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Fried Eggs with Chopsticks: One Woman's Hilarious Adventure into a Country and a Culture Not Her Own
by Polly EvansWhen she learned that the Chinese had built enough new roads to circle the equator sixteen times, Polly Evans decided to go and witness for herself the way this vast nation was hurtling into the technological age. But on arriving in China she found the building work wasn't quite finished. Squeezed up against Buddhist monks, squawking chickens and on one happy occasion a soldier named Hero, Polly clattered along pot-holed tracks from the snow-capped mountains of Shangri-La to the bear-infested jungles of the south. She braved encounters with a sadistic masseur, a ridiculously flexible kung-fu teacher, and a terrified child who screamed at the sight of her. In quieter moments, Polly contemplated China's long and colorful history - the seven-foot-tall eunuch commander who sailed the globe in search of treasure; the empress that chopped off her rivals' hands and feet and boiled them to make soup - and pondered the bizarre traits of the modern mandarins. And, as she traveled, she attempted to solve the ultimate gastronomic conundrum: just how does one eat a soft-fried egg with chopsticks?
Fried Twinkies, Buckle Bunnies, & Bull Riders: A Year Inside the Professional Bull Riders Tour
by Josh PeterIn Fried Twinkies, Buckle Bunnies, & Bull Riders, award-winning sports journalist Josh Peter takes readers along on the Professional Bull Riders tour to witness the death-defying confrontation between man and beast that has made bull riding the fastest growing sport in the world. Success in this sport is measured in seconds-staying on a bull for 8 seconds without getting tossed is likely to secure the rider a big score. Josh Peter captures the high drama of the sport and introduces readers to a culture that's rife with colorful characters: courageous riders, scouts, breeders, love-struck groupies, and a few of those very angry bulls.
Frieda: A Novel of the Real Lady Chatterley
by Annabel AbbsThe moving story of Frieda von Richthofen, wife of D.H. Lawrence - and the real-life inspiration for Lady Chatterley's Lover, a novel banned for more than 30 yearsGermany, 1907. Frieda, daughter of aristocrat Baron von Richthofen, has rashly married English professor Ernest Weekley. Visiting her family in Munich, a city alive with new ideas of revolution and free love, and goaded by a toxic sibling rivalry with her sisters, Frieda embarks on a passionate affair that is her sensual and intellectual awakening.England, 1912. Trapped in her marriage to Ernest, Frieda meets the penniless but ambitious young writer D.H. Lawrence, a man whose creative energy answers her own needs. Their scandalous affair and tempestuous relationship unleashes a creative outpouring that will change the course of literature - and society - forever. But for Frieda, this fulfilment comes at a terrible personal cost.A stunning novel of emotional intensity, Frieda tells the story of an extraordinary woman - and a notorious love affair that became synonymous with ideas of sexual freedom.'I loved this novel so very much. Abbs' writing is glorious.'MELISSA ASHLEY, The Birdman's Wife'Emotionally intense . . . A gripping story' Daily Telegraph
Friedrich Hayek: A Biography
by Alan EbensteinThis biography tells the story of one of the most important public figures of the twentieth century, Friedrich Hayek.Here is the first full biography of Friedrich Hayek, the Austrian economist who became, over the course of a remarkable career, the great philosopher of liberty in our time. In this richly detailed portrait, Alan Ebenstein chronicles the life, works, and legacy of a visionary thinker, from Hayek's early years as the scholarly son of a physician in fin-de-siecle Vienna on an increasingly wider world as an economist and political philosopher in London, New York, and Chicago.Ebenstein gives a balanced, integrated account of Hayek's extraordinary diverse body of work, from his fist encounter with the free market ideas of mentor Ludwig Von Mises to his magisterial writings in later life on the legal, political, ethical, and economic requirements of a free society. Awarded the Nobel Prize in 1974, Hayek's vision of a renewed classical liberalism-of free markets and free ideas in free societies-has taken hold in much of the world.Alan Ebenstein's clearly written account is an essential starting point for anyone seeking to understand why Hayek's ideas have become the guiding force of our time. His illuminating portrait of Hayek the man brings to new life the spirit of a great scholar and tenacious advocate who has become, in Peter Drucker's words, "our time's preeminent social philosopher."
Friedrich Hölderlin's Life, Poetry and Madness
by Wilhelm Waiblinger and Will StoneAfter a childhood marked by loss and grief, Hö lderlin studied theology in the illustrious company of Hegel and Schelling, before concentrating on poetry and writing his most famous work, Hyperion. But, afflicted by the pressures of life and a doomed love affair, he gradually went mad, and spent the final 36 years of his life in a solitary tower in Tü bingen, cared for by a kindly carpenter. The younger poet Wilhelm Waiblinger, one of the few people to gain Hö lderlin's confidence, visited him often. This is his beautifully written memoir of the stricken poet, a unique insight into his personality, sensitively translated by Will Stone.
Friedrich List (1789-1846)
by Eugen WendlerFriedrich List (1789-1846) was a prophet of social market economy, national economy and the infant-industry theory. In this comprehensive biography the international influence and reception of List's theories is presented together with his extraordinary vita List was a notable early advocate of economic integration of the many separate states of 19th century Germany. His basic theory is that of productive resources and the need to protect infant industries until they have matured enough to stand alone. He is recognized as a visionary economist with social responsibility and as an influential railway pioneer. He was a liberal and a democrat who promoted an extended representative democracy, including respect for human rights and civil liberties, to accompany industrial development His highly influential main work "The National System of Political Economy" has been translated into many languages. Eugen Wendler, the renowned author and List expert, not only builds upon his many years of research, but also discusses several new sources. This richly illustrated book is as informative as it is well written.
Friedrich List (1789-1846)
by Eugen WendlerIn dieser ebenso unterhaltsamen wie informativen Biografie wird die Wirkungs- und Rezeptionsgeschichte der Theorien von Friedrich List auf der Basis seines außergewöhnlichen Lebenslaufes dargestellt. Der renommierte und mehrfach für seine Forschung ausgezeichnete List-Experte Eugen Wendler fasst hier die Ergebnisse seiner langjährigen Forschungsarbeit zusammen und ergänzt sie durch neueste Erkenntnisse und Quellen. So ist ein umfassendes und werthaltiges Werk entstanden, das zudem zahlreiche bislang noch unbekannte Abbildungen enthält.
Friedrich Nietzsche: A Biography
by Curtis Cate&“An accessible, anecdotally rich&” biography of the profoundly influential 19th century philosopher, author of Beyond Good and Evil and The Will to Power (Kirkus Reviews). Friedrich Nietzsche was the most fearlessly provocative and original thinker in Western history. The protean diversity of his writings make him one of the most influential of modern philosophers, yet his often paradoxical statements can be properly understood only within the context of his restless, tragic life. Physically handicapped by weak eyesight, violent headaches and bouts of nausea, this Nietzsche made short shrift of self-pity and ostentatious displays of compassion. The son of a Lutheran clergyman, whom he adored, he became a fearless agnostic who proclaimed, in Thus Spake Zarathustra that &“God is dead!&” Curtis Cate&’s refreshingly accessible new biography brilliantly distills and clarifies Nietzsche&’s ideas and the reactions they elicited. This book explores the musical and philosophical influences that inspired his thought, the subtle workings of his creative process, and the acute physical suffering he combated from his adolescence until his final mental collapse of January 1889. Cutting through the academic jargon and clearing away the prejudices that have become associated with Nietzsche&’s name, Cate reveals a man whose ideas continue to have prophetic relevance and incredible vibrancy today.
Friend of China - The Myth of Rewi Alley: The Myth Of Rewi Alley (Chinese Worlds)
by Anne-Marie BradyThis study is a radical and controversial analysis of the life and works of Rewi Alley utilizing both Chinese materials and previously unpublished materials from western sources. Rather than a biography as such, it is a revisionist history, re-examining what we know and understand about one of the most famous, or indeed infamous, foreigners in modern China: Rewi Alley, who arrived in China in 1927 from New Zealand and lived there for the rest of his life. Alley was regarded as a great humanitarian and internationalist. Later he became an outspoken 'foreign friend' of the Chinese regime and prolific propagandist on the new China. This book examines the myth and reality of his life, using them to explore the role of foreigners in China's diplomatic relations and their sensitive place in China after 1949, laying bare the important role of China's 'foreign friends' in Chinese foreign policy.
Friend of Numbers: The Life of Mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan (Incredible Lives for Young Readers)
by Priya NarayananA memorable, inspiring introduction to a groundbreaking figure in STEM history.Growing up in southern India during British rule, Srinivasa Ramanujan was fascinated by numbers: they made patterns only he could see. Soon he spent as much time as he could in the world of mathematics, exploring concepts and trying to publish his ideas. In 1914, twenty-six-year-old Ramanujan sailed to England to work with the acclaimed mathematician G.H. Hardy. Cambridge University was so different from home, but Ramanujan&’s love of numbers kept him going. He had big questions to ask—and important discoveries to make!This captivating biography follows the short but brilliant life of a man recognized as a genius in his time and our own. With bright, occasionally amusing art and compelling back matter, Friend of Numbers is an unforgettable portrait of one of history&’s most incredible mathematical minds.
Friend of the Devil: My Wild Ride With Jerry Garcia and Grateful Dead
by Len Dell'AmicoThe inside story of Jerry Garcia and Grateful Dead from one of the few non-band members allowed in the band's inner circle: videographer, Len Dell'Amico. From 1980 to 1995, he witnessed brilliance, love, happy chaos, and pot. Lots of pot. This a story of Jerry Garcia and Grateful Dead from the band&’s videographer of 15 years, Len Dell&’Amico. He was one of the few non-band members allowed into their inner circle. At a time of tremendous creative growth and record sales, Dell&’Amico found himself at Garcia&’s side as a trusted voice while Grateful Dead became a force in the 1980s. Using his skills as a multi-camera live video director, the band and Dell&’Amico were able to create amazing concert films and music videos. Along the way, Jerry Garcia flashed his genius, eccentricity, generosity of spirit, and emotional depth through his music and relationships with the crew. Friend of the Devil is a rare look at Grateful Dead and how beloved Jerry Garcia was before he passed away at the age of 53.
Friend of the Soul: A Benedictine Spirituality of Work
by Norvene VestIn this second book in her series on Benedictine spirituality, Norvene Vest brings the insights of Benedict’s Rule to the world of work. A gifted interpreter of Benedict’s wisdom, Vest examines with empathy and clarity the plight of men and women who wish for their work to be life-giving, service to others, and the place where they can experience the presence of God. Vest brings Benedict’s perspective to three areas of work discontent today: the stress of performance, overproduction, and acquisitiveness. To these she opposes three Benedictine principles: vocation, or being called to what we do; stewardship, or taking care of what we are given; and obedience, or serving one another. Her emphasis is on the words of Benedict’s primary text and its application for people today. Each chapter concludes with extensive spiritual exercises and food for thought.
Friendkeeping
by Julie KlamFrom the beloved and bestselling memoirist comes a funny and affecting look at making the most of our friendships in an age of isolation. With her inimitable wit and disarming warmth, Julie Klam shares with us her experiences, advice, and insight in Friendkeeping, a candid, hilarious look at some of the most meaningful and enjoyable relationships in our lives: our friendships. After her bestselling You Had Me at Woof, about relationships with dogs, Klam now turns her attention to human relationships to great effect. She examines everything—from the curious world of online friendship to the intersection of friendship and motherhood. She even explores how to hang on to our friendships in the toughest circumstances: when schadenfreude rears its ugly head or when we don’t like our friend’s mate. Klam relays a mix of brand-new and time-tested wisdom—she finds that longtime friends really can grow up without growing apart; that communication is key; that friendship is one of life’s great, free sources of happiness; that you’re not a friend, just a doormat, if you don’t get back what you give—and her discoveries range from amusing to deeply important. Charming, bracingly honest, and compulsively readable, Friendkeeping is an irresistible book, a treat that you’ll want to share with your best friends right away. Brimming with keen observations and laugh-out-loud moments, it’s delivered in the lively, accessible voice that Julie Klam’s readers have come to know and love. .
Friendly Fire: A Fractured Memoir
by Paul Rousseau&“A powerful, gut-wrenching tale of pain, suffering, and recovery.&” —KIRKUS REVIEWS&“Unique and haunting…. A mesmerizing and unforgettable meditation on a stranger-than-fiction tragedy.&” —PUBLISHERS WEEKLY STARRED REVIEWOne month before his college graduation, Paul Rousseau is accidentally shot in the head by his roommate and best friend.At some point in the course of Paul and Mark&’s friendship, Mark acquired—legally and with required permits—five firearms. Those weapons lived with them in their college apartment. It was a non-issue for the two best friends. They were inseparable. They were twenty-two-year-old boys at the height of their college experience, unaware that everything was about to change forever.The bullet ripped through two walls before it struck Paul&’s skull. Mark had accidentally pulled the trigger while in the other room and—frightened for his own future—delayed getting treatment for Paul, who miraculously remained conscious the entire time. In vivid detail, Friendly Fire brings us into the world of both the shooting itself and its surgical counterpoint—the dark spaces of survival in the face of a traumatic brain injury and into the paranoid, isolating, dehumanizing maw of personal injury cases.Friendly Fire is the story of a friendship—both its formation and its destruction. Through phenomenal writing and gripping detail, Paul reveals a compelling and inspirational story that speaks to much of contemporary American life.
Friendly Fire: How Israel Became Its Own Worst Enemy and the Hope for Its Future
by Anthony David Ami AyalonIn this deeply personal journey of discovery, Ami Ayalon seeks input and perspective from Palestinians and Israelis whose experiences differ from his own. As head of the Shin Bet security agency, he gained empathy for "the enemy" and learned that when Israel carries out anti-terrorist operations in a political context of hopelessness, the Palestinian public will support violence, because they have nothing to lose. Researching and writing Friendly Fire, he came to understand that his patriotic life had blinded him to the self-defeating nature of policies that have undermined Israel's civil society while heaping humiliation upon its Palestinian neighbors. "If Israel becomes an Orwellian dystopia," Ayalon writes, "it won't be thanks to a handful of theologians dragging us into the dark past. The secular majority will lead us there motivated by fear and propelled by silence." Ayalon is a realist, not an idealist, and many who consider themselves Zionists will regard as radical his conclusions about what Israel must do to achieve relative peace and security and to sustain itself as a Jewish homeland and a liberal democracy.
Friends Disappear: The Battle for Racial Equality in Evanston
by Mary BarrA sociologist returns to her suburban Illinois hometown to compare the paths of black and white childhood friends in a “fascinating” mix of study and memoir (Chicago Tribune).Mary Barr thinks a lot about the old photograph on her refrigerator door. In it, she and a dozen or so friends from the Chicago suburb of Evanston sit on a porch. It’s 1974, the summer after they graduated from Nichols Middle School, and what strikes her immediately—aside from the Soul Train–era clothes—is the diversity of the group: boys and girls, black and white, in the variety of poses you’d expect from a bunch of friends on the verge of high school. But the photo also speaks to the history of Evanston, to integration, and to the ways that those in the picture experienced and remembered growing up in a place that many at that time considered to be a racial utopia.In Friends Disappear, Barr goes back to her old neighborhood and pieces together a history of Evanston with a particular emphasis on its neighborhoods, its schools, and its work life. She finds that there is a detrimental myth of integration surrounding Evanston despite bountiful evidence of actual segregation, both in the archives and from the life stories of her subjects. Curiously, the city’s own desegregation plan is partly to blame. The initiative called for the redistribution of students from an all-black elementary school to institutions situated in white neighborhoods. That, however, required busing, and between the tensions it generated and obvious markers of class difference, the racial divide, far from being closed, was widened. Friends Disappear highlights how racial divides limited the life chances of blacks while providing opportunities for whites, and offers an insider’s perspective on the social practices that doled out benefits and penalties based on race—despite attempts to integrate.“Barr’s gripping exploration of the divergent paths friends took away from a childhood snapshot combines the rigor of scholarship with the personal touch of memoir. I have rarely read a book that so effectively illustrates the persistence of racial disparities in the United States with unforgettable, wrenching life stories.” —Amanda Seligman, University of Wisconsin-MilwaukeeHonorable Mention, Midwest Sociological Society Distinguished Book Award
Friends Divided: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson
by Gordon S. WoodFrom the great historian of the American Revolution, New York Times-bestselling and Pulitzer-winning Gordon Wood, comes a majestic dual biography of two of America's most enduringly fascinating figures, whose partnership helped birth a nation, and whose subsequent falling out did much to fix its course.Thomas Jefferson and John Adams could scarcely have come from more different worlds, or been more different in temperament. Jefferson, the optimist with enough faith in the innate goodness of his fellow man to be democracy's champion, was an aristocratic Southern slaveowner, while Adams, the overachiever from New England's rising middling classes, painfully aware he was no aristocrat, was a skeptic about popular rule and a defender of a more elitist view of government. They worked closely in the crucible of revolution, crafting the Declaration of Independence and leading, with Franklin, the diplomatic effort that brought France into the fight. But ultimately, their profound differences would lead to a fundamental crisis, in their friendship and in the nation writ large, as they became the figureheads of two entirely new forces, the first American political parties. It was a bitter breach, lasting through the presidential administrations of both men, and beyond. But late in life, something remarkable happened: these two men were nudged into reconciliation. What started as a grudging trickle of correspondence became a great flood, and a friendship was rekindled, over the course of hundreds of letters. In their final years they were the last surviving founding fathers and cherished their role in this mighty young republic as it approached the half century mark in 1826. At last, on the afternoon of July 4th, 50 years to the day after the signing of the Declaration, Adams let out a sigh and said, "At least Jefferson still lives." He died soon thereafter. In fact, a few hours earlier on that same day, far to the south in his home in Monticello, Jefferson died as well. Arguably no relationship in this country's history carries as much freight as that of John Adams of Massachusetts and Thomas Jefferson of Virginia. Gordon Wood has more than done justice to these entwined lives and their meaning; he has written a magnificent new addition to America's collective story.
Friends Forever (Real Friends #3)
by Shannon HaleFollowing up their mega-bestselling Real Friends and Best Friends graphic memoirs, Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham are back with Friends Forever, a story about learning to love yourself exactly as you are.Shannon is in eighth grade, and life is more complicated than ever. Everything keeps changing, her classmates are starting to date each other (but nobody wants to date her!), and no matter how hard she tries, Shannon can never seem to just be happy.As she works through her insecurities and undiagnosed depression, she worries about disappointing all the people who care about her. Is something wrong with her? Can she be the person everyone expects her to be? And who does she actually want to be?With their signature humor, warmth, and insight, Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham have crafted another incredible love letter to their younger selves and to readers everywhere, a reminder to us all that we are enough.
Friends From The Forest
by Joy AdamsonFrom the Book Jacket: Foreword by Juliette Huxley In these two animal studies we have a last, touching testimony of Joy Adamson's gift for eliciting trust from creatures of the wild. The home of her later years, Elsamere, is a bungalow set on large wooded grounds bordering on the remnants of wild forest. To Joy's delight, two fascinating sets of visitors settled near Elsamere: picturesque Colobus monkeys, with their marvelously expressive faces, and a family of Verreaux's eagle owls, the third largest owl in the world and the largest in Africa, with a wingspan of twenty-three inches.
Friends Like These: A gripping psychological thriller with a shocking twist
by Sarah AldersonA gripping thriller about fake friendships and the truth that lies behind the Facebook page, for fans of The Girlfriend and Friend Request.We all know someone like Becca. She has the job everyone wants, a designer wardrobe, a hot-shot lawyer boyfriend, holidays to exotic locations. And she flaunts her perfect life all over social media. It drove her colleague Lizzie mad, but she couldn't stop looking. They were never really friends - and yet Lizzie knew everything about her. Or did she? When chance, and a terrible mistake, pulls Lizzie back into Becca's orbit years after they lost touch, she'll realise that you can't always believe what you see online... and that finding out the truth might be the worst thing you can do. There's no such thing as a perfect life. Only a perfect lie.(P)2018 Hodder & Stoughton Limited
Friends Like These: My Worldwide Quest to Find My Best Childhood Friends, Knock on Their Doors, and Ask Them to Come Out and Play
by Danny WallaceDanny Wallace has friends. He has a wife and goes to brunch, and his new house has a couch with throw pillows. But as he nears 30, he can't help wondering about his best childhood friends, whose names he finds in a long-forgotten address book. Where are they now-and where, really, is he? Acting on an impulse we've all had at least once, he travels from London to Berlin, Tokyo, Australia, and California, risking rejection and ridicule to show up on his old pals' doorsteps. Memories of his 1980s childhood-from Michael Jackson toGhostbusters-overwhelm him as he meets former buddies who have blossomed into rappers and ninjas, time-traveling pioneers, mediocre restaurant managers, and even Fijian royalty. Danny's attempt to re-befriend them all gives remarkable new resonance to the age-old mantra, "friends forever!"
Friends Until the End: Edmund Burke and Charles Fox in the Age of Revolution
by James GrantA lively dual biography of the two great English orators of the eighteenth century, who cultivated a friendship across their political differences. In eighteenth-century Britain, Edmund Burke and Charles Fox made common political cause for twenty-five years. They supported the rebellious American colonies, attacked the British slave trade, defended religious liberty, and attempted to shield Britain’s public credit from the crisis-prone East India Company. The two men did not share social position, a way of life, a political legacy, or even a generation—but improbably, they were friends. The hard-drinking, mistress-collecting Fox loved and admired Burke, feelings that the clean-living political philosopher and statesman warmly reciprocated. Friends Until the End tells the story of two men who hailed from different worlds, yet thrived together in the London intellectual sphere. With wit and panache, James Grant traces their relationship through three great events: the American Revolution; the impeachment of the East India Company’s governor-general; and the French Revolution, which ended their political union and shattered their friendship. Fox, the cosseted heir of a rich English political family, sported George Washington’s colors in London during the American revolution, while Burke, the son of an Irish lawyer, opened Warren Hastings’s 1778 impeachment trial with remarks that lasted four days. Before their rupture, both men enthusiastically shared a love of language and literature, trading Latin tags and Shakespearean quotations between speeches in Parliament. Today, Burke’s writing forms the intellectual core of modern conservativism, while Fox’s ideals and oratory inspired generations of nineteenth-century English Whigs and Liberals. As Grant shows, Fox and Burke were uniquely suited to their long, enduring careers marked by political opposition—they possessed the fluency, self-command, and principle that allowed them to resist, most often, what they regarded as an overreaching British crown. Along with the men’s two remarkable lives, Friends Until the End illuminates their era’s politics, economics, and lessons for our divided times.
Friends and Enemies
by Barbara AmielShockingly honest, richly detailed, and pulling no punches, Friends and Enemies traverses the highs and lows of Barbara Amiel's storied life in journalism and high society.From her early childhood in London during the Blitz to emigrating to North America and her rise to the top rungs of journalism; to her four husbands and other assorted beaus both famous and not; and right up to her marriage to Conrad Black and their prolific legal battles against the powerful and vengeful American justice system, Barbara Amiel's life has been as dramatic as it is glamorous. She has been called every conceivable name in the book by the media (and authors of unauthorized biographies about her), pilloried for her extravagant lifestyle and sometimes regrettable quotes to the press ("My extravagance knows no bounds," for instance, to Vogue), not to mention her outspoken conservative political views as stated in her weekly newspaper columns around the world. It's no surprise she remains to this day a subject of utter fascination after over four decades in the public eye. But until now, very few people actually know her real story—the break-up of her family when she was a child, her bouts of debilitating depression and other chronic health issues, her thoughts on feminism and #MeToo, her travels with the international jet set and A-list celebrities, and, of course, her unvarnished views on the trial and conviction (since overturned) of Conrad Black and the iron-clad bond they have shared since they were married in 1992. Whether you are an admirer or critic of Amiel&’s, you will be completely engrossed in her operatic life, one that seems ripped from the pages of a scandalous novel. She also distinguishes herself as a woman well ahead of her time—the first female editor of a national newspaper in Canada, she challenged the sexual mores of society while also angering the feminist establishment. She has certainly had many friends and enemies over the years—Henry and Nancy Kissinger, Elton John, Tom Stoppard, David Frost, Anna Wintour, Oscar de la Renta, Margaret Thatcher, Princess Diana, Marie Jose Kravis, to name but a few—and she brings these personalties into the spotlight in this larger-than-life memoir that is sure to cause a sensation with readers everywhere.
Friends and Enemies: A Memoir
by Barbara AmielBarbara Amiel's much-talked-about life has been a subject of endless fascination for the media, many unauthorized biographies, as well as screen depictions. An instinctive feminist and now a foe of feminism's political correctness, she covers a formidable array of experiences--political, sexual, marital, and material--in these memoirs.Born in London during World War II's Blitz, the only consistent strains in her life were a fi erce belief in her identity as a Jew, even as the Jewish community disowned her, and an unquestioned view that women were free to do anything in any arena they chose without the need to win society's approval. Which she very often did not.Her rise to the senior rungs of journalism began in Canada after the emigration of her family and continued in the United Kingdom on her return. With four marriages and an assorted number of beaus, some famous, some infamous (some rather young, some rather elderly), she moved through different worlds, encountering problems made more intractable on occasion by her own faulty choices.Though her views on political and social issues were controversial and unpopular, it is a measure of her writing skill that she held down plum jobs for many decades in Canadian and British journalism, as well as appearances in U.S. publications ranging from the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times to the National Enquirer and Vogue.When Barbara Amiel's family life broke apart in her early teens, she faced problems solved without the benefi t of parentalguidance in moments that are often hilarious as well as touching. As an adult and a writer of unabashedly libertarian views, she was derided as much for her wardrobe as for her ideas. Promoted by Maclean's magazine with the slogan "Love her or hate her," she was philosophical. "I love liberty, opera, sex, and fashion," she once told an interviewer. "But life would have been easier if my passions had been for trainspotting and stamp collecting."Her life has an operatic quality played out against a backdrop of physical and mental difficulties with a wildly diverse castincluding Elton John, Henry Kissinger, Anna Wintour, Oscar de la Renta, Princess Diana, Tom Stoppard, Brooke Astor, Margaret Thatcher, Gianni Agnelli, David Frost, and an array of the aristocrats of Manhattan and the stately homes of England. All handled, she writes "with my fatal combination of naiveté and self-absorption." The epic battle with the U.S. justice system leading to the trial and imprisonment of her husband, Conrad Black (eventually substantially vindicated), became a litmus paper for sorting out friends from those who were quick to judge and brutal in their dismissal. Friends and Enemies is not a book of vengeance but an attempt to fi nd her own truth: a life that reads like a novel--eloquent, surprising, written with deeply personal candour and utterly unputdownable.
Friends and Enemies: A Memoir
by Barbara AmielIncluded in The Times and Daily Telegraph Book of the Year round-ups'Friends and Enemies is an extraordinary read showing unflinching candour from a truly remarkable woman' Elton John 'Blistering . . . shockingly candid . . . stiletto-sharp memoir of the year' Daily Mail'Magnetic and magnificent . . . Amiel is superb, furious and, best of all, funny. Say what you like about her - and many have - but the Black Lady can write' The TimesBarbara Amiel's long-awaited memoir is shockingly honest, richly detailed and pulls few punches. An instinctive feminist and now a foe of feminism's political correctness, her own memoirs cover a formidable array of experiences - political, sexual, marital and material. Born in London during the Blitz, the only consistent strain in her early life was a fierce belief in her identity as a Jew even as the Jewish community disowned her and an unquestioned view that women were free to do anything in any arena they chose without any need to win society's approval. Which she very often did not.Her rise to the senior rungs of journalism began in Canada after the emigration of her family and continued in the United Kingdom on her return. With four marriages and an assorted number of beaus, some famous, some infamous (some rather young, some rather elderly), she moved through different worlds encountering problems made more intractable on occasion by her own faulty choices. It is a measure of her writing skill that she held down plum jobs for many decades in Canadian and British journalism as well as appearances in U.S. publications ranging from the Wall Street Journal to Vogue.As a writer of unabashedly libertarian views, she was derided as much for her wardrobe as for her ideas. Pilloried for years in books and television and called every conceivable name by the media, she is philosophical. 'I love fashion, sex and opera,' she once told an interviewer, 'but life would have been easier if my passions had been for train-spotting and stamp collecting.'Her life has an operatic quality with a wildly diverse cast including Elton John, Henry Kissinger, Anna Wintour, Oscar de la Renta, Princess Diana, Tom Stoppard, Brooke Astor, Ghislaine Maxwell, Ronald Harwood, David Frost and an array of the aristocrats of Manhattan and the stately homes of England. All handled, she writes 'with my fatal combination of naivete and self-absorption'. The epic battle with the U.S. justice system leading to the trial and imprisonment of her husband Conrad Black (eventually substantially vindicated) became a litmus paper for sorting out friends from those who were quick to judge and brutal in their dismissal.Friends and Enemies is not a book of vengeance but an attempt to find her own truth: a life that reads like a novel, eloquent, surprising, written with deeply personal candour and utterly un-put-downable.'This is undoubtedly the autobiography of the decade. Barbara Amiel's searing - and sometimes brutal - honesty, both about herself and others, leaves the reader staggered . . . No-one expected a discreet memoir from Barbara Amiel, but few could possibly have imagined that it would be quite this powerfully, dangerously, profoundly self-revelatory' Andrew Roberts