- Table View
- List View
The Age of Entanglement: When Quantum Physics Was Reborn
by Louisa GilderAuthor Gilder provides an unusual treatment of a complex topic--quantum physics--by exploring how the passions and personalities of the physicists themselves affected the development of this field of study. The author presents the human aspect of the story by using the physicists own words in imaginary face-to-face dialogues. The varied list of luminaries cited in the book include Bohr, Einstein, Schrödinger, Heisenberg, and Feynman. The result is a readable, conversational book. Most but not all of the illustrations are by the author. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc. , Portland, OR (booknews. com)
The Age of Eisenhower: America and the World in the 1950s
by William I Hitchcock“A page-turner masterpiece.” – Jim LehrerIn a 2017 survey, presidential historians ranked Dwight D. Eisenhower fifth on the list of great presidents, behind the perennial top four: Lincoln, Washington, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Teddy Roosevelt. Historian William Hitchcock shows that this high ranking is justified. Eisenhower’s accomplishments were enormous, and loom ever larger from the vantage point of our own tumultuous times. A former general, Ike kept the peace: he ended the Korean War, avoided a war in Vietnam, adroitly managed a potential confrontation with China, and soothed relations with the Soviet Union after Stalin’s death. He guided the Republican Party to embrace central aspects of the New Deal like Social Security. He thwarted the demagoguery of McCarthy and he advanced the agenda of civil rights for African Americans. As part of his strategy to wage, and win, the Cold War, Eisenhower expanded American military power, built a fearsome nuclear arsenal and launched the space race. In his famous Farewell Address, he acknowledged that Americans needed such weapons in order to keep global peace—but he also admonished his citizens to remain alert to the potentially harmful influence of the “military-industrial complex.” From 1953 to 1961, no one dominated the world stage as did President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The Age of Eisenhower is the definitive account of this presidency, drawing extensively on declassified material from the Eisenhower Library, the CIA and Defense Department, and troves of unpublished documents. In his masterful account, Hitchcock shows how Ike shaped modern America, and he astutely assesses Eisenhower’s close confidants, from Attorney General Brownell to Secretary of State Dulles. The result is an eye-opening reevaluation that explains why this “do-nothing” president is rightly regarded as one of the best leaders our country has ever had.
The Age of Disenchantments: The Epic Story of Spain's Most Notorious Literary Family and the Long Shadow of the Spanish Civil War
by Aaron ShulmanA gripping narrative history of Spain’s most brilliant and troubled literary family—a tale about the making of art, myth, and legacy—set against the upheaval of the Spanish Civil War and beyondIn this absorbing and atmospheric historical narrative, journalist Aaron Shulman takes us deeply into the circumstances surrounding the Spanish Civil War through the lives, loves, and poetry of the Paneros, Spain’s most compelling and eccentric family, whose lives intersected memorably with many of the most storied figures in the art, literature, and politics of the time—from Neruda to Salvador Dalí, from Ava Gardner to Pablo Picasso to Roberto Bolaño. Weaving memoir with cultural history and biography, and brought together with vivid storytelling and striking images, The Age of Disenchantments sheds new light on the romance and intellectual ferment of the era while revealing the profound and enduring devastation of the war, the Franco dictatorship, and the country’s transition to democracy. A searing tale of love and hatred, art and ambition, and freedom and oppression, The Age of Disenchantments is a chronicle of a family who modeled their lives (and deaths) on the works of art that most inspired and obsessed them and who, in turn, profoundly affected the culture and society around them.
The Age of Caesar: Five Roman Lives
by Plutarch Mary Beard James Romm Pamela MenschA brilliant new translation of five of history’s greatest lives from Plutarch, the inventor of biography. Pompey, Caesar, Cicero, Brutus, Antony: the names resonate across thousands of years. Major figures in the civil wars that brutally ended the Roman republic, their lives still haunt us as examples of how the hunger for personal power can overwhelm collective politics, how the exaltation of the military can corrode civilian authority, and how the best intentions can lead to disastrous consequences. Plutarch renders these history-making lives as flesh-and-blood characters, often by deftly marshalling small details such as the care Brutus exercised in his use of money or the disdain Caesar felt for the lofty eloquence of Cicero. Plutarch was a Greek intellectual who lived roughly one hundred years after the age of Caesar. At home in the world of Roman power, he preferred to live in the past, among the great figures of Greek and Roman history. He intended his biographical profiles to be mirrors of character that readers could use to inspire their own values and behavior—emulating virtues and rejecting flaws. For Plutarch, character was destiny for both the individual and the republic. He was our first master of the biographical form, a major source for Shakespeare and Gibbon. This edition features a new translation by Pamela Mensch that lends a brilliant clarity to Plutarch’s prose. James Romm’s notes guide readers gracefully through the people, places, and events named in the profiles. And Romm’s preface, along with Mary Beard’s introduction, provide the perfect frame for understanding Plutarch and the momentous history he narrates.
The Age of Bowie
by Paul Morley'A handsome six footer with a warm and engaging personality, Davie Jones has all it takes to get to the show business heights including . . . talent.' David Bowie at 17 in May, 1964 writing his own press biography. Respected arts commentator Paul Morley, one of the team who curated the highly successful retrospective exhibition for the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, David Bowie Is . . . constructs the definitive story of Bowie that explores how he worked, played, aged, structured his ideas, invented the future and entered history as someone who could and would never be forgotten. Morley will capture the greatest moments of Bowie's career; from the recording studio with the likes of Brian Eno and Tony Visconti; to iconic live performances from the 1970s, 80s and 90s, as well as the various encounters and artistic relationships he developed with rock luminaries John Lennon, Lou Reed and Iggy Pop. And of course, discuss in detail his much-heralded, and critically-acclaimed comeback with the release of Black Star just days before his shocking death in New York. Morley will offer a startling biographical critique of David Bowie's legacy, showing how he never stayed still even when he withdrew from the spotlight, how he always knew his own worth, and released a dazzling plethora of mobile Bowies into the world with a bloody-minded determination and a voluptuous imagination to create something amazing that was not there before.
The Age of Bowie: How David Bowie Made A World Of Difference
by Paul MorleyAuthor and industry insider Paul Morley explores the musical and cultural legacies left behind by "The Man Who Fell to Earth."Respected arts commentator and author Paul Morley, an artistic advisor to the curators of the highly successful retrospective exhibition David Bowie is for the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, constructs a definitive story of Bowie that explores how he worked, played, aged, structured his ideas, influenced others, invented the future, and entered history as someone who could and would never be forgotten. Morley captures the greatest moments from across Bowie's life and career; how young Davie Jones of South London became the international David Bowie; his pioneering collaborations in the recording studio with the likes of Tony Visconti, Mick Ronson, and Brian Eno; to iconic live, film, theatre, and television performances from the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, as well as the various encounters and artistic relationships he developed with musicians from John Lennon, Lou Reed, and Iggy Pop to Trent Reznor and Arcade Fire. And of course, discusses in detail his much-heralded and critically acclaimed finale with the release of Blackstar just days before his shocking death in New York. Morley offers a startling biographical critique of David Bowie's legacy, showing how he never stayed still even when he withdrew from the spotlight, how he always knew his own worth, and released a dazzling plethora of personalities, concepts, and works into the world with a single-minded determination and a voluptuous imagination to create something the likes of which the world had never seen before--and likely will never see again.
The Age of Auden: Postwar Poetry and the American Scene
by Aidan WasleyW. H. Auden's emigration from England to the United States in 1939 marked more than a turning point in his own life and work--it changed the course of American poetry itself. The Age of Auden takes, for the first time, the full measure of Auden's influence on American poetry. Combining a broad survey of Auden's midcentury U.S. cultural presence with an account of his dramatic impact on a wide range of younger American poets--from Allen Ginsberg to Sylvia Plath--the book offers a new history of postwar American poetry. For Auden, facing private crisis and global catastrophe, moving to the United States became, in the famous words of his first American poem, a new "way of happening." But his redefinition of his work had a significance that was felt far beyond the pages of his own books. Aidan Wasley shows how Auden's signal role in the work and lives of an entire younger generation of American poets challenges conventional literary histories that place Auden outside the American poetic tradition. In making his case, Wasley pays special attention to three of Auden's most distinguished American inheritors, presenting major new readings of James Merrill, John Ashbery, and Adrienne Rich. The result is a persuasive and compelling demonstration of a novel claim: In order to understand modern American poetry, we need to understand Auden's central place within it.
The Age of Asa
by Miles TaylorAsa Briggs has been a prominent figure in post-war cultural life - as a pioneering historian, a far-sighted educational reformer, and a sensitive chronicler of the way in which broadcasting and communication more generally have shaped modern society. He has also been a devoted servant of the public good, involved in many inquiries, boards and trusts. Yet few accounts of public life in Britain since the Second World War include a discussion or appreciation of his influential role. This collection of essays provides the first critical assessment of Asa Briggs' career, using fresh research and new perspectives to analyse his contribution and impact on scholarship, the expansion of higher education at home and overseas, and his support and leadership for the arts and media more generally. The online bibliography of Asa Briggs' publications which accompanies the book is available on the The Institute of Historical Research website here.
AGE IS JUST A NUMBER: Achieve Your Dreams at Any Stage in Your Life
by Dara Torres Elizabeth WeilFrom legendary Olympic gold medalist Dara Torres comes a motivational, inspirational memoir about staying fit, aging gracefully, and pursuing your dreams. Dara Torres captured the hearts and minds of Americans of all ages when she launched her Olympic comeback as a new mother at the age of forty-one—years after she had retired from competitive swimming and eight years since her last Olympics. When she took three silver medals in Beijing—including a heartbreaking . 01-second finish behind the gold medalist in the women’s 50-meter freestyle—America loved her all the more for her astonishing achievement and her good-natured acceptance of the results. Now, inAge Is Just a Number,Dara reveals how the dream of an Olympic comeback first came to her—when she was months into her first, hard-won pregnancy. With humor and candor, Dara recounts how she returned to serious training—while nursing her infant daughter and contending with her beloved father’s long battle with cancer. Dara talks frankly about diving back in for this comeback; about being an older athlete in a younger athletes’ game; about competition, doubt, and belief; about working through pain and uncertainty; and finally—about seizing the moment and, most important, never giving up. A truly self-made legend, her story will resonate with women of all ages—and with anyone daring to entertain a seemingly impossible dream.
Age and Guile: Beat Youth, Innocence, and a Bad Haircut
by P. J. O'Rourke<p>Readers may be shocked to discover that America's most provocative (and conservative) satirist, P. J. O'Rourke, was at one time a raving pinko, with scars on his formerly bleeding heart to prove it. In Age and Guile Beat Youth, Innocence, and a Bad Haircut, O'Rourke chronicles the remarkable trajectory that took him from the lighthearted fun of the revolutionary barricades to the serious business of the nineteenth hole. How did the O'Rourke of 1970, who summarized the world of "grown-ups" as "materialism, sexual hang-ups, the Republican party, uncomfortable clothes, engagement rings, car accidents, Pat Boone, competition, patriotism, cheating, lying, ranch houses, and TV" come to be in favor of all of those things? <p>What causes a beatnik-hippie type, comfortable sleeping on dirty mattresses in pot-addled communes—as P. J. did when he was a writer for assorted "underground" papers-to metamorphosize into a right-wing middle-aged grouch? Here, P. J. shows how his Socialist idealism and avant-garde aesthetic tendencies were cured and how he acquired a healthy and commendable interest in national defense, the balanced budget, Porsches, and Cohiba cigars. P. J. O'Rourke's message is that there's hope for all those suffering from acute Bohemianism, or as he puts it, "Pull your pants up, turn your hat around, and get a job."</p>
Agathe's Summer
by Didier PourqueryOne morning in August of 2007, Didier Pourquery’s daughter, Agathe, only a few days away from her twenty-third birthday, stopped breathing. Seven years after her death, her father tells her story, based on his notes taken during the last three weeks of her life. He shares not only his sadness and loss, but also the joy that characterized his relationship with his daughter. At her birth, Agathe’s doctors said the average life expectancy for a child born with cystic fibrosis was twenty-five years. Once he learned his daughter only had a few weeks left to live, Didier Pouquery began writing daily about her last weeks. The notes he took then became the source of this book: a homage that is full of hope and light, even as it boldly highlights deep human frailty and the pain of losing a child. Pourquery alternates between an account of Agathe’s physical condition and a letter addressed to her after her death. We get to know her—and her father—through this lyrical and poignant portrait and ode. Who was this joyful and straight-talking girl? How did she grow up in the shadow of this looming disease? How was she able to help those around her, even as she faced a certain and early death? Although Agathe’s Summer is one father’s testimony to the short life of a child grown into a young woman, it is also the story of the love, hope, fear, and joy that speaks to all parents.
Agatha Christie's Secret Notebooks
by John CurranA fascinating exploration of the contents of Agatha Christie's seventy-three private notebooks, including illustrations and two unpublished Poirot stories When Agatha Christie died in 1976, at age eighty-five, she had become the world's most popular author. With sales of more than two billion copies worldwide, in more than one hundred countries, she had achieved the impossible-more than one book every year since the 1920s, every one a bestseller. So prolific was Agatha Christie's output-sixty-six crime novels, twenty plays, six romance novels under a pseudonym and more than one hundred and fifty short stories-it was often claimed that she had a photographic memory. Was this true? Or did she resort over those fifty-five years to more mundane methods of working out her ingenious crimes? Following the death of Agatha's daughter, Rosalind, at the end of 2004, a remarkable legacy was revealed. Unearthed among her affairs at the family home of Greenway were Agatha Christie's private notebooks, seventy-three handwritten volumes of notes, lists and drafts outlining all her plans for her many books, plays and stories. Buried in this treasure trove, all in her unmistakable handwriting, are revelations about her famous books that will fascinate anyone who has ever read or watched an Agatha Christie story. How did the infamous twist in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd really come about? Which very famous Poirot novel started life as an adventure for Miss Marple? Which books were designed to have completely differ-ent endings, and what were they? What were the plot ideas that she considered but rejected? Full of details she was too modest to reveal in her own autobiography, this remarkable new book includes a wealth of excerpts and pages reproduced directly from the notebooks and her letters, plus, for the first time, two newly discovered complete Hercule Poirot short stories never before published.
Agatha Christie: An Autobiography
by Agatha ChristieChristie began this book in 1950 and finished it 15 years later at age 75. She wrote 68 novels, over 100 short stories, 17 plays, published in 103 languages. This book begins from her early childhood growing up in Victorian era England to living abroad in France and Egypt, returning, marrying Archie Christie, travelling around the world with him, again returning home, meeting Max Malowan, etc. There is a lot about the middle east, various parts of England, France, and other countries. She also talks about how she became a writer and began writing novels as well as outlining when certain books were written and what gave her the ideas for them. It is a fascinating read.
Agatha Christie: An Autobiography
by Agatha ChristieChristie began this book in 1950 and finished it 15 years later at age 75. She wrote 68 novels, over 100 short stories, 17 plays, published in 103 languages. This book begins from her early childhood growing up in Victorian era England to living abroad in France and Egypt, returning, marrying Archie Christie, travelling around the world with him, again returning home, meeting Max Malowan, etc. There is a lot about the middle east, various parts of England, France, and other countries. She also talks about how she became a writer and began writing novels as well as outlining when certain books were written and what gave her the ideas for them. It is a fascinating read.
Agatha Christie: Murder in the Making
by John CurranThis follow-up to the Edgar-nominated Agatha Christie's Secret Notebooks features Christie's unpublished work, including an analysis of her last unfinished novel, and a foreword by the acclaimed actor David Suchet. In this invaluable work, the Agatha Christie expert and archivist John Curran examines the unpublished notebooks of the world's bestselling author to explore the techniques she used to surprise and entertain generations of readers. Also drawing on Christie's personal papers and letters, he reveals how more than twenty of her novels, as well as stage scripts, short stories, and some more personal items, evolved. As he addresses the last notebook, Curran uses his deep knowledge of Christie to offer an insightful, well-reasoned analysis of her final unfinished work, based on her notes. Agatha Christie: Murder in the Making features several wonderful gems, including Christie's own essay on her famous detective, Hercule Poirot, written for a British national newspaper in the 1930s; a previously unseen version of a Miss Marple short story; and a courtroom chapter from her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, which was edited out of the published version in 1920. A must-read for every Christie aficionado, Agatha Christie: Murder in the Making is a fascinating look into the mind and craft of one of the world's most prolific and beloved authors, offering a deeper understanding of her impressive body of work.
Agatha Christie
by Laura ThompsonThe author of the Somerset Maugham award-winning The Dogs: A Personal History of Greyhound Racing, and the brilliant biography Life In A Cold Climate: Nancy Mitford, Laura Thompson turns her highly acclaimed biographical skills to arguably the greatest crime writer in the world, Agatha Christie. 'Laura Thompson's outstanding biography . . . is a pretty much perfect capturing of a life' Kate Mosse, Book of the Year 2007It has been 100 years since Agatha Christie wrote her first novel and created the formidable Hercule Poirot. In this biography, Laura Thompson describes the Edwardian world in which she grew up, explores the relationships she had, including those with her two husbands and daughter, and investigates the mysteries still surrounding Christie's life - including her disappearance in 1926. Agatha Christie is a mystery and writing about her is a detection job in itself. But, with access to all of Christie's letters, papers and writing notebooks, as well as interviews with her grandson, daughter, son-in-law and their living relations, Thompson is able to unravel not only the detailed workings of Christie's detective fiction, but the truth behind her private life as well.Praise for Laura Thompson'Laura Thompson has certainly written the last word on Agatha Christie. Her book is a superb piece of biography' Literary Review'Affectionate, admiring, perceptive and absolutely convincing' Sunday Telegraph'This splendid account of [Christie's] life and work is unlikely to be bettered' Evening Standard'A triumphant success' Daily Mail'This book is a gem: fresh, intelligent and assured' Sunday Times'Laura Thompson is a fine writer . . . and one can't help admire the way she breathes new life into an intriguing tale' London Review of Books'Laura Thompson delivers the goods: a compelling narrative' The Times
Agatha Christie: A Mysterious Life
by Laura ThompsonThe author of the New York Times bestselling The Six now turns her formidable biographical skills to the greatest crime writer in the world, Agatha Christie. It has been one hundred years since Agatha Christie wrote her first novel and created the formidable Hercule Poirot. A brilliant and award winning biographer, Laura Thompson now turns her sharp eye to Agatha Christie. Arguably the greatest crime writer in the world, Christie's books still sell over four million copies each year—more than thirty years after her death—and it shows no signs of slowing. But who was the woman behind these mystifying, yet eternally pleasing, puzzlers? Thompson reveals the Edwardian world in which Christie grew up, explores her relationships, including those with her two husbands and daughter, and investigates the many mysteries still surrounding Christie's life, most notably, her eleven-day disappearance in 1926. Agatha Christie is as mysterious as the stories she penned, and writing about her is a detection job in itself. With unprecedented access to all of Christie's letters, papers, and notebooks, as well as fresh and insightful interviews with her grandson, daughter, son-in-law and their living relations, Thompson is able to unravel not only the detailed workings of Christie's detective fiction, but the truth behind this mysterious woman.
Against Wind and Tide
by Reeve Lindbergh Anne Morrow LindberghWhy, as an eager and talented writer, has Anne Morrow Lindbergh published so relatively little in forty years of marriage?" asked reviewer John Barkham in 1970. "After a promising start with those first books on flying, she tapered off into long silences broken by an infrequent volume of verse or prose." Many years later, Lindbergh replied with a quote from Harriet Beecher Stowe, who claimed that writing, for a wife and mother, is "rowing against wind and tide." In this sixth and final collection of Lindbergh's diaries and letters, taking us from 1947 to 1986, we mark her progress as she navigated a remarkable life and a remarkable century with enthusiasm and delight, humor and wit, sorrow and bewilderment, but above all devoted to finding the essential truth in life's experiences through a hard-won spirituality and a passion for literature. Between the inevitable squalls of life with her beloved but elusive husband, the aviator Charles A. Lindbergh, she shepherded their five children through whooping cough, horned toads, fiancés, the Vietnam War, and their own personal tragedies. She researched and wrote many books and articles on issues ranging from the condition of Europe after World War II to the meaning of marriage to the launch of Apollo 8. She published one of the most beloved books of inspiration of all time, Gift from the Sea. She left penetrating accounts of meetings with such luminaries as John and Jacqueline Kennedy, Thornton Wilder, Enrico Fermi, Leland and Slim Hayward, and the Frank Lloyd Wrights. And she found time to compose extraordinarily insightful and moving letters of consolation to friends and to others whose losses touched her deeply. More than any previous books by or about Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Against Wind and Tide makes us privy to the demons that plagued this fairy-tale bride, and introduces us to some of the people--men as well as women--who provided solace as she braved the tides of time and aging, war and politics, birth and death. Here is an eloquent and often startling collection of writings from one of the most admired women of our time.
Against Wind and Tide
by Reeve Lindbergh Anne Morrow LindberghWhy, as an eager and talented writer, has Anne Morrow Lindbergh published so relatively little in forty years of marriage?" asked reviewer John Barkham in 1970. "After a promising start with those first books on flying, she tapered off into long silences broken by an infrequent volume of verse or prose." Many years later, Lindbergh replied with a quote from Harriet Beecher Stowe, who claimed that writing, for a wife and mother, is "rowing against wind and tide." In this sixth and final collection of Lindbergh's diaries and letters, taking us from 1947 to 1986, we mark her progress as she navigated a remarkable life and a remarkable century with enthusiasm and delight, humor and wit, sorrow and bewilderment, but above all devoted to finding the essential truth in life's experiences through a hard-won spirituality and a passion for literature. Between the inevitable squalls of life with her beloved but elusive husband, the aviator Charles A. Lindbergh, she shepherded their five children through whooping cough, horned toads, fiancés, the Vietnam War, and their own personal tragedies. She researched and wrote many books and articles on issues ranging from the condition of Europe after World War II to the meaning of marriage to the launch of Apollo 8. She published one of the most beloved books of inspiration of all time, Gift from the Sea. She left penetrating accounts of meetings with such luminaries as John and Jacqueline Kennedy, Thornton Wilder, Enrico Fermi, Leland and Slim Hayward, and the Frank Lloyd Wrights. And she found time to compose extraordinarily insightful and moving letters of consolation to friends and to others whose losses touched her deeply. More than any previous books by or about Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Against Wind and Tide makes us privy to the demons that plagued this fairy-tale bride, and introduces us to some of the people--men as well as women--who provided solace as she braved the tides of time and aging, war and politics, birth and death. Here is an eloquent and often startling collection of writings from one of the most admired women of our time.
Against the Wind
by Lee DipietroTo one woman, running was more than a passion--it was a lesson in perseverance. Lee DiPietro discovered the exhilaration of endurance athletics when she ran her first half marathon in her late twenties. From that day forward, she took on every marathon that she could, and despite having to juggle her running with her responsibilities as mother and wife, she quickly established herself as one of the best runners in the United States. Over the next thirty years Lee won race after race, running in everything from local competitions to the three most challenging endurance races: the Boston Marathon, the New York City Marathon, and the Ironman triathlon. What she did not know, as she climbed the ranks of the running world, was the struggle her family would face and the role her running would play in helping her persevere in the face of great adversity. When Lee’s husband was diagnosed with cancer and her son suffered a devastating accident, she found herself falling back on the lessons she had learned as a marathoner to help her endure the sudden family trials. In Against the Wind, DiPietro takes us through her harrowing yearlong fight for the lives of her husband and son. Despite the great difficulties she faced, throughout it all remained her love for running. Against the Wind is a story that will resonate with readers whose lives have been affected by cancer as well as those who are dedicated to endurance sports. It proves that running is a tool to save lives--far from just a sport and test of one's mettle.
Against the Wind
by Geoffrey HouseholdIn this fascinating and uniquely colorful autobiography, a twentieth-century master of suspense fiction candidly examines his extraordinary life, times, and art One of the twentieth century's most respected writers of adventure and espionage thrillers, Geoffrey Household penned more than twenty novels and short story collections in a career that spanned more than fifty years--and lived a life as eventful and surprising as his acclaimed, pulse-pounding fiction. In Against the Wind, the author whom the New York Times credits with having "helped to develop the suspense story into an art form" shares his remarkable personal history with candor and wit, while exploring the creative process and his roles as a husband, father, bestselling popular artist, and citizen of his uniquely eventful time. From his years as a student at the University of Oxford to his early career in the cutthroat world of international business and finance to his patriotic service with British intelligence during World War II, with perilous postings in Greece, Romania, and the Middle East that later informed his thrilling fiction, Household evocatively recalls a peripatetic life lived purposefully and often dangerously in some of the most colorful and fascinating regions of the globe.
Against the Wind: An Autobiography
by Geoffrey HouseholdEver since the publication of ROGUE MALE, Geoffrey Household has been known in the English-reading world for his audacious and unorthodox tales of adventure. Now, in his autobiography, AGAINST THE WIND, he tells us the story of his own life, sharing with us the background and the experiences from which he emerged as a writer. A gradaute from Oxford he then worked as an apprentice-clerk in the Ottoman Bank, as a banana salesman in Spain, and he served in British Intelligence during World War II in Romania, Greece and the Middle East. In the final chapters he speaks of the writer's craft and of his personal aspirations.
Against the Tide: The Story of Watchman Nee
by Angus KinnearThe engrossing, moving biography of one of China's better-known Christians, the dedicated evangelist and gifted Bible teacher Watchman Nee.
Against the Tide: Women Reformers in American Society
by Randall M. Miller Paul A. CimbalaAgainst the Tide is a collection of in-depth biographical essays on the most important women reformers in American history. This reader will be useful in any history course that deals with the important contributions made by women to the development of our government and society from the early republic to today. The volume combines scholarly vitality with readability, making it appropriate for all levels of students.
Against the Protestant Gnostics
by Philip J. LeeSince the discovery of original gnostic documents at Nag Hammadi in 1945, many scholars have recognized a familiar presence within this ancient heresy. To some authors the main features of gnosticism--belief in a secret revelation available only to an initiated elite, rejection of the physical world, and escape into the self--seemed reminiscent of modern cult groups and secular movements. However, Philip Lee, noting that most of the early gnostics were firmly ensconced within the Church, locates modern gnosticism within the Protestant establishment itself. "As a Protestant, I believe I have identified the elusive modern gnostics and they are ourselves," he writes. In this penetrating and provocative assessment of the current state of religion and its effect on values in society at large, Lee criticizes conservatives and liberals alike as he traces gnostic motifs to the very roots of American Protestantism. With references to an extraordinary spectrum of writings from sources as diverse as John Calvin, Martin Buber, Tom Wolfe, Margaret Atwood and Emily Dickinson among many others, he probes the effects of gnostic thinking on issues ranging from politics to feminism, from ecology to parenthood. The ethical ramifications of such a gnostic turn have been negative and frightening, he maintains. The book points to positive ways of restoring health to endangered Protestant churches. Calling for the restoration of a dialectical faith and practice, Lee offers an agenda for reform, including a renewal of obedience to the scriptures and an affirmation of life and creation within the circle of the extended family.