2008, ISBN: 9780195079142

Pasta dura

Macmillan. Good. 6.02 x 0.91 x 9.21 inches. Paperback. 2005. 352 pages. <br>A New York Times Bestselling Author In S Is for S ilence, Kinsey Millhone's nineteenth excursion int… Más…

Macmillan. Good. 6.02 x 0.91 x 9.21 inches. Paperback. 2005. 352 pages. <br>A New York Times Bestselling Author In S Is for S ilence, Kinsey Millhone's nineteenth excursion into the world of suspense and misadventure, S is for surprises as Sue Grafton take s a whole new approach to telling the tale. And S is for superb: Kinsey and Grafton at their best. Simultaneous Publication with G. P. Putnam's Standard Print edition. Editorial Reviews From Publishers Weekly Kinsey Millhone has kept her appeal by being di stinctive and sympathetic without craving center stage. While som e mysteries that provide the PI's shoe size or most despised food create a forced and intrusive intimacy, a master like Grafton ma kes the relationship relaxed and reassuring. Millhone's life is m odest and familiar, though her love life, now featuring police de tective Cheney Phillips, tends to be oddly remote. This 19th entr y (after 2004's R Is for Ricochet) adopts a new convention: Millh one's customary intelligent and occasionally self-deprecating fir st-person reportage is interrupted by vignettes from the days sur rounding the Fourth of July, 34 years earlier, when a hot-blooded young woman named Violet Sullivan disappeared. Violet's daughter , Daisy, who was seven at the time, hires Millhone to discover he r mother's true fate. Violet had toyed with every man in town at one time or another, so there's no shortage of scandalous secrets and possible suspects. Constant revelations concerning several a bsorbing characters allow a terrific tension to build. However, t he utterly illogical and oddly abrupt ending undermines what is o therwise one of the stronger offerings in this iconic series. One million first printing; Literary Guild, BOMC and Mystery Guild m ain selection. (Dec.) Copyright ® Reed Business Information, a d ivision of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text re fers to the hardcover edition. Excerpt. ® Reprinted by permissio n. All rights reserved. 1 LIZA Saturday, July 4, 1953 When Liza Mellincamp thinks about the last time she ever saw Violet Sulliv an, what comes most vividly to mind is the color of Violet's Japa nese silk kimono, a shade of blue that Liza later learned was cal led cerulean, a word that wasn't even in her vocabulary when she was fourteen years old. A dragon was embroidered in satin-stitch across the back, its strange dog-shaped face and arched body pick ed out in lime green and orange. Flames twisted from the dragon's mouth in curling ribbons of blood red. That last night, she'd a rrived at the Sullivans' house at 6:00. Violet was going out at 6 :15 and, as usual, she wasn't dressed and hadn't done her hair. T he front door was open and as Liza approached, Baby, Violet's thr ee-month-old buff-colored Pomeranian, started yapping in a shrill little doggy voice while she pawed at the screen, punching holes here and there. She had tiny black eyes and a black button nose and a small pink bow affixed to her forehead with stickum of some kind. Someone had given Violet the dog less than a month before, and she'd developed a fierce attachment to it, carrying the dog around in a big straw tote. Liza disliked Baby, and twice when Vi olet left the dog behind, Liza put her in the coat closet so she wouldn't have to listen to her bark. She'd gotten the idea from F oley, who disliked the dog even more than she did. Liza knocked on the door frame, a sound barely audible above the dog's yap-yap -yap. Violet called out, Come on in. I'm in the bedroom! Liza op ened the screen door, pushed the dog aside with her foot, and wal ked through the living room to the bedroom Violet and Foley share d. Liza knew for a fact that Foley often ended up sleeping on the couch, especially when he'd been drinking, which he did almost e very day, and even more especially after he'd busted Violet in th e chops and she'd stopped speaking to him for two days or however long it was. Foley hated it when she gave him the silent treatme nt, but by then he'd be sorry he'd slugged her and he wouldn't ha ve the nerve to protest. He told anyone who would listen that she brought it on herself. Anything bad that happened to Foley was s omeone else's fault. Baby pattered into the bedroom behind her, a fluff ball of nervous energy with a party favor of a tail. She was too small to jump up onto the bed, so Liza scooped her up and put her there. Violet's tow-headed daughter, Daisy, was lying on the bed reading the Little Lulu comic Liza had given her the las t time she sat, which was the night before last. Daisy was like a cat-always in the room with you but busy pretending to be doing something else. Liza took a seat on the only chair in the room. E arlier in the day when she'd stopped by, there had been two brown paper bags sitting on the chair. Violet said it was stuff going to the Goodwill, but Liza recognized a couple of Violet's favorit e things and thought it was odd that she'd give away her best clo thes. Now the brown bags were gone and Liza knew better than to m ention them. Violet didn't like questions. What she wanted you to know, she'd tell you outright, and the rest was none of your bus iness. Isn't she adorable? Violet said. She was talking about t he dog, not her seven-year-old child. Liza didn't comment. She w as wondering how long it would take to suffocate the Pomeranian w hile Violet was out. Violet was sitting on the bench at her makeu p table, wearing the bright blue kimono with the dragon across th e back. As Liza watched, Violet loosened the tie and shrugged the wrap aside so she could examine a bruise the size of Foley's fis t that sat above one breast. Liza could see three versions of the bruise reflected in the trifold mirror that rested on the vanity . Violet was small and her back was perfect, her spine straight, her skin flawless. Her buttocks were dimpled and ever so slightly splayed where they pressed down against the seat. Violet wasn't at all self-conscious about Liza seeing her undressed. Often whe n Liza came to sit, Violet would emerge from the bathroom naked, having dropped the towel so she could dab behind her knees with t he violet cologne she used. Liza would try to keep her gaze avert ed while Violet strolled around the bedroom, pausing to light an Old Gold that she'd leave on the lip of the ashtray. Liza's gaze was irresistibly drawn to the sight of Violet's body. No matter w here Violet went, eyes were drawn to her. Her waist was small and her breasts were plump, drooping slightly like sacks filled near ly to capacity with sand. Liza's boobs were barely sufficient for her AA brassiere, though Ty would close his eyes and start breat hing hard every time he felt her up. After they kissed for a whil e, even if she resisted, he'd find a way to unbutton her shirt, n udging aside her bra strap so he could cup a budding breast in hi s palm. Then he'd grab Liza's hand and press it between his legs, making a sound somewhere between a whimper and a moan. In her c hurch youth group, the pastor's wife often lectured the girls abo ut heavy petting, which was not recommended, as it was the quicke st road to sexual intercourse and other forms of loose behavior. Oh, well. Liza's best friend, Kathy, was currently taken up with the Moral Rearmament Movement, which preached Absolute Honesty, A bsolute Purity, Absolute Unselfishness, and Absolute Love. The la st was the one that appealed to Liza. She and Ty had started dati ng in April, though their contact was limited. He couldn't let hi s aunt hear about it because of things that happened at his last school. She'd never been kissed before, had never done any of the things Ty introduced her to in their times together. Of course, she'd drawn the line at going all the way, but she couldn't see t he harm in Ty fooling with her boobs if it made him feel good. Th is was exactly Violet's point of view. When Liza finally confesse d what was going on, Violet said, Oh please, Sweetie, what's it t o you? Let him have his fun. He's a good-looking boy, and if you don't give in to him some other girl will. Violet's hair was dye d an astonishing shade of red, more orange than red and not even intended to look real. Her eyes were a clear green, and the lipst ick she wore was a pinky rose shade. Violet's lips formed two wid e bands across her mouth, as flat as the selvage on a remnant of silk. Her pale skin had an undertone of gold, like fine paper in a book printed long ago. Liza's complexion was freckled, and she tended to break out at that time of the month. While Violet's hai r was as silky as an ad for Breck shampoo, Liza's ends were crink led and split from a miscalculation with the Toni Home Permanent Kathy'd given her the week before. Kathy had read the directions wrong and fried Liza's hair to a fare-thee-well. The strands stil l smelled like spoiled eggs from the lotions she'd applied. Viol et liked going out, and Liza babysat Daisy three and four times a week. Foley was gone most nights, drinking beer at the Blue Moon , which was the only bar in town. He worked construction, and at the end of the day, he needed to wet his whistle was how he put i t. He said he wasn't about to stay home babysitting Daisy, and Vi olet certainly had no intention of sitting around the house with her while Foley was out having fun. During the school year, Liza ended up doing her homework at the Sullivans' after Daisy was in bed. Sometimes Ty came to visit, or Kathy might spend the evening so the two could read movie magazines. True Confession magazine was preferable, but Kathy was worried about impure thoughts. Vio let smiled at Liza, their eyes connecting in the mirror until Liz a looked away. (Violet preferred to smile with her lips closed be cause one of her front teeth was chipped where Foley'd knocked he r sideways into a door.) Violet liked her. Liza knew this and it made her feel warm. Being favored by Violet was enough to make Li za trot around behind her like a stray pup. Breast inspection co mplete, Violet shrugged herself back into the kimono and tied it at the waist. She took a deep drag of her cigarette, then rested it in the ashtray so she could finish putting on her face. How's that boyfriend of yours? Fine. You be careful. You know he's no t supposed to date. I know. He told me and that is so unfair. U nfair or not, his aunt would have a fit if she knew he was going steady, especially with someone like you. Gee, thanks. What'd I do to her? She thinks you're a bad influence because your mother 's divorced. She told you that? More or less, Violet said. I ra n into her at the market and she tried to pump me for information . Someone saw you with Ty and ran blabbing straight to her. Don't ask who tattled because she was very tight-lipped. I told her sh e was nuts. I was polite about it, but I made sure she got the po int. In the first place, I said your mother wouldn't let you date at your age. You're barely fourteen...how ridiculous, I said. An d in the second place, you couldn't be seeing Ty because you spen t all your spare time with me. She seemed satisfied with that, th ough I'm sure she doesn't like me any better than she likes you. Guess we're not good enough for her or her precious nephew. She g ot all pruney around the mouth and went on to say that at his las t school, some girl got herself in trouble, if you get my drift. I know. He told me he felt sorry for her. So he did her the big favor of screwing her. Wasn't she the lucky one? Well, it's ove r now anyway. I'll say. Take it from me, you can't trust a guy w ho's hellbent on getting in your pants. Even if he loves you? E specially if he loves you, and worse if you love him. Violet pic ked up a wand of mascara and began to sweep her lashes, leaning i nto the mirror so she could see what she was doing. I've got Coke s for you in the fridge and a carton of vanilla ice cream if you and Daisy want some. Thanks. She recapped the wand and used a h and to fan her face, drying the dramatic fringe of black goo. She opened her jewelry box and selected six bracelets, thin silver c ircles that she slipped over her right hand one by one. She shook her wrist so they jingled together like tiny bells. On her left wrist she fastened her watch with its narrow black-cord band. Bar efoot, she got up and crossed to the closet. There was very litt le evidence of Foley in the room. He kept his clothes jammed in a pressed-board armoire shoved in one corner of Daisy's room, and as Violet was fond of saying, If he knows what's good for him, he better not complain. Liza watched while she hung the kimono on a hook on the inside of the closet door. She was wearing sheer whi te nylon underpants but hadn't bothered with a bra. She slipped h er feet into a pair of sandals and leaned down to fix the straps, her breasts bobbling as she did. Then she pulled on a lavender-a nd-white polka-dot sundress that zipped up the back. Liza had to help her with that. The dress fit snugly, and if Violet was aware that her nipples showed as flat as coins she made no remark. Liz a was self-conscious about her figure, which had begun developing when she was twelve. She wore loose cotton blouses-usually Ship' n Shore-mindful that her bra and slip straps sometimes showed thr ough the fabric. She found this embarrassing around the boys at s chool. Ty was seventeen and, having transferred from another scho ol, didn't act stupid the way the others did, with their mouth fa rts and rude gestures, fists pumping at the front of their pants. Liza said, What time are the fireworks? Violet reapplied her l ipstick and then rubbed her lips together to even out the color. She recapped the tube. Whenever it gets dark. I'm guessing nine, she said. She leaned forward, blotted her lipstick with a tissue, and then used an index finger to clean a line of color from her teeth. Are you and Foley coming home right afterward? Nah, we'l l probably stop by the Moon. Liza wasn't sure why she'd bothered to ask. It was always like that. They'd get home at 2:00 A.M. Li za, dazed and groggy, would collect her four dollars and then wal k home through the dark. Violet took the bulk of her hair, twist ed it, and held it high on her head, showing the effect. What do you think? Up or down? It's still hotter than blue blazes. Down' s better. Violet smiled. Vanity over comfort. Glad I taught you something. She dropped her hair, shaking it ou, Macmillan, 2005, 2.5, Picador. Very Good. 5.12 x 0.51 x 7.76 inches. Paperback. 1993. 192 pages. <br>Miles Green wakes up in a mysterious hospital with no idea of how he got there or who he is. He definitely doesn't remember his wife, or his children's names. An impossibly shapely specialist doctor tells him his memory nerve-centre is connected to sexual activity, and calls in the even shapelier Nurse Cory t o assist with treatment... In the most unorthodox of hospital roo ms we eavesdrop on the serious discourse, virulent abuse and hila rious mockery of the erotic guerilla war that is Mantissa. Edito rial Reviews From Library Journal Fowles launched his career wit h The Collector, which was welcomed with great critical enthusias m, including that of LJ's reviewer, who found it a distinguished first novel (LJ 8/63). Mantissa, on the other hand, was a departu re from the author's more popular material and received only a ma rginal response (LJ 9/1/82). Copyright 1997 Reed Business Informa tion, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable e dition of this title. Review The novel seeks to explore the natu re of reality and creativity, the alienations of art, the evoluti on of literature to its present self-conscious phase, the relatio nship between the sexes, and much more -- Martin Amis * Observer * The only writer in English who has the power, range, knowledge, and wisdom of Tolstoy or James -- John Gardner John Fowles is an artist of great imaginative power * Sunday Times * --This text r efers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. A bout the Author John Fowles was born in England in 1926 and educa ted at Bedford School and Oxford University. John Fowles won inte rnational recognition with his first published title, THE COLLECT OR (1963). He was immediately acclaimed as an outstandingly innov ative writer of exceptional imaginative power and this reputation was confirmed with the appearance of his subsequent works. John Fowles died in 2005. --This text refers to an out of print or una vailable edition of this title. ., Picador, 1993, 3, Vintage. Very Good. 5.2 x 0.25 x 8.03 inches. Paperback. 2004. 112 pages. <br>How does he assess the information that is brought to him? How does his personal or political philosophy, or a mora l sense, sustain him? How does he draw inspiration from those aro und him? How does he deal with setbacks and disasters? In this br illiant close-up look at Winston Churchill's leadership during th e Second World War, Gilbert gets to the heart of the trials and s truggles that have confronted the world's most powerful leaders, even up to current politicians such as George Bush and Tony Blair . Basing the book on his intimate knowledge of Churchill's priva te and official papers, Sir Martin Gilbert, Churchill's official biographer, looks at the public figure and wartime propaganda, to reveal a very human, sensitive, and often tormented man, who nev ertheless found the strength to lead his nation forward from the darkest and most dangerous of times. Editorial Reviews From Boo klist Invited to lecture at the White House in February 2002, Gil bert, known as Winston Churchill's official biographer, hopes thi s commentary can be of service to the leaders of the war on terro r. Whether George W. Bush and Tony Blair have been consciously im itating Churchill will be left for future historians to discover; Gilbert, for his part, cautions that Churchill's war leadership can have no parallel, except during a war conducted on the scale of World War II. Caveat announced, Gilbert proceeds point by poin t to Churchill's direction of affairs, of which his celebrated sp eeches and buoyancy in public (depicted in the author's photo alb um Churchill at War [BKL F 15 04]) was only one praiseworthy aspe ct. Above all, Gilbert credits Churchill's refusal to deal with H itler in 1940 and rates highly as well Churchill's articulation o f the war's aim as the defense of democracy. Beneath the public p lane, Churchill's day-to-day activity (such as attending to intel ligence and logistical details) was, according to Gilbert, equall y integral to his leadership. Gilbert Taylor Copyright American Library Association. All rights reserved From the Inside Flap Ho w does he assess the information that is brought to him? How does his personal or political philosophy, or a moral sense, sustain him? How does he draw inspiration from those around him? How does he deal with setbacks and disasters? In this brilliant close-up look at Winston Churchill's leadership during the Second World Wa r, Gilbert gets to the heart of the trials and struggles that hav e confronted the world's most powerful leaders, even up to curren t politicians such as George Bush and Tony Blair. Basing the boo k on his intimate knowledge of Churchill's private and official p apers, Sir Martin Gilbert, Churchill's official biographer, looks at the public figure and wartime propaganda, to reveal a very hu man, sensitive, and often tormented man, who nevertheless found t he strength to lead his nation forward from the darkest and most dangerous of times. From the Back Cover How does he assess the i nformation that is brought to him? How does his personal or polit ical philosophy, or a moral sense, sustain him? How does he draw inspiration from those around him? How does he deal with setbacks and disasters? In this brilliant close-up look at Winston Church ill's leadership during the Second World War, Gilbert gets to the heart of the trials and struggles that have confronted the world 's most powerful leaders, even up to current politicians such as George Bush and Tony Blair. Basing the book on his intimate know ledge of Churchill's private and official papers, Sir Martin Gilb ert, Churchill's official biographer, looks at the public figure and wartime propaganda, to reveal a very human, sensitive, and of ten tormented man, who nevertheless found the strength to lead hi s nation forward from the darkest and most dangerous of times. A bout the Author Sir Martin Gilbert is Winston Churchill's officia l biographer and a leading historian of the modern world. He is t he author of seventy-three books, among them Churchill: A Life, c omprehensive studies of both the First and Second World Wars, and his three-volume work A History of the Twentieth Century. He was made an Honorary Fellow of Merton College, Oxford, in 1994 and w as knighted in 1995. He lives in London with his wife Susan and t heir two boys. Excerpt. Reprinted by permission. All rights res erved. When Winston Churchill beccame Prime Minister on 10 May 19 40, he had been a Member of Parliament for almost forty years. Fo r more than twenty-five of those years he had held high ministeri al office, with responsibilities that covered many spheres of nat ional policy and international affairs. Central to the strength o f his war leadership was this experience. Churchill could draw up on knowledge acquired in the many fierce political battles and to ugh international negotiations in which he had been a central and often successful participant. My knowledge, which has been bough t, not taught, was how he expressed it in the House of Commons du ring a stormy interwar debate on defence. Churchill's knowledge had often been bought at the price of unpopularity and failure. But, above all, it was the experience of dealing, both as a Cabin et Minister from 1905 and as a member of the Committee of Imperia l Defence from 1909, with a wide range of national and world issu es, and also of persuading a frequently hostile House of Commons to accept the logic and argument of government policy. That exper ience served as an essential underpinning-and strengthening-of hi s leadership in the Second World War. For a decade before the Fir st World War, four Prime Ministers-Campbell-Bannerman, Asquith, L loyd George and Baldwin-each entrusted Churchill with contentious issues, having a high regard for his negotiating and persuasive skills. The experience he gained was considerable. In 1911 he had been a pioneer of industrial conciliation and arbitration at a t ime of intense labour unrest. In 1913 he had led the search for a n amelioration of Anglo-German naval rivalry. In 1914 his duties as First Lord of the Admiralty (the post he was to hold again on the outbreak of war in 1939) included both the air defence of Lon don and the protection of the Royal Navy and merchant shipping fr om German naval attack. In 1917 he was put in charge of munitions production in Britain at a time of the greatest need and strain. In 1919 he devised, as a matter of urgency, a system of demobili zation that calmed the severe tensions of a disaffected soldiery. In the early 1920s he had been at the centre of resolving the de mands of Irish Catholics for Home Rule and of the first-and effec tively the last-border delineation dispute between Southern Irela nd and Ulster. At the same time, he had undertaken the complicate d task of carrying out Britain's promise to the Jews of a Nationa l Home in Palestine after the First World War. This experience o f dealing at the centre with Britain's major national needs, duri ng more than three decades, gave Churchill a precious boon from t he first days of his premiership. It also provided him with many specific pointers to war direction. A quarter of a century before he became Prime Minister, he had seen the perils that accompanie d the evolution of war policy when there was no central direction . He had been a member of the War Council in 1914, when the Prime Minister, Asquith, had been unable to exercise effective control over the two Service departments-the army and the navy. To redre ss this problem, on becoming Prime Minister in May 1940, Churchil l created the post, hitherto unknown in Britain, of Minister of D efence. Although the new Ministry had no departmental structure a s such, it did have a secretariat, headed by General Hastings Ism ay, who served, with his small staff, as a direct conduit between the Prime Minister and the Chiefs of Staff-the respective heads of the army, navy and air force. This structure enabled Churchill to put forward his suggestions directly, and with the utmost dir ectness, to those who would have to accept or reject, modify and implement them. The organization of his wartime premiership was a central feature of Churchill's war leadership. That organizati on took several months to perfect, but from his first days as Pri me Minister and Minister of Defence he worked to establish it, an d to create in the immediate ambit of 10 Downing Street an organi zation that would give the nation strong and effective leadership . At its core was the close relationship between Churchill and th e three Chiefs of Staff. Their frequent meetings, often daily, en abled him to discuss with them the many crises of the war, to tac kle the many emergencies, and to decide on an acceptable common s trategy. Working under the Chiefs of Staff, and in close associat ion with Churchill through the Ministry of Defence, were two othe r essential instruments of military planning: the Joint Planning Staff (known as the Joint Planners) and the Joint Intelligence Co mmittee. Other essential elements of the organizational side of Churchill's war leadership evolved as the need arose, among them the Production Council, the Import Executive, the Tank Parliamen t, the Combined Raw Materials Board (an Anglo-America venture), t he Anglo-American Shipping Adjustment Board, and the Battle of th e Atlantic Committee of the War Cabinet. And always to hand was t he apparatus of Intelligence gathering, assessment and distributi on, controlled by the Secret Intelligence Services headed by Colo nel (later General) Stewart Menzies, with whom Churchill was in d aily communication. In his Minutes to Menzies, Churchill made wha tever comments he felt were needed on the nature, implications an d circulation of Intelligence material. This organizational str ucture gave Churchill a method of war leadership whereby the high est possible accumulation of professional knowledge was at his di sposal. He was not a dictatorial leader, although he could be emp hatic in his requests and suggestions. If the Chiefs of Staff opp osed any initiative he proposed, it was abandoned. He had no powe r to overrule their collective will. But on most occasions there was no such stark dichotomy. He and they were searching for the s ame out-come-the means, first, to avert defeat; then to contain a nd, finally, to defeat Germany-and in this search they were in fr equent agreement. One of the members of Churchill's Private Off ice, John Peck, later recalled: I have the clearest possible reco llection of General Ismay talking to me about a meeting of the Ch iefs of Staff Committee at which they got completely stuck and ad mitted that they just did not know what was the right course to p ursue; so on a purely military matter, they had come to Churchill , civilian, for his advice. He introduced some further facts into the equation that had escaped their notice and the solution beca me obvious. A crucial aspect of Churchill's war leadership was his private secretariat, the Private Office at 10 Downing Street. Members of his Private Office accompanied him wherever he went, whether in Britain or overseas, and were available to help smooth his path during every working hour, often until late into the ni ght. At its centre were his Private Secretaries: civil servants, mostly in their thirties, who remained at his side on a rota syst em throughout the week and the weekend. They were privy to his in nermost thoughts (although not, ironically, to the decrypted Enig ma messages on which so many of those thoughts hinged). They knew how to interpret his briefest of instructions, some of which wer e scarcely more than a grunt or a nod of the head. They knew how to find documents and to circulate them. They kept his desk diary with its myriad appointments. They also ensured that whatever th e Prime Minister needed-a document to study, a file to scrutinize , a colleague to question, a journey to be organized, a foreign d ignitary to be received-all was ready at the right time and in th e right place. Given the scale of Churchill's travel in Britain a nd overseas, and his notorious unpunctuality and indecision in li ttle things, this streamlined operation was impressive. In a priv ate letter to General Sir Bernard Montgomery, Clementine Churchil l referred to her husband's chronic unpunctuality and habit of ch anging his mind (in little things) every minute! For example, his Private Secretariat was caused endless vexation as to whether he would receive some important visitor at 10 Downing Street, at No . 10 Annexe a hundred yards away, or in the Prime Minister's room in the House of Commons. Churchill could also show uncertainty regarding the large decisions, rehearsing them in his mind and h esitating for long periods before settling on a course of action. One such instance was the difficult decision, which he supported , to send British troops to Greece to take part in the defence of that country against a possible German attack, thus weakening th e British forces that were then defending Egypt. In the end, he a sked for every member of his War Cabinet to vote on this matter. The unanimous vote was in favour of showing Greece that she was n ot to be abandoned by her ally, despite the hopelessness of the s ituation, given German military superiority. The names of most of the members of Churchill's Private Office are little known to history. Only one, John Colville-who started as the Junior Privat e Secretary in 1940-subsequently made his mark, one of great impo rtance to history, because he kept a detailed diary (quite agains t the rules) of those days when he was on duty. Neither the first Principal Private Secretary, Eric Seal, nor Seal's successor Joh n Martin, nor the other members of the Private Office-John Peck, Christopher Dodds and Leslie Rowan-kept anything more than a few jottings and private letters. The whole team constituted, collect ively, the support system on which Churchill depended and from wh om he obtained first-class service, ensuring the smooth running o f the prime ministerial enterprise at its centre. The members of his Private Office sustained him without publicity or fanfare, bu t with a professionalism and a devotion that helped to make his l eadership both smooth and effective. ., Vintage, 2004, 3, Arrow. Good. 5.12 x 1.75 x 7.81 inches. Paperback. 2008. 816 pages. Cover worn<br>Campbell, Alastair Editorial Reviews A bout the Author Alastair Campbell was born in Keighley, Yorkshire in 1957, the son of a vet. After graduating from Cambridge Unive rsity in modern languages, his first chosen career was journalism , principally with the Mirror Group. When Tony Blair became leade r of the Labour Party, he asked Campbell to be his press secretar y. He worked for Blair - first in that capacity, then as official spokesman and director of communications and strategy - from 199 4 to 2003, since when he has been engaged mainly in writing, publ ic speaking and working for Leukaemia Research, where he is chair man of fundraising. He has continued to act as an advisor to Mr B lair and the Labour Party, including during the 2005 election cam paign. He lives in North London with his partner of 25 years, Fio na Millar. They have three children Rory, 19, Calum, 17 and Grace , 12. His interests include running, triathlon, bagpipes and Burn ley Football Club. From the Hardcover edition. Excerpt. ® Repri nted by permission. All rights reserved. The following are excerp ts from Alastair Campbell's The Blair Years. Mr. Campbell's comme nts on the entries are in bold. Meeting Diana As a journalist, I had often been critical of Princess Diana. The moment I met her , former negative thoughts were banished. Thursday, May 4, 1995 Local elections. Terry picked me up to go to collect TB/CB to go to Walworth Rd for the results coming in. They were at a dinner in Hyde Park Gardens that had been organised for them to meet Pri ncess Diana. I rang the bell and said could you tell Mr Blair his car is here. I went back to the car and the next thing TB is tap ping at the car window and he says: 'Someone wants to meet you.' I get out and she's walking towards me, and she says: 'There he i s, can I come over and say hello,' and then she's standing there, absolutely, spellbindingly, drop-dead gorgeous, in a way that th e millions of photos didn't quite get it. She said hello, held ou t her hand and said she was really pleased to meet me, so I mumbl ed something back about me being more pleased and how I didn't ex pect when I left the house tonight that I'd end up standing in th e middle of the road talking to her. 'It would make a very funny picture if there were any paparazzi in those trees,' she said. TB was standing back and Cherie was looking impatient and I was jus t enjoying flirting with her. I asked if he had behaved well and she said yes, very well. I said in that case I think you should come with us to Walworth Road and create an almighty sensation. 'I just might,' she said. Northern Ireland In the introduction to the book I cite TB's optimism and resilience as two of his gre atest qualities. Here, in his second week as Prime Minister, the optimism is on display after a weekend spent reflecting on Northe rn Ireland. The resilience would follow as, over the course of hi s Premiership, he secured progress towards peace. Monday, May 12 , 1997 TB said he reckoned he could see a way of sorting the No rthern Ireland problem. I loved the way he said it, like nobody h ad thought of it before. I said what makes you think you can do i t when nobody else could? Death of Diana The events following t he death of Diana are recorded in some detail in the book. Here i s a short extract which records how I heard the news, and how TB initially reacted. Saturday, August 30, 1997 I got to bed, and at around two I was paged by media monitoring: 'Car crash in Pari s. Dodi killed. Di hurt. This is not a joke.' Then TB came on. He had been called by Number 10 and told the same thing. He was rea lly shocked. He said she was in a coma and the chances are she'd die. I don't think I'd ever heard him like this. He was full of p auses, then gabbling a little, but equally clear what we had to d o. We started to prepare a statement. We talked through the thing s we would have to do tomorrow, if she died. By now the phones we re starting from the press, and I didn't sleep. Then about an hou r later Nick, the duty clerk, called and said simply 'She's dead. The Prime Minister is being told now.' I went through on the cal l. Angus Lapsley was duty private secretary and was taking him th rough what we knew. But it was hard to get beyond the single fact of her death. 'I can't believe this. I just can't believe it,' s aid TB. 'You just can't take it in, can you?' And yet, as ever wi th TB, he was straight onto the ramifications. Historic day with Sinn Fein There were many important milestones on the road to t he Good Friday Agreement, which was perhaps the greatest high of my entire time with TB, elections included. This extract relates to one such milestone, the first visit to Downing Street by Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness, two men crucial to the peace proces s. Thursday, December 11, 1997 Gerry Adams and his team arrived 15 minutes early, and he did a little number in the street, wher e the media numbers were huge. This was a big moment, potentially historic in the progress it could lead to. They came inside and we kept them waiting while we went over what TB was due to say. M o Mowlam and Paul Murphy were both there and Mo was pretty fed up , feeling she was getting shit from all sides. They were hovering around the lifts and were summoned down to the Cabinet room. We had agreed TB should be positive but firm. He actually came over as friendly, welcoming them individually as they came in. I shook McGuinness by the hand, who as he sat down said, fairly loudly, 'So this is the room where all the damage was done.' It was a cla ssic moment where the different histories played out. Everyone on our side thought he was referring to the mortar attack on Major, and we were shocked. Yet it became obvious from their surprise a t our shock that he was referring to policymaking down the years, and Britain's involvement in Ireland. 'No, no, I meant 1921,' he said. I found McGuinness more impressive than Adams, who did the big statesman bit, and talked in grand historical sweeps, but Mc Guinness just made a point and battered it, and forced you to tak e it on board. Of the women, I could not work out whether they re ally mattered, or whether they just took them round with them to look a bit less hard. They were tough as boots all three of them. TB was good in the use of language and captured well the sense o f history and occasion. He said we faced a choice of history - vi olence and despair, or peace and progress. We were all taking ris ks, but they are risks worth taking. He said to Adams he wanted t o be able to look him in the eye, hear him say he was committed t o peaceful means, and he wanted to believe him. I was eyeing thei r reaction to TB the whole time, and both Adams and McG regularly let a little smile cross their lips. Martin Ferris [Sinn Fein ne gotiator] was the one who just stared. Mo got pissed off, volubly , when they said she wasn't doing enough. TB was maybe not as fir m as we had planned, but he did ask - which I decided not to brie f, and knew they wouldn't - whether they would be able to sign up to a settlement that did not explicitly commit to a united Irela nd. Adams was OK, but McGuinness was not. Adams said the prize of a lasting peace justifies the risks. Lloyd George, Balfour, Glad stone, Cromwell, they all thought they had answers of sorts. We w ant our answers to be the endgame. A cobbled-together agreement w ill not stand the test of time. He pushed hard on prisoners being released, and the aim of total demilitarisation, and TB just lis tened. TB said he would not be a persuader for a united Ireland. The principle of consent was central to the process. Adams said i f TB could not be a persuader, he could be a facilitator. He said we would be dead in 40 years, but in the meantime this was the b iggest test of TB's time in office, how he deals with the displac ed citizens in a divided territory. 9/11 September 11 was meant to be another fairly routine day. It came to be a defining momen t in the Blair years and would ensure foreign policy dominated hi s second term. As with Diana's death, once the initial shock subs ided, he was straight onto the ramifications. Tuesday, September 11, 2001 I woke up to the usual blah on the radio about TB and the TUC speech, all the old BBC clichés about us and the unions, the only new thing GMB ads asking if you trust TB not to privatis e the NHS. Peter H and I went up to the flat. TB had done a good section on public-private, an effective hit back at the Edmonds l ine. With the economy, public services, Europe/euro and a bit on asylum, we had a proper speech. We sharpened it and honed it a bi t. He was furious at the GMB ads, said he intended to give Edmond s a real hammering. We finished it on the train to Brighton, were met and driven to the hotel. We were there, up at the top of th e hotel putting the finishing touches to the speech, when the att acks on the New York Twin Towers began. Godric was watching in th e little room where the Garden Room girl had set up, came up to t he top of the little staircase leading to the bit where TB and I were working, and signalled for me to go down. It was all a bit c haotic, with the TV people going into their usual breathless brea king-news mode, but it was clearly something way out of the ordin ary. I went upstairs, turned on the TV and said to TB he ought to watch it. It was now even clearer than just a few moments ago ju st how massive an event this was. It was also one that was going to have pretty immediate implications for us too. We didn't watch the TV that long, but long enough for TB to reach the judgement about just how massive an event this was in its impact and implic ations. It's possible we were talking about thousands dead. We wo uld also have to make immediate judgements about buildings and in stitutions to protect here. TB was straight onto the diplomatic s ide as well, said that we had to help the US, that they could not go it all on their own, that they felt beleaguered and that this would be tantamount to a military attack in their minds. We had to decide whether we should cancel the speech. There was always a moment in these terrorist outrages where governments said we mus t not let the terrorists change what we do, but it was meaningles s. Of course they changed what we did. At first, we felt it best to go ahead with the speech but by the time we were leaving for t he venue, the Towers were actually collapsing. The scale of the h orror and the damage was increasing all the time and it was perfe ctly obvious he couldn't do the speech. We went over to the confe rence centre, where TB broke the news to John Monks [TUC general secretary] and Brendan Barber that he intended to go on, say a fe w words, but then we would have to head back to London. We would issue the text but he would not deliver the speech. Monks said to me that it's on days like this that you realise just how big his job is. TB's mind was whirring with it. His brief statement to t he TUC went down well, far better than his speech would have done . We walked back to the hotel, both of us conscious there seemed to be a lot more security around. We arranged a series of confere nce calls through Jonathan with Jack Straw, Geoff Hoon, David Blu nkett. We asked Richard Wilson to fix a Cobra meeting as soon as we got back. We set off for Brighton station. He said the conseq uences of this were enormous. On the train he was subdued, though we did raise a smile when someone said it was the first and last time he would get a standing ovation from the TUC. Robert Hill w as listening to the radio on his earpiece and filling us in every now and then. TB asked for a pad and started to write down some of the issues we would have to address when we got back. He said the big fear was terrorists capable of this getting in league wit h rogue states that would help them. He'd been going on about bin Laden for a while because there had been so much intelligence ab out him and al-Qaeda. He wanted to commission proper reports on O BL and all the other terror groups. He made a note of the need to reach out to the British Muslim community, who would fear a back lash if this was bin Laden. Everyone seemed convinced it couldn't be anyone else. Crucial talks with Bush The Blair-Clinton rela tionship was easy for people to understand, his close relationshi p with President Bush less so. TB was determined to get on with h im, and believed maximum public support, particularly post Septem ber 11, led to increased private influence, including on the effo rts to resolve Iraq through the UN. Saturday, September 7, 2002 When TB came back in, GWB said he'd decided to go to the UN and put down a new UNSCR, challenge the UN to deal with the problems for its own sake. He could not stand by. He would say OK, what wi ll you do? Earlier, not too convincingly, Karen [Hughes, GWB's co mmunications adviser] had claimed GWB was always going to go down the UN route. Cheney looked very sour throughout, and after dinn er, when TB and Bush walked alone to the chopper, Bush was open w ith him that Cheney was in a different position. Earlier, when we had said that the international community was pressing for some direction but that in the US there would be people saying 'Why ar e you going to the UN, why aren't you doing it now?' Cheney smile d across the table, making it pretty clear that was where he was. The mood was good. As we left, Bush joked to me 'I suppose you c an tell the story of how Tony flew in and pulled the crazed unila teralist back from the brink.' He was very clear on the threat, a nd the need of the UN to deal with it. He said he would get somet hing on the Middle East. 'That's a promise.' He was, as Sally Mor gan [director of political and government relations] said, far mo re impressive close up. Robin Cook's resignation and Commons deb ate over Iraq The day before the defining Commons vote on Iraq, Robin Cook resigned, adding to a sense of crisis and a Prime Mini ster's future on the line as he sought to persuade Parliament to support military action. Monday, March 17, 2003 TB started Cabi net, introduced Goldsmith, then Clare came in and asked Sally whe re Robin was. 'He's gone,' said Sal. 'Oh my God.' TB's only refer ence to Robin was to say that he had resigned. Peter Goldsmith we nt through the answer on legal authority to use force. One by one , a succession of colleagues expressed s, Arrow, 2008, 2.5, New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992. x, 249 pages, illustrations; 24 cm. Near fine. Tight, clean copy. Light edgewear to wraps. "We all talk about the 'tube' or 'box,' as if television were simply another appliance like the refrigerator or toaster oven. But Cecilia Tichi argues that TV is actually an environment--a pervasive screen-world that saturates almost every aspect of modern life. In Electronic Hearth, she looks at how that environment evolved, and how it, in turn, has shaped the American experience. Tichi explores almost fifty years of writing about television--in novels, cartoons, journalism, advertising, and critical books and articles--to define the role of television in the American consciousness. She examines early TV advertising to show how the industry tried to position the new device as not just a gadget but a prestigious new piece of furniture, a highly prized addition to the home. The television set, she writes, has emerged as a new electronic hearth--the center of family activity. John Updike described this 'primitive appeal of the hearth' in Roger's Version: 'Television is--its irresistable charm--a fire. Entering an empty room, we turn it on, and a talking face flares into being.' Sitting in front of the TV, Americans exist in a safety zone, free from the hostility and violence of the outside world. She also discusses long-standing suspicions of TV viewing: its often solitary, almost autoerotic character, its supposed numbing of the minds and imagination of children, and assertions that watching television drugs the minds of Americans. Television has been seen as treacherous territory for public figures, from generals to presidents, where satire and broadcast journalism often deflate their authority. And the print culture of journalism and book publishing has waged a decades-long war of survival against it--only to see new TV generations embrace both the box and the book as a part of their cultural world. In today's culture, she writes, we have become 'teleconscious'--Seeing, for example, real life being certified through television ('as seen on TV'), and television constantly ratified through its universal presence in art, movies, music, comic strips, fabric prints, and even references to TV on TV. Ranging far beyond the bounds of the broadcast industry, Tichi provides a history of contemporary American culture, a culture defined by the television environment. Intensively researched and insightfully written, The Electronic Hearth offers a new understanding of a critical, but much-maligned, aspect of modern life. / Cecelia Tichi is William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor of English at Vanderbilt University. She is the author of Shifting Gears: Technology, Literature, and Culture in Modernist America and New World, New Earth: Environmental Reform in American Literature from Puritans to Whitman." - Publisher. CONTENTS: Television Environment; A Preface; Introduction; Phasing In; Electronic Hearth; Peep Show, Private Sector; Leisure, Labor, and the La-Z-Boy; Drugs, Backtalk, and Teleconsciousness; Certification; As Seen on TV; Videoportraits and Authority; Two Cultures and the Battle by the Books; The Child; A Television Allegory; Comics, Movies, Music, Stories, Art, TV-on-TV, Etc.. Paperback. Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall., Oxford University Press, 1992, 3<

1992, ISBN: 9780195079142

Pasta blanda

New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992. x, 249 pages, illustrations; 24 cm. PRESENTATION COPY. Signed and warmly inscribed by the author. A near-fine copy, age toning. "W… Más…

New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992. x, 249 pages, illustrations; 24 cm. PRESENTATION COPY. Signed and warmly inscribed by the author. A near-fine copy, age toning. "We all talk about the 'tube' or 'box,' as if television were simply another appliance like the refrigerator or toaster oven. But Cecilia Tichi argues that TV is actually an environment--a pervasive screen-world that saturates almost every aspect of modern life. In Electronic Hearth, she looks at how that environment evolved, and how it, in turn, has shaped the American experience. Tichi explores almost fifty years of writing about television--in novels, cartoons, journalism, advertising, and critical books and articles--to define the role of television in the American consciousness. She examines early TV advertising to show how the industry tried to position the new device as not just a gadget but a prestigious new piece of furniture, a highly prized addition to the home. The television set, she writes, has emerged as a new electronic hearth--the center of family activity. John Updike described this 'primitive appeal of the hearth' in Roger's Version: 'Television is--its irresistable charm--a fire. Entering an empty room, we turn it on, and a talking face flares into being.' Sitting in front of the TV, Americans exist in a safety zone, free from the hostility and violence of the outside world. She also discusses long-standing suspicions of TV viewing: its often solitary, almost autoerotic character, its supposed numbing of the minds and imagination of children, and assertions that watching television drugs the minds of Americans. Television has been seen as treacherous territory for public figures, from generals to presidents, where satire and broadcast journalism often deflate their authority. And the print culture of journalism and book publishing has waged a decades-long war of survival against it--only to see new TV generations embrace both the box and the book as a part of their cultural world. In today's culture, she writes, we have become 'teleconscious'--Seeing, for example, real life being certified through television ('as seen on TV'), and television constantly ratified through its universal presence in art, movies, music, comic strips, fabric prints, and even references to TV on TV. Ranging far beyond the bounds of the broadcast industry, Tichi provides a history of contemporary American culture, a culture defined by the television environment. Intensively researched and insightfully written, The Electronic Hearth offers a new understanding of a critical, but much-maligned, aspect of modern life. / Cecelia Tichi is William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor of English at Vanderbilt University. She is the author of Shifting Gears: Technology, Literature, and Culture in Modernist America and New World, New Earth: Environmental Reform in American Literature from Puritans to Whitman." - Publisher. CONTENTS: Television Environment; A Preface; Introduction; Phasing In; Electronic Hearth; Peep Show, Private Sector; Leisure, Labor, and the La-Z-Boy; Drugs, Backtalk, and Teleconsciousness; Certification; As Seen on TV; Videoportraits and Authority; Two Cultures and the Battle by the Books; The Child; A Television Allegory; Comics, Movies, Music, Stories, Art, TV-on-TV, Etc. . SIGNED. Paperback. Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Collectible., Oxford University Press, 1992, 3<

1992, ISBN: 9780195079142

Pasta blanda

New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992. x, 249 pages, illustrations; 24 cm. PRESENTATION COPY. Signed and warmly inscribed by the author. A near-fine copy, age toning. "W… Más…

New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992. x, 249 pages, illustrations; 24 cm. PRESENTATION COPY. Signed and warmly inscribed by the author. A near-fine copy, age toning. "We all talk about the 'tube' or 'box,' as if television were simply another appliance like the refrigerator or toaster oven. But Cecilia Tichi argues that TV is actually an environment--a pervasive screen-world that saturates almost every aspect of modern life. In Electronic Hearth, she looks at how that environment evolved, and how it, in turn, has shaped the American experience. Tichi explores almost fifty years of writing about television--in novels, cartoons, journalism, advertising, and critical books and articles--to define the role of television in the American consciousness. She examines early TV advertising to show how the industry tried to position the new device as not just a gadget but a prestigious new piece of furniture, a highly prized addition to the home. The television set, she writes, has emerged as a new electronic hearth--the center of family activity. John Updike described this 'primitive appeal of the hearth' in Roger's Version: 'Television is--its irresistable charm--a fire. Entering an empty room, we turn it on, and a talking face flares into being.' Sitting in front of the TV, Americans exist in a safety zone, free from the hostility and violence of the outside world. She also discusses long-standing suspicions of TV viewing: its often solitary, almost autoerotic character, its supposed numbing of the minds and imagination of children, and assertions that watching television drugs the minds of Americans. Television has been seen as treacherous territory for public figures, from generals to presidents, where satire and broadcast journalism often deflate their authority. And the print culture of journalism and book publishing has waged a decades-long war of survival against it--only to see new TV generations embrace both the box and the book as a part of their cultural world. In today's culture, she writes, we have become 'teleconscious'--Seeing, for example, real life being certified through television ('as seen on TV'), and television constantly ratified through its universal presence in art, movies, music, comic strips, fabric prints, and even references to TV on TV. Ranging far beyond the bounds of the broadcast industry, Tichi provides a history of contemporary American culture, a culture defined by the television environment. Intensively researched and insightfully written, The Electronic Hearth offers a new understanding of a critical, but much-maligned, aspect of modern life. / Cecelia Tichi is William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor of English at Vanderbilt University. She is the author of Shifting Gears: Technology, Literature, and Culture in Modernist America and New World, New Earth: Environmental Reform in American Literature from Puritans to Whitman." - Publisher. CONTENTS: Television Environment; A Preface; Introduction; Phasing In; Electronic Hearth; Peep Show, Private Sector; Leisure, Labor, and the La-Z-Boy; Drugs, Backtalk, and Teleconsciousness; Certification; As Seen on TV; Videoportraits and Authority; Two Cultures and the Battle by the Books; The Child; A Television Allegory; Comics, Movies, Music, Stories, Art, TV-on-TV, Etc.. SIGNED. Paperback. Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Collectible., Oxford University Press, 1992, 3<

1992, ISBN: 9780195079142

New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992. x, 249 pages, illustrations; 24 cm. Near fine. Tight, clean copy. Light edgewear to wraps. "We all talk about the 'tube' o… Más…

New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992. x, 249 pages, illustrations; 24 cm. Near fine. Tight, clean copy. Light edgewear to wraps. "We all talk about the 'tube' or 'box,' as if television were simply another appliance like the refrigerator or toaster oven. But Cecilia Tichi argues that TV is actually an environment--a pervasive screen-world that saturates almost every aspect of modern life. In Electronic Hearth, she looks at how that environment evolved, and how it, in turn, has shaped the American experience. Tichi explores almost fifty years of writing about television--in novels, cartoons, journalism, advertising, and critical books and articles--to define the role of television in the American consciousness. She examines early TV advertising to show how the industry tried to position the new device as not just a gadget but a prestigious new piece of furniture, a highly prized addition to the home. The television set, she writes, has emerged as a new electronic hearth--the center of family activity. John Updike described this 'primitive appeal of the hearth' in Roger's Version: 'Television is--its irresistable charm--a fire. Entering an empty room, we turn it on, and a talking face flares into being.' Sitting in front of the TV, Americans exist in a safety zone, free from the hostility and violence of the outside world. She also discusses long-standing suspicions of TV viewing: its often solitary, almost autoerotic character, its supposed numbing of the minds and imagination of children, and assertions that watching television drugs the minds of Americans. Television has been seen as treacherous territory for public figures, from generals to presidents, where satire and broadcast journalism often deflate their authority. And the print culture of journalism and book publishing has waged a decades-long war of survival against it--only to see new TV generations embrace both the box and the book as a part of their cultural world. In today's culture, she writes, we have become 'teleconscious'--Seeing, for example, real life being certified through television ('as seen on TV'), and television constantly ratified through its universal presence in art, movies, music, comic strips, fabric prints, and even references to TV on TV. Ranging far beyond the bounds of the broadcast industry, Tichi provides a history of contemporary American culture, a culture defined by the television environment. Intensively researched and insightfully written, The Electronic Hearth offers a new understanding of a critical, but much-maligned, aspect of modern life. / Cecelia Tichi is William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor of English at Vanderbilt University. She is the author of Shifting Gears: Technology, Literature, and Culture in Modernist America and New World, New Earth: Environmental Reform in American Literature from Puritans to Whitman." - Publisher. CONTENTS: Television Environment; A Preface; Introduction; Phasing In; Electronic Hearth; Peep Show, Private Sector; Leisure, Labor, and the La-Z-Boy; Drugs, Backtalk, and Teleconsciousness; Certification; As Seen on TV; Videoportraits and Authority; Two Cultures and the Battle by the Books; The Child; A Television Allegory; Comics, Movies, Music, Stories, Art, TV-on-TV, Etc.. Paperback. Very Good. 8vo., Oxford University Press, 1992, 3<