Biography: writers Books

Book SynopsisMartin Amis's life could itself provide the formula for an enthralling work of fiction. Son of one of the most popular and best-loved novelists of the post-War era, he has forged a groundbreaking manner of writing that owes nothing to the style of his father, nor indeed to anyone else. He relished and recorded the bizarre, turbulent atmosphere of Britain and the US during the 1970s and 80s, arguably the transformative period of the late 20th century. No other contemporary writer has proved so magnetic for the popular press: he has, despite himself, achieved celebrity status. Of late, his reputation as a novelist has been matched by his outspoken, challenging writing on contemporary global politics, and he has earned the status as the Orwell of the early 21st century.Martin Amis offers the real Martin Amis, a cabinet of contrasts: tortured, eloquently aloof, kind, obsessive, loved by women, a dedicated family man, often the architect of his own undoing, and a literary genius. Moreover, this fascinating biography discloses the autobiographical thread that runs through Amis's books.Richard Bradford has talked with Amis at length, questioned him on his childhood, his private history, his opinions and the inspiration for his fiction, and these exchanges are supplemented by interviews with a large number of his friends and fellow writers.Praise for Richard Bradford's previous titles:Praise for Lucky Him: The Life of Kingsley Amis:'Nearly all critical biographies relate the work to the life - insidiously, tendentiously, helplessly. Richard Bradford is different: he does it convincingly, and with vigour. The result is an original and stimulating book'. Martin Amis'I found Bradford's approach refreshing. Rare among literary academics he writes clearly, doesn't show off and knows a lot about his subject. He presents a fascinating chronicle of the development of Amis's brilliant ear for speech... He also brings out the full extent of the symbiosis between Amis and his best friend Philip Larkin: in a way Larkin invented Amis.' Craig Brown'At his better moments Bradford... rises to Amis's stylistic level.' Humphrey Carpenter

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Book SynopsisFollowing his second marriage in 1907 Arthur Conan Doyle was looking to the future. The years ahead would see the birth of three children, fresh literary success and the discovery of his new faith. Those same years would also see the First World War, the final adventures of Sherlock Holmes and ridicule from the religious and scientific communities for his beliefs.

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Book Synopsis'You see, but you do not observe. The distinction is clear.'Such were the words of the master detective Sherlock Holmes to Dr Watson, as he noted how his friend failed to implement Holmes's techniques. In How to Think Like Sherlock you will learn how to increase your powers of observation, memory, deduction and reasoning using the tricks and techniques of the world's most famous detective, Sherlock Holmes. The book incorporates the latest techniques and theories across a range of topics: NLP, memory mapping, body language, information shifting and speed reading - this is a supremely practical book that will make you look at the world in a new light, and more importantly, impress those around you. Packed full of case studies, quotes and trivia from Arthur Conan Doyle's original novels and short stories, How to Think Like Sherlock also includes a series of fun tasks and games for you to complete that will ensure that when you reach the end of the book you will be thinking like Sherlock Holmes, the master of the science of deduction. You will never look at a shirt cuff, trouser hem or scuff of dirt on a shoe in the same way again!

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Book SynopsisA Times Best Literature Book of the Year 2023 A Financial Times Book of the Year 2023 A Spectator Book of the Year 2023 A Daily Express Best Book of 2023 'A fascinating, revelatory appendix ... providing new insights into the inner workings of the man who created George Smiley' 'Best Books of the Year 2023', Financial Times 'Sisman can set the record straight' 'Books of the Year 2023', The Sunday Times 'Complex and consequential ... casts le Carré's life and writing in a fresh light ... a fascinating examination of the biographer's art' Washington Post 'Now that he is dead, we can know him better.' Secrecy came naturally to John le Carré, and there were some secrets that he fought fiercely to keep. Nowhere was this more so than in his private life. Apparently content in his marriage, the novelist conducted a string of love affairs over four decades. To keep these relationships secret, he made use of tradecraft that he had learned as a spy: code names and cover stories, cut outs, safe houses and dead letter boxes. Such affairs introduced both jeopardy and excitement into what was otherwise a quiet, ordered life. Le Carré seemed to require the stimulus they provided in order to write, though this meant deceiving those closest to him. It is no coincidence that betrayal became a recurrent theme in his work. Adam Sisman's definitive biography, published in 2015, revealed much about the elusive spy-turned-novelist; yet le Carré was adamant that some subjects should remain hidden, at least during his lifetime. The Secret Life of John le Carré is the story of what was left out, and offers reflections on the difficult relationship between biographer and subject. More than that, it adds a necessary coda to the life and work of this complex, driven, restless man. The Secret Life of John le Carré reveals a hitherto-hidden perspective on the life and work of the spy-turned-author and a fascinating meditation on the complex relationship between biographer and subject. 'Now that he is dead,' Sisman writes, 'we can know him better.'Trade ReviewA completely fascinating and revelatory book, written with great sagacity, candour and judiciousness -- William Boyd, author * Any Human Heart *A fascinating, revelatory appendix ... Sisman's latest book exposes the great spy writer's duplicitous and deceitful relationships with the women in his life, providing new insights into the inner workings of the man who created George Smiley -- 'Best Books of the Year 2023' * Financial Times *Enjoyable ... moves beyond voyeurism to reveal the deep sadness behind the lies ... Sisman can set the record straight -- 'Books of the Year 2023' * The Times *[A] seamy, steamy supplement to the biography -- 'Books of the Year' * Daily Mail *[Sisman] is a delicate writer keen to acknowledge the ambiguity of the biographer's role * Guardian *Scrupulous as a biographer ... Sisman justifies his argument that this coda of his is a necessary one. It enables us to have a clearer view of the man ... It also allows us to understand his novels better ... Psychologically astute. -- James Owen. 'Book of the Week' * The Times *Complex and consequential ... casts le Carré's life and writing in a fresh light ... a fascinating examination of the biographer's art * Washington Post *Fascinating * New Statesman *Revealing ... shocking * Observer *Fascinating ... painfully honest and anguished -- Robert McCrum * Independent *Revelatory ... effectively rewrites the way [le Carré] will be perceived by posterity -- William Boyd, 'Books of the Year' * Daily Express *Enlightening * Wall Street Journal *Sisman is the biographers' biographer * Church Times *Intriguing ... admirably concise ... sub-themes, such as the practice and ethics of biography and the emotional toll of spying, run through [the book] -- 'Books of the Year 2023' * Spectator *Entertaining * Irish Independent *Thoughtful, self-aware and nuanced .. Sisman here is, as always, readable, honest, careful * Arts Desk *Given his history of spy novels, it should come as little surprise that the late Le Carré was a man adept at secrecy himself. And here his complicated private life is fully exposed for the first time * i News *A determined and at times forensic attempt to set the record straight ... deeply entertaining * Spectator World *Scintillating * Oldie *Remarkably unflinching ... Sisman uncovers a previously hidden and discomfiting dimension of le Carré ... future accounts will have to wrestle with the bombshells dropped here. * Publisher's Weekly *This is a book for le Carré fans, for anyone interested in the art of fiction, and for anyone interested in the art of biography. * Book Brunch *A one-of-a-kind revisiting of a wondrously productive life lived at the expense of two wives and many lovers ... Sisman demonstrates how betrayal was the leitmotif of both the novelist's life and his art and that however completely he depended on his wives, he depended on a new woman to serve as his inspiration for each book * Kirkus Reviews *Few writers have curated their image so effectively as John le Carré. In this page-turning follow-up to his 2015 biography, published when his subject was still kickingly alive, Adam Sisman completes the task of showing us who he was - a minor spy who became a major novelist, whose most important agents in the field were the women he needed to love and then betray. For le Carré, tradecraft was lovecraft. Much more than What Was Left Out, The Secret Life of John le Carré is not merely the conclusive homage to a compulsively fascinating character, but an insightful study into the biographical process itself. Even David Cornwell, the man who actually was John le Carré, would have saluted him -- Nicholas Shakespeare

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