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I’m Sure I Speak For Many Others…: Unpublished letters to the BBC
by Colin Shindler'Dear Mr. Adam, I am writing on behalf of the Central Watch and Social Problems Committee of the Mothers' Union to ask whether you have a programme in mind on the moral issue of venereal disease.''Sir, Where are the B.B.C's censors? We do not care for the language that was inflicted on us Tuesday night in "The Battle of Britain". Don't retort, 'You need not listen if you don't want to'. We did not know it was coming.''Dear Mr. Frost, Let me start by saying how much I enjoy your programme & that I was among those many who felt almost that they had lost a blowsy old friend when dear & vulgar, but nonetheless thought-provoking and funny TW3 went off the air.'For anyone who regularly feels tempted to put pen to paper, I'm Sure I Speak For Many Others is an alternative history of the BBC, from its triumphant broadcast of the coronation in 1953, to that Tynan moment, the controversial That Was The Week That Was, and the groundbreaking Grange Hill.Stretching across over forty years of programming, these never before seen letters represent the joy, the fury and the wit of the nation.
J M Barrie and the Lost Boys: The Real Story Behind Peter Pan
by Andrew BirkinThis literary biography is &“a story of obsession and the search for pure childhood . . . Moving, charming, a revelation&” (Los Angeles Times). J. M. Barrie, Victorian novelist, playwright, and author of Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn&’t Grow Up, led a life almost as interesting as his famous creation. Childless in his marriage, Barrie grew close to the five young boys of the Davies family, ultimately becoming their guardian and surrogate father when they were orphaned. Andrew Birkin draws extensively on a vast range of material by and about Barrie, including notebooks, memoirs, and hours of recorded interviews with the family and their circle, to describe Barrie&’s life, the tragedies that shaped him, and the wonderful world of imagination he created for the boys. Updated with a new preface and including photos and illustrations, this &“absolutely gripping&” read reveals the dramatic story behind one of the classics of children&’s literature (Evening Standard). &“A psychological thriller . . . One of the year&’s most complex and absorbing biographies.&” —Time &“[A] fascinating story.&” —The Washington Post
J. Anthony Froude: The Last Undiscovered Great Victorian
by Julia MarkusAcclaimed biographer Julia Markus has written an unprecedented and illuminating portrait of the brilliant, tortured, and controversial James Anthony Froude -- the quintessential Victorian, father of modern biography, historian, diplomat, and prodigal son. J. Anthony Froude expertly captures the roiling cultural history of a century through one man's dynamic life. From his birth in 1818 to his death in 1894, J. Anthony Froude embodied the issues and complexities of his time. Through the story of his life, Markus elucidates the major ideological issues of the nineteenth century -- sexuality, colonialism, and the widespread challenges to religion's long-held cultural primacy. In beautifully crafted prose, Markus reveals the compelling life of one of the most important thinkers of the Victorian age -- the brutality of his early education, his troubled relationship with his father, his expulsion from Oxford, his dramatic and dazzling literary career, his delicious political incorrectness, his two marriages, his relationships with his children, his friendships with such disparate luminaries as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Cardinal Newman, his diplomatic work for Prime Minister Disraeli, and his complex relationship with Thomas Carlyle, his spiritual father and the subject of his most famous biography. A. L. Rowse, historian and author, called Froude the "last great Victorian awaiting revival." No life of the period is more poignant, no destiny more fascinating, than that of this man who in his books and his actions reflected the triumphs and the errors of his society.
J. D. Salinger and the Nazis
by Eberhard AlsenBefore J.D. Salinger became famous for his 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye and infamous as a literary recluse, he was a soldier in World War II. While serving in the U.S. Army's Counter Intelligence Corps (CIC) in Europe, Salinger wrote more than twenty short stories and returned home with a German war bride. Eberhard Alsen, through meticulous archival research and careful analysis of the literary record, corrects mistaken assumptions about the young writer's war years and their repercussions. Though recent biographies and films claim that Salinger regularly participated in combat, Alsen cites military documents showing that his counterintelligence work was well behind the front lines. Alsen, a longtime Salinger scholar who witnessed the Nazi regime firsthand as a child in Germany, tracks Salinger's prewar experiences in the army, his work for the CIC during significant military campaigns, and his reactions to three military disasters that killed more than a thousand fellow soldiers in his Fourth Infantry Division. Alsen also identifies the Nazi death camp where Salinger saw mounds of recently burned bodies. Revealing details shed light on Salinger's outspoken disgust for American military leaders, the personality changes that others saw in him after the war, and his avoidance of topics related to the Holocaust.
J. D. Salinger: A Life
by Kenneth SlawenskiOne of the most popular and mysterious figures in American literary history, author of the classic Catcher in the Rye, J. D. Salinger eluded fans and journalists for most of his life. Now comes a new biography that Peter Ackroyd in The Times of London calls "energetic and magnificently researched"--a book from which "a true picture of Salinger emerges." Filled with new information and revelations--garnered from countless interviews, letters, and public records--J. D. Salinger presents an extraordinary life that spanned nearly the entire twentieth century. Kenneth Slawenski explores Salinger's privileged youth, long obscured by misrepresentation and rumor, revealing the brilliant, sarcastic, vulnerable son of a disapproving father and doting mother and his entrance into a social world where Gloria Vanderbilt dismissively referred to him as "a Jewish boy from New York." Here too are accounts of Salinger's first broken heart--Eugene O'Neill's daughter, Oona, left him for the much older Charlie Chaplin--and the devastating World War II service ("a living hell") of which he never spoke and which haunted him forever.J. D. Salinger features all the dazzle of this author's early writing successes, his dramatic encounters with luminaries from Ernest Hemingway to Laurence Olivier to Elia Kazan, his surprising office intrigues with famous New Yorker editors and writers, and the stunning triumph of The Catcher in the Rye, which would both make him world-famous and hasten his retreat into the hills of New Hampshire.Whether it's revealing the facts of his hasty, short-lived first marriage or his lifelong commitment to Eastern religion, which would dictate his attitudes toward sex, nutrition, solitude, and creativity, J. D. Salinger is this unique author's unforgettable story in full--one that no lover of literature can afford to miss. From the Hardcover edition.
J. D. Salinger: And Other Conversations
by J. D. Salinger David StreitfeldFrom the moment J. D. Salinger published The Catcher in the Rye in 1951, he was stalked by besotted fans, would-be biographers, and pushy journalists. In this collection of rare and revealing encounters with the elusive literary giant, Salinger discusses--sometimes willingly, sometimes grudgingly--what that onslaught was like, the autobiographical origins of his art, and his advice to writers. Including his final, surprising interview, and with an insightful introduction by New York Times journalist David Streitfeld, these enlightening, provocative, and even amusing conversations reveal a writer fiercely resistant to the spotlight but powerless to escape its glare.From the Trade Paperback edition.
J. Edgar Hoover: The Man and the Secrets
by Curt Gentry"The cumulative effect is overwhelming. Eleanor Roosevelt was right: Hoover's FBI was an American gestapo."--Newsweek Shocking, grim, frightening, Curt Gentry's masterful portrait of America's top policeman is a unique political biography. From more than 300 interviews and over 100,000 pages of previously classified documents, Gentry reveals exactly how a paranoid director created the fraudulent myth of an invincible, incorruptible FBI. For almost fifty years, Hoover held virtually unchecked public power, manipulating every president from Franklin D. Roosevelt to Richard Nixon. He kept extensive blackmail files and used illegal wiretaps and hidden microphones to destroy anyone who opposed him. The book reveals how Hoover helped create McCarthyism, blackmailed the Kennedy brothers, and influenced the Supreme Court; how he retarded the civil rights movement and forged connections with mobsters; and what part he played in the investigations of President John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.
J. Frank Dobie
by Steven L. Davis\The first Texas-based writer to gain national attention, J. Frank Dobie proved that authentic writing springs easily from the native soil of Texas and the Southwest. In best-selling books such as Tales of Old-Time Texas, Coronado's Children, and The Longhorns, Dobie captured the Southwest's folk history, which was quickly disappearing as the United States became ever more urbanized and industrial. Renowned as "Mr. Texas," Dobie paradoxically has almost disappeared from view-a casualty of changing tastes in literature and shifts in social and political attitudes since the 1960s. In this lively biography, Steven L. Davis takes a fresh look at a J. Frank Dobie whose "liberated mind" set him on an intellectual journey that culminated in Dobie becoming a political liberal who fought for labor, free speech, and civil rights well before these causes became acceptable to most Anglo Texans. Tracing the full arc of Dobie's life (1888-1964), Davis shows how Dobie's insistence on "free-range thinking" led him to such radical actions as calling for the complete integration of the University of Texas during the 1940s, as well as taking on governors, senators, and the FBI (which secretly investigated him) as Texas's leading dissenter during the McCarthy era.
J. G. Ballard (Modern Masters of Science Fiction)
by D. Harlan WilsonProphetic short stories and apocalyptic novels like The Crystal World made J. G. Ballard a foundational figure in the British New Wave. Rejecting the science fiction of rockets and aliens, he explored an inner space of humanity informed by psychiatry and biology and shaped by Surrealism. Later in his career, Ballard's combustible plots and violent imagery spurred controversy--even legal action--while his autobiographical 1984 war novel Empire of the Sun brought him fame. D. Harlan Wilson offers the first career-spanning analysis of an author who helped steer SF in new, if startling, directions. Here was a writer committed to moral ambiguity, one who drowned the world and erected a London high-rise doomed to descend into savagery--and coolly picked apart the characters trapped within each story. Wilson also examines Ballard's methods, his influence on cyberpunk, and the ways his fiction operates within the sphere of our larger culture and within SF itself.
J. I. Packer: His Life and Thought
by Alister McGrathJ. I. Packer was one of the most influential evangelical theological and spiritual writers of the twentieth century, best known for his classic work Knowing God. In the 1990s Christianity Today readers named him one of the most influential theologians of the twentieth century, second only to C. S. Lewis. But who was Jim Packer, and what is the story of the man behind the writings? Alister McGrath, a bestselling author and friend of Packer, tells the story of Packer's faith and how it sustained him during his time in England and Canada. Along the way he explores Packer's many contributions to theology and spirituality, alternating narrative with reflection. By engagingly setting out Packer's ideas and the central themes of his work, McGrath helps to explain why Packer and his writing continue to be so helpful to millions on the journey of encountering God. This beautiful recollection of a giant of the Christian faith is both a celebration of his life and the perfect introduction to his thought and writings for a new generation of readers.
J. I. Packer: His life and thought
by Dr Alister E McGrath'Alister McGrath is a brilliant guide to Jim Packer's invigorating theological vision. Crisp, incisive commentary on every page!' - Andrew Atherstone, Wycliffe Hall, University of OxfordJ. I. Packer was one of the most influential evangelical theological and spiritual writers of the twentieth century, best known for his classic work of spirituality Knowing God. In the 1990s, Christianity Today readers named him one of the most influential theologians of the twentieth century, second only to C. S. Lewis. But who was Jim Packer, and what is the story of his own faith? Bestselling author and friend of Jim's Alister McGrath tells his story, and in the process opens up how Packer's faith nourished and sustained him - exploring questions of theology and spirituality as they arise along the way. Alternating narrative with reflection, Alister sets out Packer's ideas and presents them engagingly, and in doing so helps to explain why Packer and his writing continue to be so helpful and useful to all on the journey of faith. This beautiful tribute to a giant of the Christian faith is both a celebration of his life and the perfect introduction to his thought and writings for a new generation of readers.
J. Irwin Miller: The Shaping of an American Town
by Nancy KriplenJ. Irwin Miller:The Shaping of An American Town tells the life story of this remarkable man who led Cummins Engine Company from its roots as a small, family business to an international Fortune 500 company and transformed Columbus, Indiana, into a gem of midcentury modern architecture. As president and then chairman of Cummins, Miller emphasized a corporation's responsibility to the community in which it was located and its other stakeholders. Miller's commitment to Columbus architecture inspired such legends as I. M. Pei, Eliel and Eero Saarinen, Kevin Roche, and others to contribute their designs to what has become one of the most artistically revolutionary towns in the country. Columbus's unique public art and architecture continue to inspire young architects and attract visitors from around the world. Miller has also played a significant role in the American civil rights movement, securing cosponsorship for the March on Washington and working with presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson to help pass the Civil Rights Act. Martin Luther King Jr., once called Miller "the most socially responsible businessman in the country."
J. J. Abrams: Interviews (Conversations with Filmmakers Series)
by Brent DunhamJeffrey Jacob “J. J.” Abrams (b. 1966) decided to be a filmmaker at the age of eight after his grandfather took him on the back-lot tour of Universal Studios. Throughout his career, Abrams has dedicated his life to storytelling and worked tirelessly to become one of the best-known and most successful creators in Hollywood.The thirty interviews collected in this volume span Abrams’s entire career, covering his many projects from television and film to video games and theater. The volume also includes a 1982 article about Abrams as a teen sensation whose short film High Voltage won the Audience Award at a local film festival and garnered the attention of Steven Spielberg.Beginning his career as a screenwriter on films like Regarding Henry and Armageddon, Abrams transitioned into a TV mogul with hit shows like Alias and Lost. Known for his imaginative work across several genres, from science fiction and horror to action and drama, Abrams’s most successful films include Mission: Impossible III; Star Trek; and Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which went on to become the highest-grossing film of all time in the United States. His production company, Bad Robot, has produced innovative genre projects like Cloverfield and Westworld. Abrams also cowrote a novel with Doug Dorst called S., and, most recently, he produced the Broadway run of The Play That Went Wrong.In conversations with major publications and independent blogs, Abrams discusses his long-standing collaborations with others in the field, explains his affinity for mystery, and describes his approach to creating films like those he gravitated to as a child, revealing that the award-winning director-writer-producer is a fan before he is a filmmaker.
J. K. Rowling: The Wizard Behind Harry Potter
by Marc ShapiroHarry Potter is loved throughout the world and so is his creator. Joanne Kathleen (J. K. ) Rowling is a true wizard, a woman who has the ability to recall vividly her days as a child and capture those wild, wonderful, difficult times--an ability that helps make her creation, Harry Potter, seem so real. In this revealing look, fans of the Harry Potter series will get to see their favorite author as they never have before. From a child with a wonderful imagination who didn't quite fit in, to a single mother with almost overwhelming responsibilities, the J. K. Rowling story is a wonderful chance for adults and children to enjoy a heartwarming, magical story... together. Inside are the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions: * Where did the idea of Harry Potter come from? * What was J. K. Rowling like when she was younger? * What is it like to be J. K. Rowling's daughter? * Which of the characters does J. K. Rowling most identify with? * What was the Hogwarts Express tour like? * Where does the name "Harry Potter" come from? * What is J. K. Rowling's simple rule about writing? * And much more!
J. M. Coetzee and the Life of Writing
by David AttwellA moving, insightful biography of the Nobel Laureate and a study of J. M. Coetzee's work, illuminating the creation of his exceptional novels J. M. Coetzee is one of the world's most intriguing authors. Compelling, razor-sharp, erudite: the adjectives pile up but the heart of the fiction remains elusive. Now, in J. M. Coetzee and the Life of Writing, David Attwell explores the extraordinary creative processes behind Coetzee's novels from Dusklands to The Childhood of Jesus. Using Coetzee's manuscripts, notebooks and research papers--recently deposited at the Harry Ransom Center of the University of Texas at Austin--Attwell produces a fascinating story. He shows convincingly that Coetzee's work is strongly autobiographical, the memoirs being continuous with the fictions, and that his writing proceeds with never-ending self-reflection. Having worked closely with him on Doubling the Point, a collection of Coetzee's essays and interviews, and given early access to Coetzee's archive, David Attwell is an engaging, authoritative source. The Life of Writing is a fresh, riveting take on one of the most important and opaque literary figures of our time. This moving account will change the way Coetzee is read, by teachers, critics, and general readers.From the Hardcover edition.
J. M. Coetzee and the Life of Writing: Face-to-face with Time
by David AttwellAn insightful literary biography of the Nobel Laureate J. M. Coetzee's, illuminating the creation of his extraordinary novels J. M. Coetzee is one of the most renowned yet elusive authors of our time. Now, in J.M. Coetzee and the Life of Writing, David Attwell explores the extraordinary creative process behind Coetzee's work, from Dusklands to The Childhood of Jesus. Drawing on Coetzee's manuscripts, notebooks and research papers housed at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin, Attwell reveals the fascinating ways in which Coetzee's famous novels developed, sometimes through more than fifteen drafts. He convincingly shows that Coetzee's work is strongly autobiographical, and that his writing proceeds with never-ending self-reflection while it moves toward aesthetic detachment. Above all, Attwell argues, South Africa, with its history, language, landscape and conflicts, is much more present in his novels than we have realized. Having worked closely with Coetzee on Doubling the Point, a collection of essays and interviews, Attwell is an engaging, authoritative source. J.M. Coetzee and The Life of Writing is the first book-length study to make use of Coetzee's extensive archive. A fresh, engaging and moving take on one of the world's foremost literary figures, it is bound to change the way Coetzee is read. From the Hardcover edition.
J. P. His Biography
by Wendy Scarfe Allan ScarfeJayaprakash Narayan a freedom fighter for the independence of India fought for the downtrodden and untouchables in his later part of life and was instrumental in forming the Janata Party to fight against the Congress after emergency.
J. R. R. Tolkien, The Man Who Created The Lord of the Rings
by Michael CorenFrom the back cover: "J.R.R. TOLKIEN was an orphan, a scholar, a soldier, a professor, and the author of what is considered by many to be the finest book of the 20th Century--The Lord of the Rings. In this carefully researched and engagingly written biography, you'll come to know Tolkien, the friends and family members who shaped his life, and the colleagues and fellow writers who influenced his career. You'll follow Tolkien from his early childhood in South Africa to what he assumed would be the pinnacle of his career--a professorship at Oxford. Little did he know, it was just the beginning. For it was there that Tolkien would decide to write The Hobbit --the story which started it all." Many pictures are described. The bibliography, Index and photograph credits are included at the end of the text.
J. Robert Oppenheimer (SparkNotes Biography Guide)
by SparkNotesJ. Robert Oppenheimer (SparkNotes Biography Guide) Making the reading experience fun! SparkNotes Biography Guides examine the lives of historical luminaries, from Alexander the Great to Virginia Woolf. Each biography guide includes:An examination of the historical context in which the person lived A summary of the person&’s life and achievements A glossary of important terms, people, and events An in-depth look at the key epochs in the person&’s career Study questions and essay topics A review test Suggestions for further reading Whether you&’re a student of history or just a student cramming for a history exam, SparkNotes Biography guides are a reliable, thorough, and readable resource.
J. S. Bach (Dover Books on Music #1)
by Albert Schweitzer Ernest Newman C. M. WidorA fantastic little book about Bach and the musical climate before and during his life, with a look at his continuing influence in music. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.
J. S. Bach: A Life In Music
by Peter WilliamsA fresh approach to the life and music of Johann Sebastian Bach.
J. S. Bach: Volume 2
by Albert Schweitzer Ernest Newman C. M. WidorThis is the second volume of Schweitzer's classic book about J. S. Bach. It covers Schweitzer's revolutionary (for its time) idea that Bach used a musical lexicon to relate words in the score with themes in the music for the Cantatas and most of his other music. It also presents much more detail than Vol. 1 does on the proper way to play Bach's music. The level of musical terminology is high, but the insights are profound nevertheless. It also includes the index for both volumes as well as a list of Bach's music as known at that time (1911).
J. Wendell Macleod
by Louis HorlickMacleod was an ardent believer in the social principles of health care. His early awareness of the economic chasm that separated rich from poor provided the focal point of his career as first dean of medicine at the University of Saskatchewan - he taught that understanding the social, economic, and political world in which people lived was critical to good medical education and practice and made it the core of the curriculum.
J.L. Austin on Language
by Brian GarveyLooking at the work of J. L. Austin, who subjected language to a close and intense analysis, this book deals with his examination of the various things we do with words, and with the philosophical insights he believed could be gained by closely examining the uses of words by non-philosophers.