- Table View
- List View
Secret Lives of the First Ladies: What Your Teachers Never Told You About the Women of the White House
by Cormac O'BrienFrom the author of our popular Secret Lives of the U. S. Presidents comes another rambunctious look at White House history and this time, women are in the spotlight. Secrets Lives of the First Ladies features outrageous and uncensored profiles of all the presidents' wives. You'll discover that Dolley Madison loved to chew tobacco. Mary Todd Lincoln was committed to an asylum, and Mamie Eisenhower never missed an episode of As the World Turns. You'll also learn why Hillary Clinton went to work for Wal-Mart (long before she started campaigning for a higher minimum wage). Complete with biographies of every first lady, Secret Lives of the First Ladies tackles rough questions that other history books are afraid to ask: How many of these women owned slaves? Which ones were cheating on their husbands? And why did Eleanor Roosevelt serve hot dogs to the Kings and Queens of England? American history was never this much fun!
Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents: What Your Teachers Never Told You About the Men of the White House
by Cormac O'BrienYour high school history teachers never gave you a book like this one! Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents features outrageous and uncensored profiles of the men in the White House - complete with hundreds of little-known, politically incorrect, and downright wacko facts. You'll discover that: - George Washington spent a whopping 7% of his salary on booze - John Quincy Adams loved to skinny-dip in the Potomac River - Warren G. Harding gambled with White House china when he ran low on cash - Jimmy Carter reported a UFO sighting in Georgia - And Richard Nixon ... sheesh, don't get us started on Nixon! With chapters on everyone from George Washington to G. W. Bush, Secret Lives of the U. S. Presidents tackles all the tough questions that other history books are afraid to answer: Are there really secret tunnels underneath the White House? How many presidential daughters have bared their all for Playboy? And what was Nancy Reagan thinking when she appeared on Diff'rent Strokes? American history was never this much fun in school!
Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents: Strange Stories and Shocking Trivia from Inside the White House (Secret Lives #1)
by Cormac O'BrienIncludes all-new chapter for the 45th POTUS.This updated and redesigned edition of Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents features outrageous and uncensored profiles of our commanders in chief—complete with hundreds of little-known, politically incorrect, and downright wacko facts. You’ll discover that: • Teddy Roosevelt was blinded in a White House boxing match • John Quincy Adams loved to skinny-dip in the Potomac River • Gerald Ford once worked as a Cosmopolitan magazine cover model • Warren G. Harding gambled with White House china when he ran low on cash • Jimmy Carter reported a UFO sighting in Georgia With chapters on everyone from George Washington to President #45, whoever he (or she!) may be, Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents tackles all the tough questions that other history books are afraid to ask: Which president claimed that God struck down Abraham Lincoln on purpose? How many of these folks were cheating on their spouses? And are there really secret tunnels underneath the White House? American history was never this much fun in school!
First in Peace: How George Washington Set the Course for America
by O'Brien Conor CruiseJust before he died after a long and distinguished international career as a politician, commentator, and author, Conor Cruise O’Brien completed a study of George Washington’s presidency. Cruise O’Brien has been described as "a man who so persistently asks the right questions” (The Economist), and in this, his last book, he explores the question of how early America’s future was determined. First in Peace considers the dissension between Washington and Jefferson during the first U. S. presidency, and reveals Washington’s clear-sighted political wisdom while exposing Jefferson’s dangerous ideology. Cruise O’Brien makes the case that Washington, not Jefferson, was the true democrat, and commends his clarity of vision in restoring good relations with Britain, his preference for order and pragmatism, and his aversion to French political extremism.
Buffalo for the Broken Heart: Restoring Life to a Black Hills Ranch
by Dan O'BrienFor twenty years, Dan O'Brien battled drought, overgrazed pastures, and falling cattle prices as he struggled to maintain his cattle ranch, The Broken Heart, nestled at the foot of South Dakota's Black Hills. Having to take stints as an endangered species biologist, English teacher, and handyman to help pay off his accumulating debts, he questioned the logic of this losing enterprise, but never lost his fierce love of the Great Plains. So when a neighboring buffalo rancher invites him to lend a hand at the annual buffalo roundup, O'Brien comes face to face with these mammoth, impressive creatures, and the seeds are planted for converting his own ranch from cattle to buffalo. Starting with thirteen calves, "short-necked, golden balls of wool," O'Brien embarks on a journey that returns buffalo to his land for the first time in more than a century and a half. In BUFFALO FOR THE BROKEN HEART, Dan O'Brien, a writer possessed of "a keen and poetic eye" (The New York Times Book Review), ranges freely under the big western sky, bringing the Great Plains to life in clear and vibrant prose. Whether he's describing the grazing pattern of the buffalo (moving quickly from one pasture to another, thereby maintaining the diversity of the grasses), the ancient thrill of watching a falcon hone in on its prey, or the comical spectacle of a buffalo bull wallowing in the mud, O'Brien brings together a novelist's eye for detail with an ecologist's understanding to create an entertaining and enriching narrative. At once a heartfelt account of his struggles at the Broken Heart, a short history of the buffalo and its near extinction, and an engaging lesson in wildlife ecology,BUFFALO FOR THE BROKEN HEART illustrates the power of a dream and how life becomes infinitely richer when we dare to follow one. This is Dan O'Brien's greatest achievement to date, placing him firmly in the canon of other great writers on nature such as Annie Dillard and Peter Matthiessen.
Buffalo for the Broken Heart
by Dan O'BrienFor twenty years Dan O'Brien struggled to make ends meet on his cattle ranch in South Dakota. But when a neighbor invited him to lend a hand at the annual buffalo roundup, O'Brien was inspired to convert his own ranch, the Broken Heart, to buffalo. Starting with thirteen calves, "short-necked, golden balls of wool," O'Brien embarked on a journey that returned buffalo to his land for the first time in more than a century and a half.Buffalo for the Broken Heart is at once a tender account of the buffaloes' first seasons on the ranch and an engaging lesson in wildlife ecology. Whether he's describing the grazing pattern of the buffalo, the thrill of watching a falcon home in on its prey, or the comical spectacle of a buffalo bull wallowing in the mud, O'Brien combines a novelist's eye for detail with a naturalist's understanding to create an enriching, entertaining narrative.From the Trade Paperback edition.
Buffalo for the Broken Heart: Restoring LIfe to a Black Hills Ranch
by Dan O'BrienFor twenty years Dan O'Brien struggled to make ends meet on his cattle ranch in South Dakota. But when a neighbor invited him to lend a hand at the annual buffalo roundup, O'Brien was inspired to convert his own ranch, the Broken Heart, to buffalo. Starting with thirteen calves, "short-necked, golden balls of wool," O'Brien embarked on a journey that returned buffalo to his land for the first time in more than a century and a half. Buffalo for the Broken Heart is at once a tender account of the buffaloes' first seasons on the ranch and an engaging lesson in wildlife ecology. Whether he's describing the grazing pattern of the buffalo, the thrill of watching a falcon home in on its prey, or the comical spectacle of a buffalo bull wallowing in the mud, O'Brien combines a novelist's eye for detail with a naturalist's understanding to create an enriching, entertaining narrative.
Wild Idea: Buffalo and Family in a Difficult Land
by Dan O'BrienFor more than forty years the prairies of South Dakota have been Dan O’Brien’s home. Working as a writer and an endangered-species biologist, he became convinced that returning grass-fed, free-roaming buffalo to the grasslands of the northern plains would return natural balance to the region and reestablish the undulating prairie lost through poor land management and overzealous farming. In 1998 he bought his first buffalo and began the task of converting a little cattle ranch into an ethically run buffalo ranch. Wild Idea is a book about how good food choices can influence federal policies and the integrity of our food system, and about the dignity and strength of a legendary American animal. It is also a book about people: the daughter coming to womanhood in a hard landscape, the friend and ranch hand who suffers great tragedy, the venture capitalist who sees hope and opportunity in a struggling buffalo business, and the husband and wife behind the ranch who struggle daily, wondering if what they are doing will ever be enough to make a difference. At its center, Wild Idea is about a family and the people and animals that surround them—all trying to build a healthy life in a big, beautiful, and sometimes dangerous land.
American Murder: Three True Crime Classics
by Darcy O'BrienThree “riveting” accounts of horrific crimes and the twisted minds behind them by an Edgar Award–winning author (Publishers Weekly). A father’s ultimate betrayal, a savage killing spree that terrorized Los Angeles, and the brutal slaying of a rich man’s college-aged daughter. In this heart-stopping true crime collection, New York Times–bestselling author Darcy O’Brien uncovers the dark underside of the American dream. Murder in Little Egypt: Dr. John Dale Cavaness selflessly attended to the needs of his small, southern Illinois community. But when Cavaness was charged with the murder of his son Sean in December 1984, a radically different portrait of the physician and surgeon emerged. Throughout the three decades he had basked in the admiration and respect of the people of Little Egypt, Cavaness was privately terrorizing his family, abusing his employees, and making disastrous financial investments. In this New York Times bestseller, as more and more grisly details come to light, so too does rural America’s heritage of blood and violence become clear. The Hillside Stranglers: For weeks, the body count of sexually violated, brutally murdered young women escalated. With increasing alarm, Los Angeles newspapers headlined the deeds of a serial killer they named the Hillside Strangler. But not until January 1979, more than a year later, would the mysterious disappearance of two university students near Seattle lead police to the arrest of a security guard—the handsome, charming, fast-talking Kenny Bianchi—and the discovery that the strangler was not one man but two. The Hillside Stranglers is the disturbing portrait of a city held hostage by fear and a pair of psychopaths whose lust was as insatiable as their hate. A Dark and Bloody Ground: On a sweltering evening in August 1985, three men breached Roscoe Acker’s alarm and security systems, stabbed his daughter to death, and made off with over $1.9 million in cash. The killers were part of a hillbilly gang led by Sherry Sheets Hodge, a former prison guard, and her husband, lifetime criminal Benny Hodge. The stolen money came in handy shortly afterward, when they used it to lure Kentucky’s most flamboyant lawyer, Lester Burns, into representing them. “The smell of wet, coal-laden earth, white lightning, and cocaine-driven sweat rises from these marvelously atmospheric—and compelling—pages” (Kirkus Reviews).
A Dark and Bloody Ground: A True Story of Lust, Greed, and Murder in the Bluegrass State
by Darcy O'BrienAn Edgar Award–winning author&’s true crime account of a grisly string of killings in Kentucky—and the shocking spectacle of greed that followed. Kentucky never deserved its Indian appellation &“A Dark and Bloody Ground&” more than when a small-town physician, seventy-seven-year-old Roscoe Acker, called in an emergency on a sweltering evening in August 1985. Acker&’s own life hung in the balance, but it was already too late for his college-age daughter, Tammy, savagely stabbed eleven times and pinned by a kitchen knife to her bedroom floor. Three men had breached Dr. Acker&’s alarm and security systems and made off with the fortune he had stashed away over his lifetime. The killers—part of a three-man, two-woman gang of the sort not seen since the Barkers—stopped counting the moldy bills when they reached $1.9 million. The cash came in handy soon after when they were caught and needed to lure Kentucky&’s most flamboyant lawyer, the celebrated and corrupt Lester Burns, into representing them. Full of colorful characters and desperate deeds, A Dark and Bloody Ground is a &“first-rate&” true crime chronicle from the author of Murder in Little Egypt (Kirkus Reviews). &“An arresting look into the troubled psyches of these criminals and into the depressed Kentucky economy that became fertile territory for narcotics dealers, theft rings and bootleggers.&” —Publishers Weekly &“The smell of wet, coal-laden earth, white lightning, and cocaine-driven sweat arises from these marvelously atmospheric—and compelling—pages.&” —Kirkus Reviews &“A fascinating portrait of the mountain way of life and thought that forged the lives of these criminals.&” —Library Journal
The Hidden Pope: The Untold Story of a Lifelong Friendship That Changed the Relationship Between Catholics and Jews (Inspirational Ser.)
by Darcy O'BrienFrom a PEN/Hemingway Award–winning author: The true story of Pope John Paul II, his Jewish childhood friend, and a milestone in religious history. In October 1978, Karol Wojtyla, Polish Archbishop of Krakow, became Pope John Paul II, the first non-Italian pontiff in 455 years. He had a mission to improve the Catholic Church&’s relations with Judaism, Islam, and the Anglican Communion. Only days after the election, he granted Jerzy Kluger, a virtually unknown Jewish businessman, the privilege of first audience at the Vatican. Jerzy was overwhelmed, but not surprised. When they were children, Karol and Jerzy were best friends, known then as Lolek and Jurek. For the pope, this union of Catholic and Jewish faiths was a profound symbol of things to come. It was also a personal gesture that reflected a remarkable bond between the two men. The Hidden Pope is the story of that relationship, from their simple boyhood in the small town of Wadowice in southern Poland to their separation at the beginning of World War II and their survival under Nazi occupation and Soviet tyranny. The reunion almost thirty years later—after Jerzy lost his family in the Holocaust and spent years in Stalinist labor camps—would not only deepen a friendship, but also afford Jerzy a unique perspective on papal intrigue and policies when he was eventually appointed diplomat between the Vatican and Israel. Set against the landmark events of the twentieth century, and the monumental reconciliation between Christianity and Judaism, this singular portrait of John Paul II reveals him as only one of his closest friends can. Readers will come to know the Holy Father as a man, to understand his controversial ideas as expressions of his life experiences, and to discover the genesis of an enduring friendship that would impact the world. The Hidden Pope is &“a fascinating personal tale played out against the great moments of modern European history. . . . Anyone intrigued by the often surprising confluences of history, politics and religion will relish this impressive study in faith, friendship and mutual respect&” (Publishers Weekly).
The Hillside Stranglers: The Inside Story of the Killing Spree That Terrorized Los Angeles
by Darcy O'BrienThe riveting true crime account of the Hillside Stranglers and the horrific serial killings they unleashed on 1970s Los Angeles. For weeks that fall, the body count of sexually violated, brutally murdered young women escalated. With increasing alarm, Los Angeles newspapers headlined the deeds of a serial killer they named the Hillside Strangler. The city was held hostage by fear. But not until January 1979, more than a year later, would the mysterious disappearance of two university students near Seattle lead police to the arrest of a security guard—the handsome, charming, fast-talking Kenny Bianchi—and the discovery that the strangler was not one man but two. Compellingly, O&’Brien explores the symbiotic relationship between Bianchi and his cousin Angelo Buono, their lust for women as insatiable as their hate, before examining the crimes they remorselessly perpetrated and the lives of the unsuspecting victims they claimed. Equally riveting is O&’Brien&’s account of the trial—one of the longest and most controversial criminal court cases in American history—with the defense team parading, one after another, expert witnesses who had been effectively duped by Bianchi&’s impersonation of a man suffering multiple personality disorder. It&’s one way a man might contrive to get away with murder. Like Truman Capote in In Cold Blood and Norman Mailer in The Executioner&’s Song, Darcy O&’Brien weds the narrative skill of an award-winning novelist with the detailed observations of an experienced investigator to unravel this chilling true-crime story.
The Hillside Stranglers: The Inside Story of the Killing Spree That Terrorized Los Angeles
by Darcy O'BrienThe riveting true crime account of the Hillside Stranglers and the horrific serial killings they unleashed on 1970s Los Angeles. For weeks that fall, the body count of sexually violated, brutally murdered young women escalated. With increasing alarm, Los Angeles newspapers headlined the deeds of a serial killer they named the Hillside Strangler. The city was held hostage by fear. But not until January 1979, more than a year later, would the mysterious disappearance of two university students near Seattle lead police to the arrest of a security guard—the handsome, charming, fast-talking Kenny Bianchi—and the discovery that the strangler was not one man but two. Compellingly, O&’Brien explores the symbiotic relationship between Bianchi and his cousin Angelo Buono, their lust for women as insatiable as their hate, before examining the crimes they remorselessly perpetrated and the lives of the unsuspecting victims they claimed. Equally riveting is O&’Brien&’s account of the trial—one of the longest and most controversial criminal court cases in American history—with the defense team parading, one after another, expert witnesses who had been effectively duped by Bianchi&’s impersonation of a man suffering multiple personality disorder. It&’s one way a man might contrive to get away with murder. Like Truman Capote in In Cold Blood and Norman Mailer in The Executioner&’s Song, Darcy O&’Brien weds the narrative skill of an award-winning novelist with the detailed observations of an experienced investigator to unravel this chilling true-crime story.
Murder in Little Egypt
by Darcy O'BrienNew York Times Bestseller: The &“fascinating&” true story of John Dale Cavaness, a much-admired Illinois doctor—and the cold-blooded killer of his own son (The Washington Post). Fusing the narrative power of an award-winning novelist and the detailed research of an experienced investigator, author Darcy O&’Brien unfolds the story of Dr. John Dale Cavaness, the southern Illinois physician and surgeon charged with the murder of his son Sean in December 1984. Outraged by the arrest of the skilled medical practitioner who selflessly attended to their needs, the people of Little Egypt, as the natives call their region, rose to his defense. But during the subsequent trial, a radically different, disquieting portrait of Dr. Cavaness would emerge. Throughout the three decades that he enjoyed the admiration and respect of his community, Cavaness was privately terrorizing his family, abusing his employees, and making disastrous financial investments. As more and more grisly details of the Cavaness case come to stark Midwestern light in O&’Brien&’s chilling account, so too does the hidden gothic underside of rural America and its heritage of violence and blood. &“A meticulous account . . . An implicit indictment of a culture that condones and encourages violent behavior in men.&” —The New York Times Book Review &“A fascinating story, and Darcy O&’Brien does a great job of structuring it for suspense.&” —The Washington Post &“Riveting.&”—Publishers Weekly &“A terrifying story of family violence and the community that honored the perpetrator.&” —Kirkus Reviews &“Stunning material . . . Handled with justice and fastidiousness by a natural storyteller.&” —Seamus Heaney, winner of the Nobel Prize
Byron in Love: A Short Daring Life
by Edna O'Brien"How long it's taken for these two mad, bad and dangerous writers to get together!"--Alan Cheuse, San Francisco Chronicle Acclaimed biographer of James Joyce, Edna O'Brien has written a "jaunty" (The New Yorker) biography that suits her fiery and charismatic subject. She follows Byron from the dissipations of Regency London to the wilds of Albania and the Socratic pleasures of Greece and Turkey, culminating in his meteoric rise to fame at the age of twenty-four. With "a novelist's understanding of tempo and characterization" (Miami Herald), O'Brien captures the spirit of the man and creates an indelible portrait that explodes the Romantic myth. Byron, as brilliantly rendered by O'Brien, is the poet as rebel, imaginative and lawless, and defiantly immortal.
Byron In Love
by Edna O'Brien'Edna O'Brien has always had a gift for writing about affairs of the heart' Guardian'Her boldly coloured portrait rewrites his life with all the brio and elan for which her novels are renowned' The Herald 'Hugely enjoyable' Daily TelegraphBYRON IN LOVE - the nobility, arrogance and sheer theatre of Byron's life.Byron, more than any other poet, has come to personify the poet as rebel, imaginative and lawless, reaching beyond race, creed or frontier, his gigantic flaws redeemed by a magnetism and ultimately a heroism that by ending in tragedy raised it and him from the particular to the universal.Everything about Lord George Gordon Byron was a paradox - insider and outsider, beautiful and deformed, serious and facetious, profligate but on occasion miserly, and possessed of a fierce intelligence trapped forever in a child's magic and malices. He was also a great poet, but as he reminded us, poetry is a distinct faculty and has little to do with the individual life of its creator. Edna O'Brien's exemplary biography focuses upon the diverse and colourful women in Byron's life.'O'Brien charts the many loves of the notorious 19th-century poet's reckless life in immediate and candid prose' Sunday Telegraph'A beguiling blend of sympathy, humour and, of course, her signature lilting style . . . a delightful, though poignant, account' Main on Sunday 'There is much to enjoy in this idiosyncratic and highly readable account of the poet whose writing enthralled and whose actions appalled in equal measure' Independent
Country Girl: A Memoir
by Edna O'BrienThe courageous and poetic narrative of a great fiction writer's life, seen from the vantage point of eight decades.In 1960, Edna O'Brien published The Country Girls, her first novel, which so scandalized the O'Briens' local parish that the book was burned by its priest. O'Brien, married with two sons, was undeterred and has since created a body of work that bears comparison with the best writing of the twentieth century. Country Girl brings us face to face with a life of high drama and contemplation. It is a rich and heady accounting of the events, people, emotions, and landscape that imprint upon and enliven one lifetime.Starting with O'Brien's birth in a grand but deteriorating house in Ireland, her story moves through convent school to elopement, divorce, single-motherhood, the wild parties of the '60s in London, and encounters with Hollywood giants, pop stars, and literary titans. There is love and unrequited love, and the glamour of trips to America as an acclaimed writer hosted by Jackie Onassis and Hillary Clinton. Brilliant and sensuous, Country Girl is a book we are fortunate that Edna O'Brien decided to write.
James and Nora
by Edna O'BrienIt was June 10th, Barnacle Day. He saw her in Nassau Street and they stopped to talk. She thought his blue eyes were those of a Norseman. He was twenty-two, and she, Nora Barnacle, was twenty and employed as a chambermaid in Finn's Hotel. They agreed to meet on June 14th, outside No. 1 Merrion Square, the home of Sir William Wilde, but Nora did not turn up. After a dejected letter from Joyce they met on June 16th, a date which came to be immortalized in literature as Bloomsday.Edna O'Brien paints a miniature portrait of an artist, idealist, insurgent and filled with a secret loneliness. In Nora, he was to find accomplice, collaborator and muse. For all their sexual escalations, Joyce considered their relationship 'a kind of sacrament'. Their life was one of wandering, emotional upheaval and poverty. It was also one that was binding and mysterious, and defied all the mores of intimacy.In prose brimming with life and energy, Edna O'Brien resurrects a relationship of magnificent intensity on the page, and in doing so shows herself to be touched by the genius of the writer she loves above all others.
James Joyce
by Edna O'Brien'As skilful, stylish and pacy as one would expect from so adept a novelist' Sunday TelegraphEdna O'Brien depicts James Joyce as a man hammered by Church, State and family, yet from such adversities he wrote works 'to bestir the hearts of men and angels'. The journey begins with Joyce the arrogant youth, his lofty courtship of Nora Barnacle, their hectic sexuality, children, wanderings, debt and profligacy, and Joyce's obsession with the city of Dublin, which he would re-render through his words. Nor does Edna O'Brien spare us the anger and isolation of Joyce's later years, when he felt that the world had turned its back on him, and she asks how could it be otherwise for a man who knew that conflict is the source of all creation.'A delight from start to finish . . . achieves the near impossibility of giving a thoroughly fresh view of Joyce' Sunday Times'Accessible and passionate, it is a book which should bring Joyce in all his glory and agony to a new and very wide audience' Irish Independent
Madre Irlanda
by Edna O'BrienEl retrato de una vida y un país, por «la escritora de lengua inglesa con más talento de nuestros días» (Philip Roth); «simplemente, una de las mejores de nuestro tiempo» (John Banville) «Edna O’Brien escribe las historias más bellas. Ningún escritor puede compararse a ella, en ningún lugar.»Alice Munro Irish Pen Award * American National Arts Gold Medal * Ulysses Medal * Bob Hughes Award * Prix Spécial Femina Étranger * David Cohen Prize * PEN/Nabokov Award Irlanda siempre ha sido mujer, útero, cueva, vaca, Rosaleen, marrana, novia, ramera... La multipremiada autora de Las chicas de campo entreteje su autobiografía —su infancia en el condado de Clare, los días en la escuela de monjas, su primer beso o su huida a Inglaterra— con la esencia de Irlanda, una tierra de mitos,poesía, supersticiones, costumbres ancestrales, sabiduría popular y extrema belleza. Madre Irlanda es, según The Guardian, «Edna O’Brien en su máximo esplendor. Un relato evocador y elegante de un entorno natural y de quienes lo habitan, lleno de audacia e ingenio». La crítica ha dicho...«O'Brien levantó la viga de su poderosa escritura aprovechando su relación de amor/odio con su país, Irlanda. Denostada, prohibida y, hoy, celebrada, ahora publica sus memorias inflamables. [...] Uno de sus libros más celebrados: un texto intenso en el que entrelaza su biografía desobediente con la evocación de una tierra de mitos, poesía, supersticiones, costumbres ancestrales, sabiduría popular y extrema belleza. Su país.»Antonio Lucas, El Mundo «Edna O’Brien mueve montañas tanto líricas como políticas a través de su escritura.»Jurado del Premio David Cohen «No he conocido a nadie que viva, escriba, piense, provoque, se atreva, se emocione y crezca como Edna.»Richard Ford, The Irish Times «Ligando su historia personal con la de Irlanda, O’Brien trenza con gracia las costumbres locales y antiguas tradiciones con los fascinantes eventos y personajes que poblaron su juventud. [...] Una narración colorida y atempora.»The Sunday Times «Una de las primeras mujeres que mostró la verdadera Irlanda: política, social, sexual y espiritualmente.»Liadan Hynes, The Independent «Su ficción no representa una mera conmemoración de la pérdida de valores pasados, ni una vuelta a la nostalgia como estrategia estética, sino la celebración de una nueva Irlanda y de la mujer en la Irlanda del siglo veintiuno, ahondando en una representación sociológica de este nuevo país.»Asier Altuna-García de Salazar, RIULL «Su genialidad procede del dolor mismo de la memoria.»John Berger «La escritora de lengua inglesa con más talento de nuestros días.»Philip Roth «Simplemente, una de las mejores escritoras de nuestro tiempo.»John Banville «Irlanda es su paisaje y, [...] a pesar de ser la fuente de buena parte de su material, ha sido dura con ella, salvaje.»Eileen Battersby, The Irish Times «Edna O'Brien en su máximo esplendor. Un relato evocador y elegante de un entorno natural y de quienes lo habitan, lleno de audacia e ingenio.»William Trevor, The Guardian «Una maestra de la palabra y una confesora seductora y sincera de sus sueños, anhelos y pecados. [...] Una joya: éxtasis, remordimiento, humor y una escritura bellísima.»Paul Baumann, Commonweal «La literatura de Edna O'Brien está atravesada por una forma piadosa de rencor. [...] O'Brien cierra heridas, pero no hiere.»Ricardo Martínez Llorca, Revista de Letras «Ningún autor inglés es tan bueno poniendo al lector en la piel de una mujer.»Evening Standard «Edna O'Brien ha a
Mother Ireland: A Memoir
by Edna O'Brien"Countries are either mothers or fathers... Ireland has always been a woman, a womb, a cave, a cow, a Rosaleen, a sow, a bride, a harlot, and, of course, the gaunt Hag of Beare." In her first work of nonfiction, Edna O'Brien finds the pulsing heart of Ireland as cannily as in her fiction she probes the recesses of the human soul. "Irish? In truth I would not want to be anything else," she writes. "It is a state of mind as well as an actual country... Ireland for me is moments of its history, and its geography, a few people who embody its strange quality, the features of a face, a holler, a line from a Synge play, the whiff of night air--"but Ireland, insubstantial like the goddesses poets dream of, who lead them down into strange circles. I live out of Ireland because something in me warns that I might stop if I lived there, that I might cease to feel what it has meant to have such a heritage, might grow placid, when in fact I want yet again and for indefinable reasons to trace that same route, that trenchant childhood route, in the hope of finding some clue that will or would or could make possible the leap that would restore one to one's original place and state of consciousness, to the radical innocence of the moment just before birth." It is that trenchant childhood route that Edna O'Brien traces as she journeys through an Irish landscape; the tracing is at once autobiographical and mythological, physical and imaginative. Fergus Bourke's magnificent photographs, taken especially for Mother Ireland, provide graphic commentary as Edna O'Brien evokes Ireland's rich and tragic past. Here is a portrait of rural Ireland. Its essential poetry, beauty, humor, strangeness, simplicity, contradiction, superstition, and fear linger in the reader long after the book is closed.
Battling For Saipan
by Francis A. O'BrienWhen Lt. Gen. Holland M. "Howlin' Mad" Smith and his V Amphibious Corps were preparing for the invasion of the Marianas -- Guam, Tinian, and Saipan -- they were expecting an easy fight. The Japanese appeared to be on the run. As D day for Saipan, the first of the three islands scheduled for conquest, loomed, V Corps operational planners felt safe in allocating a single division to serve as reserve for all three invasions. The initial landings of the 2d and 4th Marine Divisions ran into fierce opposition, however, forcing General Smith to commit the army's 27th Infantry Division (the entire corps's reserve starting) that first night. Among the soldiers landing on Saipan was Lt. Col. William O'Brien. The exploits of O'Brien and his battalion were amazing, including the award of the Medal of Honor to battalion commander O'Brien.
The Difficulty of Being (Neversink)
by Geoffrey O'Brien Jean Cocteau Elizabeth SpriggeReflections on life and art from the legendary filmmaker-novelist-poet-genius. By the time he published The Difficulty of Being in 1947, Jean Cocteau had produced some of the most respected films and literature of the twentieth century, and had worked with the foremost artists of his time, including Proust, Gide, Picasso and Stravinsky. This memoir tells the inside account of those achievements and of his glittering social circle. Cocteau writes about his childhood, about his development as an artist, and the peculiarity of the artist's life, about his dreams, friendships, pain, and laughter. He probes his motivations and explains his philosophies, giving intimate details in soaring prose. And sprinkled throughout are anecdotes about the elite and historic people he associated with. Beyond illuminating a truly remarkable life, The Difficulty of Being is an inspiring homage to the belief that art matters.From the Trade Paperback edition.
On Pluto: Inside the Mind of Alzheimer's
by Greg O'Brien Lisa GenovaThis is a book about living with Alzheimer’s, not dying with it. It is a book about hope, faith, and humor—a prescription far more powerful than the conventional medication available today to fight this disease. Alzheimer’s is the sixth leading cause of death in the US—and the only one of these diseases on the rise. More than 5 million Americans have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or a related dementia; about 35 million people worldwide. Greg O’Brien, an award-winning investigative reporter, has been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's and is one of those faceless numbers. Acting on long-term memory and skill coupled with well-developed journalistic grit, O’Brien decided to tackle the disease and his imminent decline by writing frankly about the journey. O’Brien is a master storyteller. His story is naked, wrenching, and soul searching for a generation and their loved ones about to cross the threshold of this death in slow motion. On Pluto: Inside the Mind of Alzheimer’s is a trail-blazing roadmap for a generation—both a “how to” for fighting a disease, and a “how not” to give up!
Jack in the Box: or, How to Goddamn Direct
by Jack O'BrienThe Tony Award–winning director gathers memories of people, productions, and problems surmounted from his fifty-year career in this one-of-a-kind how-to handbook.What do directors do? Jack O’Brien, the winner of Tony and Drama Desk Awards and the former artistic director of San Diego’s historic Old Globe theatre, describes it like this: “You stand before a situation in which something is presented to you. You’re afforded a challenge. Like catching an enormous ball. And you respond. You come up with a vision of some kind. That is, if you respond to the material at all, and one must, or it’s doomed. You sort of feel that since you relate to the material at hand, you might as well try to be helpful.”In Jack in the Box, O’Brien’s follow-up to his memoir Jack Be Nimble, the director collects stories from the many productions he has worked on, the great talents he encountered and collaborated with (including Tom Stoppard, Mike Nichols, Jerry Lewis, Marsha Mason, and many others), and the choices he made, on the stage and off, that have come to define his career. With humor, warmth, and contagious excitement, O’Brien takes the reader by the shoulder, pulls them in, and tells them how to become a director—or, at the very least, relates an unfailingly honest story of how he did.