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Theodore Roosevelt in the Field
by Michael R. CanfieldNever has there been a president less content to sit still behind a desk than Theodore Roosevelt. When we picture him, he's on horseback or standing at a cliff’s edge or dressed for safari. And Roosevelt was more than just an adventurer—he was also a naturalist and campaigner for conservation. His love of the outdoor world began at an early age and was driven by a need not to simply observe nature but to be actively involved in the outdoors—to be in the field. As Michael R. Canfield reveals in Theodore Roosevelt in the Field, throughout his life Roosevelt consistently took to the field as a naturalist, hunter, writer, soldier, and conservationist, and it is in the field where his passion for science and nature, his belief in the manly, “strenuous life,” and his drive for empire all came together. Drawing extensively on Roosevelt’s field notebooks, diaries, and letters, Canfield takes readers into the field on adventures alongside him. From Roosevelt’s early childhood observations of ants to his notes on ornithology as a teenager, Canfield shows how Roosevelt’s quest for knowledge coincided with his interest in the outdoors. We later travel to the Badlands, after the deaths of Roosevelt’s wife and mother, to understand his embrace of the rugged freedom of the ranch lifestyle and the Western wilderness. Finally, Canfield takes us to Africa and South America as we consider Roosevelt’s travels and writings after his presidency. Throughout, we see how the seemingly contradictory aspects of Roosevelt’s biography as a hunter and a naturalist are actually complementary traits of a man eager to directly understand and experience the environment around him. As our connection to the natural world seems to be more tenuous, Theodore Roosevelt in the Field offers the chance to reinvigorate our enjoyment of nature alongside one of history’s most bold and restlessly curious figures.
Theology And Economic Ethics: Martin Luther And Arthur Rich In Dialogue (Oxford Theology and Religion Monographs)
by Sean DohertyIn the wake of the economic crisis, few questions are more pressing than those around the ethics of finance and economics. Theology and Economic Ethics seeks to expand the self-critical resources of contemporary theological economic ethics by bringing the method of a pre-modern thinker, Martin Luther (1483-1546), into interaction with that of a modern contribution to social ethics, the Swiss theologian Arthur Rich (1910-92). The work is undertaken through a close engagement with a selected publication of Luther (his 1519/20 Großer Sermon von dem Wucher) and of Rich (his masterwork, Wirtschaftsethik, published in two volumes in 1984 and 1990 respectively). It is the first substantial treatment in English of Rich's magnum opus. Sean Doherty introduces Luther's sermon on usury, situates it in its context, then provides a commentary on this work, discussing how Luther brings key theological motifs to bear on a particular economic question. The study proceeds with a sketch of Arthur Rich's life and work, and presents Rich's method as set out in Wirtschaftsethik. Doherty illuminates Rich's understanding of ethics, his approach to Scripture, and his adoption of the thought of Max Weber and John Rawls. Bringing insights from the study of Luther to bear in an analysis of Rich's method, Doherty questions some of Rich's assumptions, and notes ways in which a more self-critical approach could have made his project more successful. Finally, the book makes tentative suggestions as to the wider applicability of these findings for a Christian approach to economic ethics.
A Theory of Moments
by James KnightApproaching forty, with the predictable mortgage, career and comfortable surburan lifestyle, James Knight knew he was one of the lucky ones. He loved his wife and he had his health (occasionally the black dog would bite, but he'd learnt to manage this...most of the time), yet something wasn't quite right. Married less than a year, he and Clare weren't finding time for each other or themselves. Surely there must be more to life than the daily commute, the occasional trip away and rampant consumerism?The death of a good friend's mother gave James the perspective he needed to set out on a year-long journey through Latin America and Africa with Clare, doing voluntary work, learning Spanish and dancing whereever and whenever they could. This trip would change their lives in ways they never expected, teaching them that cherishing every moment is what matters above all else.
The Theory of the Leisure Class
by Thorstein VeblenThis scathing critique of America’s preoccupation with wealth and status in the Gilded Age continues to resonate more than a century after it was first published According to economist Thorstein Veblen, the leisure class produces nothing, contributes nothing, and creates nothing, yet exercises a peculiar control over American society. The shallowness of their interests—from fashion to sports to entertainment—endows the practice of “conspicuous consumption” with an undeserving air of respectability. Veblen deploys a razor sharp wit to expose the pretensions of the idle rich and their disastrous influence on the national character. From ruthless business practices to the plight of women in a male-dominated culture, The Theory of the Leisure Class tackles difficult subjects with sophisticated analysis and a vibrant literary style that influenced the work of authors including Edith Wharton, Henry James, and F. Scott Fitzgerald. A must-read for students of American history and anyone concerned about economic inequality, Veblen’s classic treatise is timelier today than ever. This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.
'There Ain't no Black in the Union Jack': The Cultural Politics of Race and Nation (Black Literature and Culture)
by Paul GilroyGilroy demonstrates the enormous complexity of racial politics in England today. Exploring the relationships among race, class, and nation as they have evolved over the past twenty years, he highlights racist attitudes that transcend the left-right political divide. He challenges current sociological approaches to racism as well as the ethnocentric bias of British cultural studies. "Gilroy demonstrates effectively that cultural traditions are not static, but develop, grow and indeed mutate, as they influence and are influenced by the other changing traditions around them."—David Edgar, Listener Review of Books. "A fascinating analysis of the discourses that have accompanied black settlement in Britain. . . . An important addition to the stock of critical works on race and culture."—David Okuefuna, Chicago Tribune
There Are No Grown-Ups: A midlife coming-of-age story
by Pamela Druckerman*MUCH RAVED ABOUT BY CHRIS EVANS ON HIS BBC RADIO 2 BREAKFAST SHOW*AUTHOR OF THE NO.1 BESTSELLER FRENCH CHILDREN DON'T THROW FOOD REVEALS THE THINGS IT TOOK HER FORTY YEARS TO LEARN:There are no grown-ups. Everyone else is winging it too. Does it ever feel like everyone - except you - is a bona-fide adult? Do you wonder how real grown-ups get to be so mysteriously capable and wise? When she turns 40, Pamela Druckerman wonders whether her mind will ever catch up with her face. With frank personal stories and witty maxims, Druckerman hilariously navigates the unexplored zone between young and not-so-young. There Are No Grown-Ups is a midlife coming-of-age story, a quest for wisdom, self-knowledge and the right pair of pants. It's a book for readers of all ages about - finally - becoming yourself.You know you're in your forties when...· You're matter-of-fact about chin hair. · You become impatient while scrolling down to your year of birth.· Your parents have stopped trying to change you. · You don't want to be with the cool people anymore; you want to be with your people.· You know that 'Soul mate' isn't a pre-existing condition. It's earned over time.· You know there are no grown-ups. Everyone is winging it, some just do it more confidently.
There is no Map in Hell: The record-breaking run across the Lake District fells
by Steve BirkinshawIn 1986, the legendary fell runner Joss Naylor completed a continuous circuit of all 214 Wainwright fells in the Lake District, covering a staggering distance of over 300 miles - plus many thousands of metres of ascent - in only seven days and one hour.Those in the know thought that this record would never be beaten. It is the ultimate British ultramarathon. The person taking on this superhuman challenge would have to be willing to push harder and suffer more than ever before. There is no Map in Hell tells the story of a man willing to do just that.In 2014, Steve Birkinshaw made an attempt at setting a new record. With a background of nearly forty years of running elite orienteering races and extreme-distance fell running over the toughest terrain, if he couldn't do it, surely no one could. But the Wainwrights challenge is in a different league: aspirants need to complete two marathons and over 5,000 metres of ascent every day for a week.With a foreword by Joss Naylor, There is no Map in Hell recounts Birkinshaw's preparation, training and mile-by-mile experience of the extraordinary and sometimes hellish demands he made of his mind and body, and the physiological aftermath of such a feat. His deep love of the fells, phenomenal strength and tenacity are awe inspiring, and testimony to athletes and onlookers alike that 'in order to attain the impossible, one must attempt the absurd'.
There is No Wall: Running Won't Save You
by Allie BaileyThere Is No Wall is ultrarunner Allie Bailey's brutally honest and sometimes shocking account of alcoholism, depression and severe mental breakdowns which almost cost her her life. Told with disarming vulnerability, heartbreaking depth of feeling and dark humour, this isn't a story about how running saved her – she was already running and at the height of her struggles sometimes even winning 100-mile-plus races. But somewhere between the darkest excesses of the music industry and the simple beauty of the ultrarunning scene, Allie found space to listen, learn and put into practice techniques that would go on to save her life and change it for the better. There Is No Wall is a story about how doing something you love can lead you to achieve things you never thought possible. Running won't save you, but it might buy you the time to save yourself.
There Once is a Queen
by Michael Morpurgo“There once is a Queen ever constant to her people…” From the Nation’s Favourite Storyteller Sir Michael Morpurgo comes a poetic celebration of our Queen and longest reigning monarch, beautifully illustrated in watercolour by acclaimed artist Michael Foreman.
There Was a Country: A Personal History of Biafra (Penguin Modern Classics)
by Chinua AchebeFrom the legendary author of Things Fall Apart comes this long-awaited memoir recalling Chinua Achebe's personal experiences of and reflections on the Biafran War, one of Nigeria's most tragic civil warsChinua Achebe, the author of Things Fall Apart, was a writer whose moral courage and storytelling gifts have left an enduring stamp on world literature. There Was a Country was his long-awaited account of coming of age during the defining experience of his life: the Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Biafran War of 1967-1970. It became infamous around the world for its impact on the Biafrans, who were starved to death by the Nigerian government in one of the twentieth century's greatest humanitarian disasters. Caught up in the atrocities were Chinua Achebe and his young family. Achebe, already a world-renowned novelist, served his Biafran homeland as a roving cultural ambassador, witnessing the war's full horror first-hand. Immediately after the war, he took an academic post in the United States, and for over forty years he maintained a considered silence on those terrible years, addressing them only obliquely through his poetry. After years in the making There Was A Country presents his towering reckoning with one of modern Africa's most fateful experiences, both as he lived it and came to understand it. Marrying history and memoir, with the author's poetry woven throughout, There Was a Country is a distillation of vivid observation and considered research and reflection. It relates Nigeria's birth pangs in the context of Achebe's own development as a man and a writer, and examines the role of the artist in times of war.Reviews:'No writer is better placed than Chinua Achebe to tell the story of the Nigerian Biafran war ... [The book] makes you pine for the likes of Achebe to govern ... We have in There Was a Country an elegy from a master storyteller who has witnessed the undulating fortunes of a nation' Noo Saro-Wiwa, Guardian'Chinua Achebe's history of Biafra is a meditation on the condition of freedom. It has the tense narrative grip of the best fiction. It is also a revelatory entry into the intimate character of the writer's brilliant mind and bold spirit. Achebe has created here a new genre of literature' Nadine Gordimer'Part-history, part-memoir, [Achebe's] moving account of the war is laced with anger, but there is also an abiding tone of regret for what Nigeria might have been without conflict and mismanagement' Sunday TimesAbout the author:Chinua Achebe was born in Nigeria in 1930. He published novels, short stories, essays, and children's books. His volume of poetry, Christmas in Biafra, was the joint winner of the first Commonwealth Poetry Prize. Of his novels, Arrow of God won the New Statesman-Jock Campbell Award, and Anthills of the Savannah was a finalist for the 1987 Booker Prize. Things Fall Apart, Achebe's masterpiece, has been published in fifty different languages and has sold more than ten million copies. Achebe lectured widely, receiving many honors from around the world. He was the recipient of the Nigerian National Merit Award, Nigeria's highest award for intellectual achievement. In 2007, he won the Man Booker International Prize. He died in 2013.
There Was a Soldier
by Angus KonstamFor hundreds of years, the Scottish soldier has been recording his experiences. From the War of the Spanish Succession until the deployment of regiments in Iraq, Scottish soldiers have written home with tales of their exploits, or had details of their experiences published in newspapers, regimental histories and books. The result is a wealth of primary information, telling the story of the Scottish soldiers who fought in Europe, America, Africa, India and the Far East. Included in the collection are letters, lyrics of songs and poems composed by the soldiers themselves, highland anecdotes, extracts from official reports, and even typescripts of interviews. This is the gritty, real-life story of the Scottish soldier, told in his own words.
There Will Be Rainbows: The Rufus Wainwright Story
by Kirk LakeThe first ever biography of one of the most fascinating singers to have appeared in the last 50 years."Rufus Wainwright is the greatest songwriter on the planet" - Elton JohnRufus Wainwright's work mixes innovation and tradition like no other contemporary pop performer. His private life, which, by choice or otherwise, he has lived in public, is equally incredible -- and in its own, sometimes peculiar, often exaggerated way, has encompassed all three of the clichéd tenets of the popular artist (sex, drugs and rock n roll).In seeking to explain how the artist works and where his place lies in a great tradition, Kirk Lake enters into the diverse worlds of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, opera, gay liberation, Canadian folk, neo-Conservatism, drug addiction and Hollywood musicals. He follows Wainwright's journey (from Van Dyke Parks, to rehab, to Carnegie Hall), and talks to those who have orbited close to Wainwright. Rufus Wainwright: A Biography is an intelligent, critical piece of music writing that befits the integrity and complexity of the artist's work while fully embracing the self-deprecating humour and flamboyance that embodies Rufus Wainwright, the person.
There You Are, Doctor!: "there You Are, Doctor!", "on Holiday Again, Doctor?", "you're Still A Doctor, Doctor!" (The Dr Clifford Chronicles)
by Dr Robert CliffordAs charming as he is entertaining, Dr Robert Clifford dispenses a delightful dose of hilarious anecdotes, colourful portraits of patients, family and friends, tempered with heartwarming tales of human courage and tragedy.There's the eccentric hermit Hamish Richardson; the stubborn Romany Zackovitch Hebden; Miss Peabody, the elderly spinster ever hopeful of a pools win; and William Jessop, the blind man whose handicap obviously isn't a handicap! As well as stories from his Tadchester surgery, Dr Robert Clifford tells of his son's accident on Sark and there are more fishy tales with water bailiff John Denton and a sparkling of delightful descriptions of holidays at home and abroad.Doctor, family man, humourist, philosopher and counsellor, Dr Robert Clifford's stories are a tonic for us all.
There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension
by Hanif AbdurraqibONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF 2024 ACCORDING TO TIME, NPR, Chicago Review of Books, Lit Hub, Medium, The Millions, Book Riot, and more It might do all of us some good to reconsider what 'making it' even means. Growing up in Columbus, Ohio, in the 1990s, Hanif Abdurraqib witnessed a golden era of basketball, one in which legends like LeBron James were forged -- and countless others weren’t. His lifelong love of the game leads Abdurraqib into a lyrical, historical, and emotionally rich exploration of what it means to make it, who we think deserves success, the tension between excellence and expectation, and the very notion of role models, all of which he expertly weaves together with intimate, personal storytelling.There’s Always This Year is a triumph from one of America’s most celebrated and insightful writers. It brims with joy, pain, solidarity, comfort, outrage, and hope. No matter the subject, Abdurraqib’s exquisite writing is always poetry, always profound, and always a clarion call to radically reimagine how we think about our culture, and ourselves.
There's Just One Problem...: True Tales from the Former, One-Time, 7th Most Powerful Person in WWE
by Brian GewirtzFormer WWE head writer Brian Gewirtz brings readers behind the scenes for an unprecedented look at the chaotic, surreal, unbelievable backstage world of the WWE.With untold stories from a career spanning over 15 years and featuring the biggest names and controversial moments in wrestling history, THERE'S JUST ONE PROBLEM is an honest, unflinching look on how an introverted life-long fan unexpectedly became one the most powerful men in all of professional wrestling.For decades wrestling was shrouded in secrecy. It had larger than life personalities, bone crunching physicality and jaw-dropping theatrics but backstage it was an industry devoid of outsiders. Then in 1999, after working together on a special for MTV, Dwayne &“The Rock&” Johnson turned to 26-year old television writer Brian Gewirtz and asked &“You ever consider writing for WWE?&” That question, and its answer, would have a profound effect on both of their lives for years to come.THERE'S JUST ONE PROBLEM is a story about perseverance, tenacity, and steel chairs. Most writers in the WWE last for a matter of months; Gewirtz was there for over 15 years, writing some of most memorable and infamous storylines in WWE history (covering the &“Attitude Era&”, the &“Ruthless Aggression Era&” and into the &“PG&” and &“Reality&” eras). Throughout this journey Gewirtz found himself becoming both friend and antagonist to some of the biggest names in WWE history – Stone Cold Steve Austin, John Cena, Stephanie McMahon, Bill Goldberg, Paul Heyman, Chris Jericho, Shawn Michaels, and the two men who he worked the most closely with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon and Dwayne &“The Rock&” Johnson. These men not only shaped his life professionally but also personally, forcing him to grow and change both as a writer and a human being. So how does a lifelong fan and outsider break through to become the ultimate insider? How does a low-key personality deal directly with his boss, the most brash, unpredictable &“alpha male&” on the planet, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon? How does one gain respect in a locker room that wants nothing more than to see him disappear? Where does one go when every year in wrestling takes you further away from the writing career you always wanted? Taking advice from his idol, the late &“Rowdy&” Roddy Piper, when you&’re so full of fear, there&’s only one way to push through: become fearless.
There's Only One Dixie Deans: The Autobiography
by Ken McNab Dixie DeansDixie Deans is a true Celtic legend. Between 1971 and 1976, he scored 132 goals in 184 games and was part of the great Celtic team that swept to nine consecutive Scottish league titles and dominated a golden era of the national game. Dixie cemented his status in football folklore by becoming the first Scottish player to hit hat-tricks in two cup finals, but he is remembered just as much for the special bond he struck with the fans - ties that remain as strong today, exactly 40 years after he first signed for Celtic from Motherwell. Now Dixie, a member of the Celtic Hall of Fame, opens his scrapbook of memories on a lifetime of adventures in the beautiful game of football. From the struggle of growing up in a one-parent family to losing his beloved mother just as his career was starting to blossom, to playing under the legendary Jock Stein, and alongside the likes of Dalgleish, Macari, McNeill and Connolly, Dixie recalls the tumultuous days of a roller-coaster career at the very pinnacle of Scottish football. This is a fascinating story, at times uplifting, heartrending, inspiring and haunting, proving that there really is only one, inimitable, Dixie Deans
There's Only One Stevie Bacon: My Life Watching West Ham Through a Camera Lens
by Steve BaconHe has never scored a goal, lifted a trophy, worn the captain's armband or even played for the club, but Steve Bacon is considered a genuine Hammers legend. As West Ham United's official photographer for more than thirty years, Steve has become a cult hero at Upton Park - he has appeared on Sky's Soccer AM, featured in a fanzine comic strip and even had a burger named after him. From his privileged position as part of the club's backroom team, Steve has enjoyed unlimited access behind the scenes and established close friendships with many managers and players. John Lyall, Lou Macari, Billy Bonds, Harry Redknapp, Glenn Roeder, Alan Pardew, Alan Curbishley, Gianfranco Zola, Avram Grant and Sam Allardyce have all found themselves the focus of Bacon's candid camera, while Trevor Brooking, Tony Cottee, Frank McAvennie, Julian Dicks, Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard, Paolo Di Canio and Scott Parker are just a few of the star players who have welcomed him into their world. Packed with terrific tales, amusing anecdotes and controversial characters, and illustrated with the very best of Steve's photographs, There's Only One Stevie Bacon offers an intriguing insight into life at the Boleyn Ground and one that no West Ham United fan will want to miss.
There's Something I've Been Dying to Tell You: The uplifting bestseller
by Lynda BellinghamBy turns, it is riotous, deeply serious, practical and sad. Reading it is like being at her kitchen table with a glass of wine to hand. (Daily Telegraph)Lynda Bellingham was a tremendously gifted storyteller with a rich collection of tales of love, loss and laughter and this memoir brings her kind heart, courage and emotion to the page in vivid detail. There's Something I've Been Dying To Tell You is a brave memoir about Lynda's battle with cancer, facing death she found joy and shared it with millions. Her story is an affecting and at times heart-breaking one but it is so often laugh-out-loud too and ultimately the way Lynda told her life story serves as a great inspiration to us all. Woven into this very moving and brave story are extraordinary, colourful tales of her acting and family life that will enlighten and entertain as well as the journey that Lynda has taken to find the family of her birth father having already suffered heartache in her search for her birth mother. In the search for her father's family, Lynda finds a family with a history in entertainment showing that acting was always in the blood.This book was written in Lynda's final months and revealed for the first time, and in great detail, her fight with cancer and how her life was transformed since her diagnosis. This edition includes a brand new chapter written by Lynda's husband Michael about his love for her, her love of life and her glorious final send-off.
Theresa May: The Enigmatic Prime Minister
by Rosa PrinceTwenty days after Britain’s dramatic vote to leave the European Union, with the government still reeling from the political aftershock, a new Prime Minister captured Downing Street. Few were more surprised by this unexpected turn of events than Theresa May herself.David Cameron’s sudden resignation unleashed a leadership contest like no other – and saw the showier rivals for his crown fall one by one with dizzying speed. So how did the daughter of an Oxfordshire vicar rise to the top job with such ease? In this fascinating biography, Rosa Prince explores the self-styled unflashy politician whose commitment to public service was instilled in her from childhood.More than a decade after she warned stunned Conservatives of their ‘nasty’ image, May has become the champion of Middle England and, for the time being, united her riven party. Theresa May: The Enigmatic Prime Minister maps the rise of Britain’s second female premier, a woman who had to fight against the odds to become an MP, who remained overlooked and undervalued during much of her time in Parliament, yet who went on to become a formidable Home Secretary and, now, the leader of her country as it faces its greatest challenge since the Second World War.
Theroux The Keyhole: Diaries of a grounded documentary maker
by Louis TherouxCome round to Louis Theroux’s house where the much-loved TV documentary-maker, podcaster and bestselling author of Gotta Get Theroux This finds himself in unexpected danger . . . Like millions of others, Louis’ plans were mothballed by the onset of Covid. Unable to escape to the porn sets, prisons and maximum-security psychiatric units that are his usual journalistic beat, he began reporting on a location even more full of pitfalls and hostile objects of inquiry: his own home during a pandemic.Theroux the Keyhole is an honest, hilarious and ultimately heartwarming diary of the weirdness of family life in Covid World. A wife intolerant of his obsession with Joe Wicks’ daily workouts. Two teenage sons, inseparable from their videogames, for whom he is increasingly 'cringe'. A five-year-old happily spamming out videos on his own new TikTok account while on holiday with his oblivious family. Louis also describes how he launches his podcast, Grounded, finally gets to the US to film a new Joe Exotic documentary and aims his sights on the latest incarnation of the far right in a world becoming radicalized by social media. Theroux the Keyhole is Louis at his insightful best, as he faces unforeseen new challenges and wonders why it took a pandemic for him to learn that what really matters in life is right in front of him.
These Bodies of Water: Notes on the British Empire, the Middle East and Where We Meet
by Sabrina Mahfouz'Sabrina Mahfouz is a tidal wave of truth swallowing the banks of empire with a torrent of information which will not be damned' Lemn Sissay'A bold, brave look at the ways imperialism affects us all, from the universally political to the insightfully intimate' Riz Ahmed'Impossible to put down while you're reading, and impossible to forget about when you've finished' GlamourAre you not made of Suez silt?How do we know you won't shore our boats by making yourself bigger than we made you?Sabrina Mahfouz once sat in a Whitehall interview room and was interrogated about everything from her political leanings to her private life. It was ostensibly a job interview, but implicit in their demands was the unspoken question: as a woman of Middle Eastern heritage, could she really be trusted?Years later, Sabrina found herself confronting the meaning behind this interrogation, and how it was specifically informed by the British Empire's historical dominance in the Middle East. THESE BODIES OF WATER investigates this history through the Middle Eastern coastlines and waterways that were so vital to the Empire's hold. Interwoven with her own personal experiences, Sabrina combines history, politics, myth and poetry in a devastating examination of this unacknowledged part of Britain's colonial past.Part history, part polemic and part intimate memoir, THESE BODIES OF WATER is a tapestry of writing that tells the story of Britain's relationship with the Middle East in the most revealing terms.
These Few Precious Days: The Final Year of Jack with Jackie
by Christopher AndersenGlamour, power, sex, money. The makings of an iconic love story - or a doomed passion? Bestselling biographer Christopher Andersen casts aside the rumours, the speculation and the conspiracy theories, and takes us on an intimate journey into the heart of the Kennedys' marriage. With consummate skill, Andersen uncovers startling new facts about their affairs - hers as well as his - with the famous, the notorious and the anonymous; he reveals alarming information about the First Couple's shared dependence on amphetamines and the White House's battle to keep their secret; and he unearths fresh details about the assassination and its aftermath, including Jackie's bout with suicidal depression. Extraordinary in its scope, powerful in its insights, These Few Precious Days paints an unsparing yet sympathetic and touching portrait of Mr and Mrs JFK in their final year together. This is the ultimate presidential love story in all its frustrating, complicated, bittersweet glory.
These Precious Days
by Ann Patchett'A heartfelt and witty collection of essays on everything from marriage and knitting to the inevitability of death' Guardian, 50 biggest books of autumn'Profound and clever and funny and wise' Meg Mason, author of Sorrow & BlissAn irresistible collection of essays and memoir from the internationally bestselling, Women's Prize-winning author of The Dutch HouseAny story that starts will also end.' As a writer, Ann Patchett knows what the outcome of her fiction will be. Life, however, often takes turns we do not see coming. Patchett ponders this as she explores family, friendship, marriage, failure, success, and what it all means. Ranging from the personal – her portrait of the three men she called her fathers; how a chance encounter with Tom Hanks led to one of the most important friendships of her life; how to answer when someone asks why you don't have children – to the sublime – the unexpected influence of Snoopy; the importance of knitting; the pleasure to be found in children's books – each essay transforms the particular into the universal, letting us all see our own worlds anew. Illuminating, penetrating, funny and generous, These Precious Days is joyful time spent in the company of one of our greatest living authors.'Patchett's essays are both sharp and humane ... like a hugely enjoyable conversation with a particularly brilliant friend' Sadie Jones
These Precious Days
by Ann Patchett'A heartfelt and witty collection of essays on everything from marriage and knitting to the inevitability of death' Guardian, 50 biggest books of autumn'Profound and clever and funny and wise' Meg Mason, author of Sorrow & BlissAn irresistible collection of essays and memoir from the internationally bestselling, Women's Prize-winning author of The Dutch HouseAny story that starts will also end.' As a writer, Ann Patchett knows what the outcome of her fiction will be. Life, however, often takes turns we do not see coming. Patchett ponders this as she explores family, friendship, marriage, failure, success, and what it all means. Ranging from the personal – her portrait of the three men she called her fathers; how a chance encounter with Tom Hanks led to one of the most important friendships of her life; how to answer when someone asks why you don't have children – to the sublime – the unexpected influence of Snoopy; the importance of knitting; the pleasure to be found in children's books – each essay transforms the particular into the universal, letting us all see our own worlds anew. Illuminating, penetrating, funny and generous, These Precious Days is joyful time spent in the company of one of our greatest living authors.'Patchett's essays are both sharp and humane ... like a hugely enjoyable conversation with a particularly brilliant friend' Sadie Jones