Search results for ""canongate books""

He wanted a war. And, for his sins, he got one. James Brabazon was an ambitious young war reporter when he entered the chaos of the Liberian Civil War in 2002. Running with the infamous LURD rebels, he survived numerous deadly ambushes and a dramatic two-hundred-mile escape from Government troops through dense equatorial jungle. He even had a bounty put on his head. Surrounded by child soldiers, cannibals and ruthless rebels, Brabazon was accompanied by Nick du Toit, a South African mercenary with a dark past. Before long, Nick promised James the scoop of his life: a front seat, beside Simon Mann, in an audacious coup attempt in Equatorial Guinea. And the offer was too good to refuse.

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WINNER OF THE INTERNATIONAL DUBLIN LITERARY AWARDWINNER OF THE GOLDSMITHS PRIZELONGLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZEBGE IRISH BOOK OF THE YEAR 2016Marcus Conway has come a long way to stand in the kitchen of his home and remember the rhythms and routines of his life. Considering with his engineer's mind how things are constructed - bridges, banking systems, marriages - and how they may come apart. Mike McCormack captures with tenderness and feeling, in continuous, flowing prose, a whole life, suspended in a single hour.

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Kenn returns to the Highlands of his youth, back to the river which has haunted his dreams since boyhood. Determined to walk all the way back to its source, Kenn embarks on a journey that will lead him deep into the wilderness of his own heart. Profound and moving, Highland River is a stirring tale of what is lost and what endures, and the unexpected ways we can be renewed.

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Time flies like an arrow, but fruit flies like a banana. The Beatles learn to be brilliant in an hour and a half. An Englishman arrives back from Calcutta but refuses to adjust his watch. Beethoven has his symphonic wishes ignored. A US Senator begins a speech that will last for 25 hours. The horrors of war are frozen at the click of a camera. A woman designs a ten-hour clock and reinvents the calendar. Roger Bannister lives out the same four minutes over a lifetime. And a prince attempts to stop time in its tracks. Timekeepers is a book about our obsession with time and our desire to measure it, control it, sell it, film it, perform it, immortalise it and make it meaningful. It has two simple intentions: to tell some illuminating stories, and to ask whether we have all gone completely nuts.

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Another day, another grand scheme! The thieving Fitzglen family are back in this second instalment of the spellbinding Theatre of Thieves gothic mystery series set in Victorian England.London, 1908. The Fitzglens, one of London''s leading theatre families and part-time thieves, are plotting their next scheme when they receive terrible news about Great Uncle Montague. He''s been killed in a tragic accident at his Notting Hill home. Montague will be much missed, not just for his talent in art forgery, but his death provides an unlooked-for opportunity: the chance to search for his infamous iron box. No one knows what it contains - if, that is, it even exists - but Jack Fitzglen is certain it has to be something highly valuable . . . or extremely dangerous. Why else would the grand master of storytelling have refused to even drop a hint?Jack is amazed when he finds the box - and even more amazed by its contents. An unknown play by one of Ire

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From #1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Goldberg, comes an explosive, page-turning investigative thriller - with a mind-blowing twist.There''s a saying in Barstow, California, a decaying city in the scorching Mojave desert . . . The Interstate here only goes in one direction: Away. But it''s the only place where ex-LAPD detective Beth McDade, after a staggering fall from grace, could get another badge . . . and a shot at redemption. Over a century ago, and just a few miles further into the bleak landscape, a desperate stranger ended up in Calico, a struggling mining town, also hoping for a second chance. His fate, all those years ago, and hers today are linked when Beth investigates an old skeleton dug up in a shallow, sandy grave . . . and also tries to identify a vagrant run-over by a distracted motorhome driver during a lightning storm. Every disturbing clue she finds, every shocking discovery she makes, f

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CIA field agent Kelly Kaiser is drawn into a dangerous, top-secret mission to stop the number of people affected by the rowan tree''s mysterious forces getting out of control.Junior CIA field agent Kelly Kaiser jumps at the chance to lead a risky mission to enter Mexico and gather refugees from under the nose of the notorious drug lord who murdered her fiancé.When the mission takes a revenge-fuelled twist, Kelly finds herself facing dismissal, but Agnes Pendalon, the CIA''s chief ''spook'' lady, has other ideas. Kelly must lead a new, top-secret team to hunt down everyone infected by a magical, mysterious rowan tree''s supernatural forces, and stop the outbreaks getting out of control. Facing an enemy she cannot see or define, Kelly is pulled into a war between alien forces and humanity, and soon discovers that there is more to her fiancé''s death than meets the eye . . .

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A young woman is missing, but has she run away - or been captured? A dying cop asks DCI Christine Caplan to fulfil her last wish: to investigate a cold case that''s still preying on her mind. The naked body of a young man that was found in a lonely wood, dismissed as a down and out by her superiors. Caplan connects the case to other victims left to die in the bleak Scottish forests, injured and unable to escape. As the scent grows stronger, the cold cases suddenly seem dangerously hot. In this thrilling hunt for the missing girl, Caplan must trace where love and control get out of hand, and question where power lies in any relationship. Meanwhile, the dark nights of Scotland conceal a terrifying game of cat and mouse . . .This gripping Scottish police procedural meets twisted psychological thriller, featuring a complex and fascinating female protagonist, is a perfect choice for fans of tartan noir and authors Ian Rankin,

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Traffic cop Sal Delaney''s past is catching up with her . . . Sunday Times best-selling author David Mark delivers a pulse-pounding new dark and gritty police procedural series set in the north of England, with a complex, intriguing female protagonist.Mark is a superbly gifted writer who creates a bleak, unforgiving setting, deeply damaged characters, and a plot that ramps up the violence, tension, and suspense to an almost unbearable level before an explosive ending that will leave readers utterly shattered Booklist Starred ReviewNorth of England. Cumbria. Salome Delaney didn''t have a great start in life. But her abusive childhood came to a tragic conclusion with the killing of her tyrant mother, Trina, by a jealous ex-boyfriend. At least, that''s what the police say. Sal has never believed kind Wulf, who tried to protect her from her mother''s dark side, could have committed such a crime, but t

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DS Aector McAvoy must face the dark, disturbing secrets of his past if he''s to keep his family safe.The clairvoyant is found with her tongue crudely carved out, a shard of blue crystal buried deep within her mangled ribcage.The crime scene plunges DS Aector McAvoy back twelve years, to a case from when he was starting out. An investigation that proved a turning point in his life - but one he''s tried desperately to forget. To catch the killer, he must face his past. Face the terrible thing he did. But doing so also means facing the truth about his beloved wife Roisin, and the dark secrets she''s keeping have the power to destroy them both completely.David Mark brings Hull to dark, brutal life in this gripping novel in the critically acclaimed DS McAvoy series - a perfect pick for fans of Denise Mina, Val McDermid and Peter Robinson.

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The second installment of this wonderful collection of unabridged short stories sees Bertie Wooster in the proverbial soup as usual and Jeeves invariably shimmering to the rescue. Love, comic reunions and errant Uncles are all on the agenda, plus bucketloads of laughter. Where would Wooster be without his infinitely brainy valet? Where would audio listeners be without Wodehouse's sparkling comic invention? Bereft!Reader Martin Jarvis is an award-winning actor who has received international acclaim for his masterful performances of Wodehouse characters.

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One of Granta's Best of Young British Novelists.After years away from her family, Maya Haque is on the journey home to Dhaka. But what if, as Maya discovers, everything you once knew has changed beyond recognition? What if you must re-learn what it means to be a good daughter? And how do you begin to understand a brother who has taken a path so different from your own? Maya faces these questions and many more in The Good Muslim, an extraordinary novel about faith, family and the long shadow of war.

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Now adapted into major film, Certain Women, starring Kristen Stewart and Michelle WilliamsCaught between opposing forces - fidelity and desire, impulse and security, innocence and experience - these unforgettable characters have each reached a fork in the road. But what kind of fool only wants it one way?Funny, sly and sparkling with energy, Both Ways Is the Only Way I Want It confirms Maile Meloy as an enthralling storyteller.

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Yes, we have achieved much. Have we destroyed even more?In the name of Rome, Scipio Africanus systematically destroyed the hard-won empires of Hannibal and Alexander the Great. With breathtaking battle scenes and a tale of violent passions, Scipio is a stunning sequel to Hannibal, Ross Leckie's acclaimed bestselling historical novel. This inspired narrative reveals the aristocrat, general, politician, and aesthete behind the Roman triumph to bring us a novel of love and betrayal, about a genius who discovers he is only a man.

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Patrick has a new desk job and seems to be out of harm''s way . . . but not for long.Patrick Gillard has taken on a new role as the NCA''s officer within Avon and Somerset Police''s Regional Organised Crime Unit, much to his wife and working partner Ingrid Langley''s relief. It may seem like a safe desk job, but Ingrid''s relief is short-lived when she finds the head of the Metropolitan Police''s specialist undercover unit, F9, Commander Rolt, barely alive in a field in Somerset. Unsurprisingly, Patrick is soon pulled back into frontline action. And when further, gruesome discoveries are made, Patrick and Ingrid are plunged into danger yet again in the hunt for one of the Met''s most-wanted criminals.

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A man with a tree growing out of his head? A woman with children made of wax? A bird that can be milked? With more stories from his original celebration of African folktales, The Girl Who Married A Lion, let Alexander McCall Smith once again take you to a land where the bizarre is everyday and magic is real.

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In 2002, an amateur Jane Austen scholar, while staying at a Hertfordshire estate, stumbled upon a hidden cache of manuscript pages and made an extraordinary literary discovery - lost scenes from Jane Austen's novels that reveal an altogether different dimension to her oeuvre.Pride and Prejudice's Bingley sisters appear as Sapphic seductresses; Mansfield Park's incest subtext becomes manifest; and Darcy gets more than his shirt wet. This incisive parody of academic study is sure to astonish and delight mischievous Austenites.

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In his own words Dougal Haston covers the years from his childhood in Scotland, where his love of climbing was first sparked, through to his development into perhaps the most formidable climber of his generation; his reputation was forged by his successful ascents of familiar peaks by unfamiliar routes (of which the most famous was the Eiger Direct).Infused throughout with his passion for climbing and his great determination to succeed, In High Places is a compelling and eye-opening portrait of the climber as a young man and a must read for all those with an interest in mountaineering.

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A Change is Gonna Come chronicles more than forty years of black music: from the hopeful, angry refrains of the Freedom movement to the slick pop of Motown; from Woodstock and the 'Summer of Love' to Vietnam and the race riots; from disco inferno to the Million Man March. This is an insightful and riveting study which looks at the place black music occupies in social history, its battle for the desegregation of popular music and its contribution to social change outside the recording studio

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A BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK''Quite possibly the best living writer in Britain'' Daily TelegraphMuch attention has been paid to so-called late style - but what about last style? When does last begin? How early is late? When does the end set in?In this endlessly stimulating investigation, Geoff Dyer sets his own encounter with late middle age against the last days and last achievements of writers, painters, athletes and musicians who''ve mattered to him throughout his life. With a playful charm and penetrating intelligence, he examines Friedrich Nietzsche''s breakdown in Turin, Bob Dylan''s reinventions of old songs, J.M.W. Turner''s paintings of abstracted light, John Coltrane''s cosmic melodies, Jean Rhys''s return from the dead (while still alive) and Beethoven''s final quartets - and considers the intensifications and modifications of experience that come when an ending is within sight. Oh, and there''s stuff about Roger Feder

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You''ve fought and you''ve run away. You''ve danced with other Black queer bodies until sunrise.Sometimes you wanted to be caught and sometimes you wanted to be held. With all that you''ve endured, you are nothing less than miraculous.From choirboy to drag act, grandson to mentor, poet to lover, Dean Atta has played many roles in his life. In this formally inventive, candid and courageous book, he explores what he has carried in his body: wins and losses, shame and pride, pain and joy. Dean also investigates how radical self-acceptance and a willingness to abide with discomfort open up the possibility of a life lived beyond definition: a person unlimited.

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This seminal collection of Black British poets ignited a movement when it was first published in 1998. It celebrated the rising stars of the time, many of whom have since become established names.Inspired and influenced by roots, reggae and hip-hop, this anthology is edited by number one bestselling author and poet Lemn Sissay.Including work from: Chris Abani, Patience Agbabi, Malika Booker, John Citizen, Salena Godden, Lorraine Griffiths, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Jackie Kay, Parm Kaur, Shamshad Khan, Cheryl Martin, Raman Mundair, Bunmi Ogunsiji, Koye Oyedeji, Mallissa Read, Vanessa Richards, Khefri Cybele Riley aka KA'frique, Roger Robinson, Joy Russell, Kadija Sesay, John Siddique, Labi Siffre, Lemn Sissay, Dorothea Smartt, Andria Smith, SuAndi, Tricky, Akure Wall, Marie Guise Williams

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SHORTLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZEIn this astonishing collection of essays, the award-winning poet and novelist Kei Miller explores the silence in which so many important things are kept. He examines the experience of discrimination through this silence and what it means to breach it: to risk words, to risk truths. And he considers the histories our bodies inherit - the crimes that haunt them, and how meaning can shift as we move throughout the world, variously assuming privilege or victimhood. Through letters to James Baldwin, encounters with Liam Neeson, Soca, Carnival, family secrets, love affairs, white women's tears, questions of aesthetics and more, Miller powerfully and imaginatively recounts everyday acts of racism and prejudice. With both the epigrammatic concision and conversational cadence of his poetry and novels, Things I Have Withheld is a great artistic achievement: a work of beauty which challenges us to interrogate what seems unsayable and why - our actions, defence mechanisms, imaginations and interactions - and those of the world around us.

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Nothing in life works without facts.A society that isn't sure what's true can't function. Without facts there can be no government or law. Science is ignored. Trust evaporates.People everywhere feel ever more alienated from - and mistrustful of - news and those who make it. We no longer seem to know who or what to believe. We are living through a crisis of 'information chaos'.News and How to Use It is a glossary for this bewildering age. From AI to Bots, from Climate Crisis to Fake News, from Clickbait to Trolls (and more), here is the definitive user's guide for how to stay informed, tell truth from fiction and hold those in power accountable in the modern age.

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'Excellent' Mail on Sunday - Thriller of the Week'This one keeps you intrigued, ready for the gut punch' STEVE BERRY'Hawksley's hero, Rake Ozenna, is smart and tough, and we're glad to have him on our side' NELSON DE MILLE Special agent Captain Rake Ozenna watches as a fleet of Russian military helicopters heads straight for his home, a remote Alaskan island with a population of just eighty.What he doesn't know yet is why.Russia is playing a dangerous political game. In a daring act of provocation, it reclaims the American island as its own. Caught in the crosshairs of sabre-rattling big powers, Rake is determined to save his people and his island, even if it costs him his life.

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Rebecca O'Connor's first collection of poetry We'll Sing Blackbird was shortlisted for the Shine/Strong Award. Her writing has appeared in the Guardian, the Spectator, Poetry Review and elsewhere. She was a writer in residence at the Wordsworth Trust, the Centre for British Romanticism and is a recipient of a Geoffrey Dearmer Prize. She is co-founder and publisher of The Moth magazine. She lives in County Cavan, Ireland. He Is Mine and I Have No Other is her first novel.@RebeccaMoth themothmagazine.com

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NEW YORK TIMES 100 NOTABLE BOOKS OF 2017: 'masterly'GUARDIAN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: 'An absolute tour de force'Fran may be old but she's not going without a fight. So she dyes her hair, enjoys every glass of red wine, drives restlessly around the country and lives in an insalubrious tower block that her loved ones disapprove of. And as each of them - her pampered ex Claude, old friend Jo, flamboyant son Christopher and earnest daughter Poppet - seeks happiness in their own way, what will the last reckoning be? Will they be waving or drowning when the end comes? By turns joyous and profound, darkly sardonic and moving, The Dark Flood Rises questions what makes a good life, and a good death.

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