intelligence. Nadifa Mohamed deeply understands how lives are shaped both by the grand sweep of history and the intimate encounters of human beings' Kamila Shamsie, author of Home Fire'A novel of tremendous power, compassion and subtlety, it feels unsettlingly timely' Pankaj Mishra
Fortunes: The Rise and Rise of Afrikaner Tycoons
by Ebbe DommisseA handful of Afrikaners have risen to the very top of the business world in South Africa in the past three decades, some of them now dollar billionaires with vast global business interests.With Koos Bekker at its helm, media group Naspers grew to dominate the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and was transformed into a global consumer internet group. Johann Rupert boldly extended Richemont’s share in the upper-end market of luxury goods, while Christo Wiese and Whitey Basson at Pepkor and Shoprite became Africa’s largest clothing and food retailers.Based predominantly on personal interviews, Fortunes reveals why individuals such as Jannie Mouton, Michiel le Roux, Douw Steyn, Johan van Zyl, GT Ferreira, Hendrik du Toit, and several commercial farmers, turn whatever they touch to gold. Work ethic, astute alliances and an appetite for risk have catapulted them to great heights.The rise of the Afrikaner super-rich has coincided with the government’s black economic empowerment programme, making it one of the unexpected features of the South African economy today.Fortunes is an unrivalled work that explains who these tycoons are, how they built their empires and how the sensational collapse of Steinhoff International, led by Markus Jooste, almost destroyed some of their fortunes. The book boldly interrogates their spirit of enterprise, faults and follies, but also their vast philanthropic contributions to the country.
Fortune's Fool: The Life of John Wilkes Booth
by Terry AlfordWith a single shot from a pistol small enough to conceal in his hand, John Wilkes Booth catapulted into history on the night of April 14, 1865. The assassination of President Abraham Lincoln stunned a nation that was just emerging from the chaos and calamity of the Civil War, and the president's untimely death altered the trajectory of postwar history. But to those who knew Booth, the event was even more shocking--for no one could have imagined that this fantastically gifted actor and well-liked man could commit such an atrocity. In Fortune's Fool, Terry Alford provides the first comprehensive look at the life of an enigmatic figure whose life has been overshadowed by his final, infamous act. Tracing Booth's story from his uncertain childhood in Maryland, characterized by a difficult relationship with his famous actor father, to his successful acting career on stages across the country, Alford offers a nuanced picture of Booth as a public figure, performer, and deeply troubled man. Despite the fame and success that attended Booth's career--he was billed at one point as "the youngest star in the world"--he found himself consumed by the Confederate cause and the desire to help the South win its independence. Alford reveals the tormented path that led Booth to conclude, as the Confederacy collapsed in April 1865, that the only way to revive the South and punish the North for the war would be to murder Lincoln--whatever the cost to himself or others. The textured and compelling narrative gives new depth to the familiar events at Ford's Theatre and the aftermath that followed, culminating in Booth's capture and death at the hands of Union soldiers 150 years ago. Based on original research into government archives, historical libraries, and family records, Fortune's Fool offers the definitive portrait of John Wilkes Booth.
Fortune's Fool: The Life of John Wilkes Booth
by Terry AlfordWith a single shot from a pistol small enough to conceal in his hand, John Wilkes Booth catapulted into history on the night of April 14, 1865. The assassination of President Abraham Lincoln stunned a nation that was just emerging from the chaos and calamity of the Civil War, and the president's untimely death altered the trajectory of postwar history. But to those who knew Booth, the event was even more shocking--for no one could have imagined that this fantastically gifted actor and well-liked man could commit such an atrocity. In Fortune's Fool, Terry Alford provides the first comprehensive look at the life of an enigmatic figure whose life has been overshadowed by his final, infamous act. Tracing Booth's story from his uncertain childhood in Maryland, characterized by a difficult relationship with his famous actor father, to his successful acting career on stages across the country, Alford offers a nuanced picture of Booth as a public figure, performer, and deeply troubled man. Despite the fame and success that attended Booth's career--he was billed at one point as "the youngest star in the world"--he found himself consumed by the Confederate cause and the desire to help the South win its independence. Alford reveals the tormented path that led Booth to conclude, as the Confederacy collapsed in April 1865, that the only way to revive the South and punish the North for the war would be to murder Lincoln--whatever the cost to himself or others. The textured and compelling narrative gives new depth to the familiar events at Ford's Theatre and the aftermath that followed, culminating in Booth's capture and death at the hands of Union soldiers 150 years ago. Based on original research into government archives, historical libraries, and family records, Fortune's Fool offers the definitive portrait of John Wilkes Booth.