We sang in the playground, "Bikini lagoon, an atom bomb's boom, and two big explosions." David's father came back from Burma and didn't eat rice. Twiggy taught by reciting "The Pied Piper of Hamelin", "The Charge of the Light Brigade" and the thirteen times table. Twiggy was fat and short and he shouted, and his neck was as wide as his head. He was a bully, though he didn't take any notice of me.'In Where Shall We Run To?, Alan Garner remembers his early childhood in the Cheshire village of Alderley Edge: life at the village school as `a sissy and a mardy-arse'; pushing his friend Harold into a clump of nettles to test the truth of dock leaves; his father joining the army to guard the family against Hitler; the coming of the Yanks, with their comics and sweets and chewing gum. From one of our greatest living writers, it is a remarkable and evocative memoir of a vanished England.

    The aim of the series is to give readers accessible and informative introductions to some of the most popular, most acclaimed and most influential novels of recent years - from ‘The Remains of the Day' to ‘White Teeth'. A team of contemporary fiction scholars from both sides of the Atlantic has been assembled to provide a thorough and readable analysis of each of the novels in question.

    Bradley put Shakespeare on the map for generations of readers and students for whom the plays might not otherwise have become 'real' at all" writes John Bayley in his foreword to this edition of Shakespearean Tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth.Approaching the tragedies as drama, wondering about their characters as he might have wondered about people in novels or in life, Bradley is one of the most liberating in the line of distinguished Shakespeare critics. His acute yet undogmatic and almost conversational critical method has—despite fluctuations in fashion—remained enduringly popular and influential. For, as John Bayley observes, these lectures give us a true and exhilarating sense of "the tragedies joining up with life, with all our lives; leading us into a perspective of possibilities that stretch forward and back in time, and in our total awareness of things."

    In a readable and often-amusing narrative, Gerald Graff shows that the heated conflicts of our recent culture wars echo—and often recycle—controversies over how literature should be taught that began more than a century ago. Updated with a new preface by the author that addresses many of the provocative arguments raised by its initial publication, Professing Literature remains an essential history of literary pedagogy and a critical classic.“Graff’s history. . . is a pathbreaking investigation showing how our institutions shape literary thought and proposing how they might be changed.”— The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism

    Pound surveys the course of literature from the fall of the Roman Empire through the dawn of the Renaissance, paying special attention to the Provençal poets and to Dante. Now with an introduction by Richard Sieburth, this work illuminates a great period in European literature and one of America's greatest poetic minds.

    Unabashedly provocative, with scholarship, insight and keen observation, Pearce strives to separate historical fact from fiction about the beloved Bard.Shakespeare is not only one of the greatest figures in human history, he is also one of the most controversial and one of the most elusive. He is famous and yet almost unknown. Who was he? What were his beliefs? Can we really understand his plays and his poetry if we don't know the man who wrote them?These are some of the questions that are asked and answered in this gripping and engaging study of the world's greatest ever poet. "The Quest for Shakespeare" claims that books about the Bard have got him totally wrong. They misread the man and misread the work. The true Shakespeare has eluded the grasp of the critics. Dealing with the facts of Shakespeare's life and times, Pearce's quest leads to the inescapable conclusion that Shakespeare was a believing Catholic living in very anti-Catholic times.Many of his friends and family were persecuted, and even executed, for their Catholic faith. And yet he seems to have avoided any notable persecution himself. How did he do this? How did he respond to the persecution of his friends and family? What did he say about the dreadful and intolerant times in which he found himself? "The Quest for Shakespeare" answers these questions in ways that will enlighten and astonish those who love Shakespeare's work, and that will shock and outrage many of his critics. This book is full of surprises for beginner and expert alike.

     24 successful authors. 24 stories to help you turn books into a six-figure calling. Have you tried all the entrepreneurial tricks only to end up back where you started? Are you passionate about an idea that you want to share with the world? Do you wish you could turn a single book into something more? Bestselling author Alinka Rutkowska started with one book and transformed it into a successful six-figure business. But she isn't the only one. Join her and 23 other powerful author entrepreneurs as they share "how they did it" in this once-in-a-lifetime collection of true stories. In Write and Grow Rich, you'll discover how this incredible group of authors, marketers, teachers, and trainers turned the corner with the power of writing behind them. By sharing their best practices, authors Adam Houge, Daniel Hall, Caitlyn Pyle, Marc Guberti, Bryan Cohen, Kristen Joy, and many more provide a roadmap to the steps you need to take to join their ranks. Inside, you'll learn which so-called expert advice to avoid and their little-known tools for faster, more resilient success. In Write and Grow Rich, you'll discover: What these authors would've done differently if they were starting their businesses today How they cope with overwhelm and how you can use this overload as an advantage Key factors for book-based success in a variety of industries How quickly you can expect to start profiting off your writing The skills you should start cultivating to take your business to the next level, and much, much more! Write and Grow Rich is a jam-packed handbook for making your words worth more than you ever dreamed possible. If you like expert guidance, multiple points of view, and down-to-earth education from entrepreneurs who've made it, then you'll love Alinka Rutkowska's authorpreneurial anthology. Buy Write and Grow Rich to start applying time-tested wisdom to your business today! Full contributing authors list: Alinka Rutkowska, Adam Houge, Alexa Bigwarfe, Amy Collins, Bryan Cohen, Caitlin Pyle, Claire Diaz-Ortiz, Christine Kloser, Daniel Hall, Donna Kozik, Debbie Drum, Derek Doepker, Derek Murphy, Jason Ladd, Jyotsna Ramachandran, Kirsten Oliphant, Kristen Joy, Lise Cartwright, Marc Guberti, Matt Stone, Sally Miller, Steve Alcorn, Summer Tannhauser, Susan Friedmann.

    The volume includes recent essays from Alastair Duckworth, Marilyn Butler, D.A. Miller, Isobel Armstrong and Karen Newman.

     "Simon’s star-studded debut memoir populated with humorous details and matter-of-fact commentary is incredibly readable, with plenty of quote-worthy anecdotes. Over the span of his lengthy career as a music producer, the author worked with some legendary artists, including Janis Joplin, Simon and Garfunkel, Leonard Cohen, and The Band. In this remembrance, he details his lifelong engagement with music, which follows the trajectory of American popular music as a whole, from jazz to Broadway musicals to rock ’n’ roll. An intriguing memoir about an unusual career involving some celebrated musical figures." - - Kirkus Reviews Celebrated music producer John Simon has produced some of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll ever recorded including THE BAND’s "Music from Big Pink", "The Band", and "The Last Waltz", JANIS JOPLIN’s Cheap Thrills, SIMON AND GARFUNKEL’s Bookends, and the first albums by LEONARD COHEN and BLOOD, SWEAT and TEARS. His contributions to popular music have helped tell the story of a generation in the 1960s and 70s, and now he is sharing his own. "WHEN JOHN SIMON JOINED THE BAND’S BROTHERHOOD HE FIT LIKE A GLOVE. I CAN’T IMAGINE ANOTHER RECORD PRODUCER IN THE WHOLE WORLD WHO COULD’VE MATCHED JOHN’S WORK ON: MUSIC FROM BIG PINK AND THE BAND, ALBUMS." - - Robbie Robertson “Reflecting on the amazing life he’s led, I found myself thinking he ought to write a book. Then I realized that he did. Now he tells never-before-told tales of those rich, often rollicking years in his colorful new book.” --- Steve Israel * * * * * * * Given his truly unique perspective on music and the music business, Simon has been been courted by interviewers for years. With so many anecdotes to choose from, Simon found himself only skimming the surface of his experiences. Now, in writing TRUTH, LIES & HEARSAY, he has drawn on a lifetime of numerous first-hand accounts revealed in this memoir for first time, including: • Getting down the sounds for MUSIC FROM BIG PINK and THE BAND’s 2nd album • How everything was changed by a hit record of a PAUL SIMON song that Paul didn’t even like • Experiencing the volatile personal dynamics during the recording of CHEAP THRILLS by BIG BROTHER AND THE HOLDING COMPANY featuring their new vocalist, JANIS JOPLIN • Living and playing in Woodstock when it was just a small-town safe haven for musicians. • Behind-the-scenes at THE BAND’s “farewell concert appearance” • Writing two ballet scores for legendary choreographer TWYLA THARP • Touring with American blues master, TAJ MAHAL • Recording secrets revealed and much, much more! With an unerring ear for music and eye for a good story, John Simon has amassed a collection of remarkable stories to delight any music fan! Read about Leonard Cohen, Levon Helm, Janis Joplin, Robbie Robertson, The Band, Mama Cass, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Gordon Lightfoot, Leon Russell, Eric Clapton, Wilson Pickett, Peter Yarrow, Gil Evans, Elizabeth Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Les Paul, Bob Dylan, Muddy Waters, Steve Forbert, Marshall McLuhan and The Beatles – -- All of these people and more turn up in the pages of TRUTH, LIES and HEARSAY: A Memoir of a Musical Life In and Out of Rock and Roll. You will really like this book.

    When I was initiated into sannyasa, I thought I had become a different person forever. The reality was far from it. The only solace: I was not the only one. Having met numerous seekers who visit our ashram to meet My Guru, Om Swami, I realized that most of them had similar woes. My failures were everyday failures for others just as much. They too were dancing to the fickle tunes of their unanchored and untamed minds. But there was hope. Simple instructions from the ingenious mind of My master rescued me. It is his infallible wisdom that I have tried to capture in this book. I hope the lessons in these pages bring you as much peace and clarity as they brought me.

    This Very Short Introduction tells the story of Chinese literature from antiquity tothe present, focusing on the key role literary culture played in supporting social and political concerns. Embracing traditional Chinese understandings of literature as encompassing history and philosophy as well as poetry and poetics, storytelling, drama, and the novel, Sabina Knight discusses thephilosophical foundations of literary culture as well as literature's power to address historical trauma and cultivate moral and sensual passions. From ancient historical records through the modernization and globalization of Chinese literature, Knight draws on lively examples to underscore theclose relationship between ethics and aesthetics, as well as the diversity of Chinese thought. Knight also illuminates the role of elite patronage; the ways literature has served the interests of specific groups; and questions of canonization, language, nationalism, and cross-cultural understanding.The book includes Chinese characters for names, titles, and key terms.

    193,000 miles. 190 countries. One play. For the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth the Globe Theatre undertook an unparalleled journey, to take Hamlet to every country on the planet, to share this beloved play with the entire world. The tour was the brainchild of Dominic Dromgoole, artistic director of the Globe, and in Hamlet Globe to Globe, Dromgoole takes readers along with him.From performing in sweltering deserts, ice-cold cathedrals, and heaving marketplaces, and despite food poisoning in Mexico, the threat of ambush in Somaliland, an Ebola epidemic in West Africa and political upheaval in Ukraine, the Globe’s players pushed on. Dromgoole shows us the world through the prism of Shakespeare—what the Danish prince means to the people of Sudan, the effect of Ophelia on the citizens of Costa Rica, and how a sixteenth-century play can touch the lives of Syrian refugees. And thanks to this incredible undertaking, Dromgoole uses the world to glean new insight into this masterpiece, exploring the play’s history, its meaning, and its pleasures. Hamlet Globe to Globe is a highly enjoyable book about an unprecedented theatrical adventure.

    Classic stories and poems of American literature are found in the pages of Franklin, Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne, Melville, Dickinson, Twain, Whitman, Faulkner, James, Eliot, Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Steinbeck, Morrison, and many others. As Professor Arnold Weinstein reminds us: "American classics are wonderfully rich fare. America is a mythic land, a place with a sense of its own destiny and promise, a place that has experienced bloody wars to achieve that destiny. The events of American history shine forth in our classics." When was the last time you read them? Possibly not as recently as you'd like. Why? Not because you wouldn't love it. But perhaps the demands of your daily life or some other reason have prevented this pleasure. Now, here is the opportunity to gain an extraordinary familiarity with each of these authors within a manageable amount of time, as well as review the great works you may already know. What Explains Greatness? These works are both American and classics. The course has been crafted to explain why some works become classics while others do not, why some "immortal" works fade from our attention completely, and even why some contemporary works now being ignored or snubbed by critics may be considered immortal one day. One memorable work at a time, you'll see how each of these masterpieces shares the uncompromising uniqueness that invariably marks the entire American literary canon. From Sleepy Hollow to The Great Gatsby, Professor Weinstein contends that the literary canon lives, grows, and changes. What links these writers to each other—and to us readers today—is the awareness that the past lives and changes as generations of writers and readers step forward to interpret it anew. The course was born from Professor Weinstein's conviction that American literature is our "great estate," and that claiming this rightful inheritance—the living past and the lessons we can take from it—should be nothing less than a unique and joyous learning experience. Experience Two Centuries of America's Greatest Works Professor Weinstein explains that America's classic works should be savored as part of our inner landscape: part of how we see both America and ourselves. He leads you through more than two centuries of the best writers America has yet produced, bringing out the beauty of their language, the excitement of their stories, and the value in what they say about life, power, love, adventure, and what it means, in every sense, to be American. Perhaps you recall: --Melville's prowling Ahab, on the search for Moby Dick, and the power of the "grand, ungodly, Godlike man" --The quiet diner in The Grapes of Wrath and the pain of one of John Steinbeck's "Okies" trying to purchase a dime's worth of bread. --The parlor in Long Day's Journey Into Night and the lifetime of tension in a simple request to a father that he turn on the lights. Rip Van Winkle falls asleep for 25 years for some mysterious reason—but what exactly was it? Why did Emerson believe in self-reliance, and why do we? Twain, our first media celebrity, tells stories that have an inkling of Peter Pan: Tom Sawyer never does grow up. But Huck Finn must grow up to face the racism of the South and get past his own polluted conscience—can he do it? James brings American innocents to Europe for them to inherit the world—but do they? Discover the Stories behind America's Immortal Writers Consider that: --Emily Dickinson was virtually unheard of in her own time. --William Faulkner's books were out of print until the mid-1940s. --F. Scott Fitzgerald died believing he had been forgotten. Readers of their times would be astounded if they knew the immortality these writers achieved, just as we are astounded that they once were overlooked. Most of us don't know that when Walt Whitman self-published Leaves of Grass—seemingly in answer to Ralph Waldo Emerson's memorable wish for the poet America deserved—he sent a copy to Emerson, America's most revered man of letters. When Emerson replied in extraordinarily flattering terms, Whitman published his letter, virtually forcing the new poet's acceptance by a literati that would might have preferred to flee from Whitman's startlingly new, often sexual, poetry. Perhaps you share the common picture of Emily Dickinson: a passive, gentle, reclusive spinster content in her father's Amherst, Massachusetts, home. If so, allow Professor Weinstein to introduce you to her friend, clergyman and author Thomas Wentworth Higginson, who said of "gentle" Emily: "I never was with anyone who drained my nerve power so much. Without touching her, she drew from me. I am glad not to live near her." Through this course, you will learn to: --Explain the roles of self-reliance and the "self-made man" in the evolution of American literature --Identify the tenets of American Romanticism --Describe the evolution of the American ghost story, from Poe and Hawthorne to James and Morrison --Outline the epic strain in American literature, from Melville and Whitman to Faulkner and Ellison --Explain the importance of slavery as a critical subject for Stowe, Twain, Faulkner, and Morrison --Summarize perspectives on nature revealed in poets Whitman, Dickinson, Frost, and Eliot --Identify the tenets of Modernism in the work of Eliot, Fitzgerald, Hemingway, and Faulkner --Identify the contributions of O'Neill, Miller, and Williams to American theater --Summarize the threads of the complex relationship between America's great writers and the past. Savor the Joy of Great ReadingDr. Weinstein is the Edna and Richard Salomon Distinguished Professor at Brown University, where he has been teaching literature to packed classrooms since 1968. Brown University student course evaluation summaries reported: "By far, students' greatest lament was that they only got to listen to Professor Weinstein once a week." One customer writes: "Professor Weinstein is inspiring. Not only am I enjoying these lectures, but I am also rereading these wonderful classics and having a wonderful time." The course will lead you to read or reread masterpieces that intrigue you most. And with the deeper understanding you gain from the lectures, you will likely experience such joy from great reading that you may wonder why you have spent so much time on contemporary books. The 84 carefully crafted lectures in this course, each 30 minutes long, are your royal road to recapturing the American experience—and our intellectual and cultural heritage. Just review the lecture titles. All of this can be yours, and the journey will be as rewarding as the arrival.

    We take them to bed with us. They weigh down our suitcases when we go on holiday. We display them on our bookshelves or store them in our attics. We give them as gifts. We write our names in them. We take them for granted. And all the time, our books are leading a double life.The Secret Life of Books is about everything that isn’t just the words. It’s about how books transform us as individuals. It’s about how books – and readers – have evolved over time. And it’s about why, even with the arrival of other media, books still have the power to change our lives.In this illuminating account, Tom Mole looks at everything from binding innovations to binding errors, to books defaced by lovers, to those imprisoning professors in their offices, to books in art, to burned books, to the books that create nations, to those we’ll leave behind.It will change how you think about books.A real treasure trove for book lovers’ - Alexander McCall Smith‘Every sentence is utterly captivating . . . probably the most compulsive text ever penned about what it means to handle and possess a book’ - Christopher de Hamel, author of Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts‘Wonderfully insightful’ - Alberto Manguel, author of A History of Reading‘Tom Mole’s enthusiasm for books is infectious. If you also love books . . . you’ll want to discover The Secret Life of Books’ - Sam Jordison, author of Literary London‘A treat for bibliophiles everywhere’ - Gavin Francis, author of Shapeshifters‘A treasure-chest, filled with bookish wonders’ - Adam Roberts, BSFA award-winning author of Jack Glass‘I suspect I’ll never look at a book the same way again’ - Jon Courtenay Grimwood, author of Stamping Butterflies

    Poker's biggest players, such as Phil Ivey (2009 WSOP Main Event Finalist), Johnny Chan, Phil Hellmuth, Doyle Brunson and Daniel Negreanu give first-person accounts of their personal journeys and the key moments in their rise to the top of the poker pantheon. These stories will teach, inspire and make you laugh. Deal Me In humanizes the larger-than-life personalities, allowing the reader to understand more about poker strategy through the trials and errors of the best players in the game. Each poker legend tells his or her own story in the book including: Doyle Brunson, Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu, Phil Ivey, Annie Duke, Johnny Chan, Chris Jesus Ferguson, Carlos Mortensen, Chau Giang, Jennifer Harman, Allen Cunningham, Howard Lederer, Erik Seidel, Chad Brown, David Devilfish Ulliott, Layne Flack, Scotty Nguyen, Annette Obrestad, Tom Dwan and the 2008 Main Event winner Peter Eastgate.