Search results for ""Author George"

The image of St George - the mounted, medieval knight slaying a dragon - seems so familiar to us all that it is tempting to assume this figure is easily understood. He is, in fact, one of the most significant and complex mythic figures in Christian culture, and has played an important role in Eastern Orthodox, Coptic and western European traditions over many centuries. Today St George continues to have a lively and diverse following: his various appearances can be found across many world religions, including Islam, Hinduism, Judaism and the African-Brazilian belief system Candomble. St George's identification with nature, springtime and healing means that he can also be found throughout pagan beliefs. St George: A Saint for All includes firsthand accounts of celebrations in Georgia, Greece, Malta and Belgium, and explores the iconic figure's wide-ranging significance in nations such as Lebanon, Palestine, Ethiopia and Estonia, as well as his totemic role for the Roma people. With or without the dragon, St George has been repeatedly reinvented over the last 1,700 years. This book is an engaging account of the huge potential that artists, poets and painters have found in his myth, discussing the often controversial political uses to which the saint has been put, including many reworkings and reimaginings, and places his current cultural position in its historical context. This is the first book to offer a full overview of the cult of St George, from its beginnings in the eastern Mediterranean to its established presence around the world today.

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The end of the First World War saw Britain at the height of its power. Its fleet and air force were the largest in the world. Its armies had triumphed in the Middle East and spearheaded the final attacks in Western Europe that had driven the defeated Germans to seek an armistice. Britain now had to translate this military victory into the achievement of its war aims and future security and prosperity. Its main negotiator at the forthcoming peace conference would be its prime minister, the ebullient and enigmatic David Lloyd George (1863-1945), the "Welsh Wizard" - "the man who had won the war". Lloyd George's energy had maintained the war effort through the dark days of 1917 and early 1918, but now he anticipated, with relish, the prospect of winning the peace. Few were better equipped. He was a skilled and accomplished negotiator with the knack of reconciling the apparently irreconcilable. His admirers, of whom there were many, pointed to his brilliant and agile mind, his rapid grasp of complex questions and his powers of persuasion. His critics, who were also numerous, distrusted his sleight of hand, fleetness of foot and, frankly, his word. His six months in Paris in 1919, as he pitted his wits against formidable world leaders like Woodrow Wilson and Georges Clemenceau, were among the most enjoyable but exhausting of his life. This study investigates the extent to which Lloyd George succeeded in his aims and evaluates the immediate and longer-term results of his negotiations for Britain.

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A warm, witty tale about family and celebrating difference, from the award-winning author of the Penny Dreadful series and Joe All Alone. Perfect for children learning to read. Everything about the Jones family is extraordinary – even their dog Digger, who can dance the can-can. Well, nearly everything … George Jones is utterly ordinary, and he hates it. But now the school talent contest is looming. Will George be able to discover exactly what it is that makes him extraordinary before he has to go up on stage? The Reading Ladder series helps children to enjoy learning to read. It features well-loved authors, classic characters and favourite topics, so that children will find something to excite and engage them in every title they pick up. It’s the first step towards a lasting love of reading. Level 2 Reading Ladder titles are perfect for readers who are growing in confidence and are beginning to enjoy longer stories. Clear type Up to 8 lines per page Bright, appealing pictures for added interest A variety of sentence structures A wider range of vocabulary Strong themes and characters to discuss All Reading Ladder titles are developed with a leading literacy consultant, making them perfect for use in schools and for parents keen to support their children’s reading. Book band: Turquoise

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Enjoy a day at the beach with Curious George! This storybook, featuring illustrations in the classic style of H.A. Rey, takes George on a sunny, seaside adventure. Everyone's favourite curious little monkey tries lifeguarding (he loves the tall chair and binoculars), feeds some seagulls, helps a friend overcome her fear of swimming, and even makes a daring ocean rescue when the picnic basket gets swept out to sea! This edition features a fill-in-the-blank word activity and downloadable audio so kids can hear the full story read aloud! Includes page-turn signals to guide early readers.

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Everyone’s favorite curious little monkey celebrates Chinese New Year with his friend Mei in this playful rhyming tabbed board book. Curious George joins his friend Mei and her family as they prepare for and celebrate Chinese New Year!From cleaning house and finding red clothes to wear, to hanging decorations and enjoying a family feast, to fireworks and a dragon dance, George and readers will enjoy learning about many Chinese New Year traditions.With a rhyming text, colorful illustrations, and sturdy tabbed pages for the littlest hands, this playful board book makes a great read for all fans of Curious George—those who celebrate Chinese New Year, and those who are learning about it for the first time!

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The History of Sir George Ellison (1766) is an important novel, both utopian and dystopian. Sir George, a man of benevolence, follows the pattern of the female utopia set forth in Scott's first novel, A Description of Millenium Hall (1762). In this sequel, Scott addresses issues of slavery, marriage, education, law and social justice, class pretensions, and the position of women in society, consistently emphasizing the importance, for both genders and all classes and ages, of devoting one's life to meaningful work. Although she adopted a gradualist approach to reform, Scott's uncompromising revelation of the corruption of English society in her day is clear-sighted, arresting, and hard-hitting.

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George Rickey's importance to the art world is belied by the lack of literature about one of the world's most accomplished kinetic sculptors. Rickey's fascinating sculptural oeuvre spans a fifty-three-year working period (1949-2002) and is incredibly diverse. This book is concerned exclusively with the early indoor sculptures from the first 25 years of Rickey's output. With over 380 color and black and white photos covering the artist's early innovations, we get an intimate and more complete picture of his artistic diversity than ever before. This book lays a firm foundation to an understanding of Rickey's creative intentions, and carefully categorizes the works into 38 chapters. Many of the works are published here for the first time.

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“Gavin’s engrossing biography of the singer takes the measure of a gifted, tragic, and infuriating man.” —New York Times Book Review George Michael was an extravagantly gifted, openhearted soul singer whose work was both pained and smolderingly erotic. He was a songwriter of true craft and substance, and his music swept the world, starting in the mid-1980s. His fabricated image—that of a hypermacho sex god—loomed large in the pop culture of his day. It also hid—for a time—the secret he fought against revealing: Michael was gay. Soon his obsession with fame would start to backfire. As one of the industry’s most privileged yet tortured men began to self-destruct, the press showed little sympathy. George Michael: A Life explores the compelling story of a superstar whose struggles, as well as his songs, continue to touch fans all over the world. Acclaimed music biographer James Gavin traces Michael’s metamorphosis from the shy and awkward Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou into the swaggering, dominant half of the leading British pop duo of the 1980s Wham!; he then details Michael’s sensational solo career and its subsequent unraveling. With deep analysis of the creative process behind Michael’s albums, tours, and music videos, as well as interviews with hundreds of his friends and colleagues, George Michael: A Life is a probing, definitive portrait of a pop legend.

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George Dureau, The Photographs is an album of the great photographic portraits made throughout the forty years of Dureau’s artistic career—a New Orleans romance between the photographer and his subjects. All of Dureau’s exquisite photographs, many of them nudes, were made in his studio in the French Quarter of New Orleans, or on the city’s streets. He began photography for the pleasure of photographing his lovers, and as research material for his paintings. Only later on did he begin to take his photographs seriously as works of art in their own right. Many of his subjects became part of Dureau’s “extended family,” whom he photographed on different occasions over many years. Surprisingly, only one book of Dureau’s photographs has been published: New Orleans, 1985, a modest paperback long out of print. This Aperture book is possible now because of the commitment of the community of Dureau’s supporters to see it happen. George Dureau, The Photographs is edited by Chris Boot, with a text by Philip Gefter.

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George Johanson – painter, printmaker, and teacher – was born in Seattle, studied art in Portland, Oregon, and lived in New York in the early 1950s before returning to Portland. Whether in New York jazz clubs and slaughterhouses, in Mexican villages, at the Rose Festival held each year in Portland, at rehearsals of the Oregon Symphony, or in life drawing sessions with artist friends, making images on paper has been a basic element for Johanson throughout his life. The haunting power of Johanson’s art originates, almost always, in drawing. Johanson’s art is concerned with memory and recollection, dream and fantasy, biography and autobiography, physical and imaginative detachment yet sensual engagement. He is also the painter of fires that break out in city buildings or spew from volcanoes, and he often sets fire’s rampage alongside human lassitude and seeming indifference.

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George Yeo: Musings Series One and Series Two available as a set hereGeorge Yeo: Musings (In 3 Volumes) available as a set hereOver sessions which lasted two to three hours each time, every week for half a year, George Yeo met and mused over a wide range of topics with writer Woon Tai Ho and research assistant Keith Yap. Speaking from notes, he began with himself and his hope for Singapore, and then spanned over a wide range of subjects — from the importance of human diversity and Singapore's reflection within itself of the world, to history, politics, economics, philosophy, taijigong and religion. He gives his views on India, China, ASEAN, Europe, the US and other parts of the world, and how Singapore's history and destiny are connected to all of them. The style is conversational and anecdotal.George Yeo: Musings is exactly that — musings. Some themes recur throughout the book which reflect his view of life. But there is no grand theory. He does not expect all of his reflections to be of interest to everyone, but he hopes that everyone will find something of interest.This is the second of a three-part series.

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A Welshman among the English, a nonconformist among Anglicans and a self-made man in the patrician corridors of power, David Lloyd George, the last Liberal Prime Minister of Great Britain, was the founding father of the Welfare State and was as great a peacetime leader as Churchill was in war. In this fascinating biography of an authentic radical, Roy Hattersley charts the great reforms - the first old age pension, sick pay and unemployment benefit - of which Lloyd George was architect, and also sheds light on the complexities of a man who was both a tireless champion of the poor, and a restless philanderer who was addicted to living dangerously.

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Iconic best hippo friends George and Martha find that scary movies and jealousy are easier to deal with when you have a good friend by your side in the Level Two I Can Read.With original art and text from Marshall's storybooks and themes that will resonate with beginning readers, these deeply humorous, deeply honest stories are sure to inspire a love of books and reading. In each of the two short stories in this book George and Martha model healthy ways to navigate the sometimes complicated waters of friendship. Includes "The Scary Move" and "The Secret Club," plus games and activities to strengthen reading skills and comprehension.George and Martha One More Time is a Level Two I Can Read book, geared for kids who read on their own but still need a little help. Whether shared at home or in a classroom, the engaging stories, longer sentences, and language play of Level Two books are proven to help kids take their next steps toward reading success.

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Everyone''s favorite curious monkey George learns about height and measurement at an amusement park in this Level Two I Can Read based on the Curious George TV show.Curious George can’t wait to ride the Turbo Python 3000 with his friends Betsy and Steve at the amusement park. But he is not tall enough! Will George figure out how to ride the roller coaster before the end of the day? Curious George Roller Coaster is a Level Two I Can Read book, geared for kids who read on their own but still need a little help. Whether shared at home or in a classroom, the engaging stories, longer sentences, and language play of Level Two books are proven to help kids take their next steps toward reading success.

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At first, George just wants to pet the puppy, but then he wants to hold one. George's curiosity gets the best of him, and soon puppies are everywhere. Includes bonus activities, stickers, and downloadable audio.

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The Meaning of the Earth offers a retrospective on the work and lives of the relentlessly controversial artists Gilbert & George, connecting their beginnings as Living Sculptures to their pictorial work of today. ---------- 'The Meaning of the Earth, Wolf Jahn's new book, explores the vision of our Art like no one has ever done before. Congratulations Wolf! Everyone loves this amazing and beautiful book. It is a masterpiece.' - Gilbert & George ---------- The Meaning of the Earth offers a retrospective on the lives and work of the relentlessly controversial artists Gilbert & George, placing them within the context of twentieth-century British culture. Wolf Jahn tells the story of how Gilbert & George found their identity in opposition to pervasive ideas around social conformity and religion after meeting in 1967. The artists staged an internal revolution, mining their psyches to create visionary and unwaveringly modern art. The ‘two people but one artist’ ask the questions that gnaw at us all: ‘Where do we come from?’, ‘Who are we?’ and ‘Where are we going?’ The book meditates on the artists’ role in this century, connecting their beginnings as Living Sculptures to their pictorial work of today. The Meaning of the Earth is a continuation of Jahn’s 1989 work, The Art of Gilbert & George. A playful philosophical interrogation of Gilbert & George’s work that truly grasps its cosmic scale.

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Curious little ones will love to cuddle up at bedtime with this padded story collection with sturdy pages. The perfect ending to a long day of play! Includes six stories: Curious George: Are You Curious Curious George and the Firefighters Curious George’s Day at the Farm Curious George Goes to a Bookstore Curious George Loves to Ride Good Night, Curious George

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George Gallup in Hollywood is a fascinating look at the film industry's use of opinion polling in the 1930s and '40s. George Gallup's polling techniques first achieved fame when he accurately predicted that Franklin D. Roosevelt would be reelected president in 1936. Gallup had devised an extremely effective sampling method that took households from all income brackets into account, and Hollywood studio executives quickly pounced on the value of Gallup's research. Soon he was gauging reactions to stars and scripts for RKO Pictures, David O. Selznick, and Walt Disney and taking the public's temperature on Orson Welles and Desi Arnaz, couples such as Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, and films like Gone with the Wind, Dumbo, and Fantasia. Through interviews and extensive research, Susan Ohmer traces Gallup's groundbreaking intellectual and methodological developments, examining his comprehensive approach to market research from his early education in the advertising industry to his later work in Hollywood. The results of his opinion polls offer a fascinating glimpse at the class and gender differences of the time as well as popular sentiment toward social and political issues.

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Born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou, George Michael was raised in a family of Greek Cypriot immigrants in North London, and dreamed of stardom when he was a little boy. At just twelve years old he met Andrew Ridgeley and the two of them went on to achieve stunning success in the early 1980s with Wham!, creating music that remains popular to this day. Yet despite the enormous success of Wham!, George wanted more, and so set about recreating himself as a serious solo artist, reaching heights of even greater success. Ironically, however, even from the early days he was plagued with insecurity about his sexuality, which, combined with the calamity of losing his first lover to AIDS and his mother to cancer, plunged him into a lifelong struggle with drug addiction. He died, at the tragically early age of just fifty-three, on Christmas Day 2016. George Michael's life and career brought him international fame, and his sudden and unexpected death shocked the world. His unrivalled popularity as an artist, however, and the music he made, have turned him into one of the immortal greats of pop music. As Emily Herbert shows in this new biography, his legacy is not just his music, but his many extraordinary, and often anonymous, acts of charity.

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The railways were the most revolutionary innovation of Victorian times. They carried Britain into the modern age with dramatic speed, transforming the pace and style of everyday life. We owe them to two men who, father and son, can lay claim to be the most important engineers of their time, George and Robert Stephenson. In this excellent biography L. T. C. Rolt, author of Brunel and Thomas Telford, assesses their life and their work. ‘This biography is a work of distinction in both the historical and social sense. It is written by one who adds engineering knowledge to biographical skill.’ E. W. Martin in the Listener ‘Mr Rolt is a master of correct terminology and can even turn it to literary advantage where, under another hand, it would cumber context with jargon. This gift, coupled with his own practical knowledge of mechanical and civil engineering, has enabled the author to produce yet another contribution to English history, which would have been quite beyond the power of the academic historian.’ Edmund Vale in the Observer

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George Yeo: Musings Series One and Series Two available as a set hereGeorge Yeo: Musings (In 3 Volumes) available as a set hereOver sessions which lasted two to three hours each time, every week for half a year, George Yeo met and mused over a wide range of topics with writer Woon Tai Ho and research assistant Keith Yap. Speaking from notes, he began with himself and his hope for Singapore, and then spanned over a wide range of subjects — from the importance of human diversity and Singapore's reflection within itself of the world, to history, politics, economics, philosophy, taijigong and religion. He gives his views on India, China, ASEAN, Europe, the US and other parts of the world, and how Singapore's history and destiny are connected to all of them. The style is conversational and anecdotal.George Yeo: Musings is exactly that — musings. Some themes recur throughout the book which reflect his view of life. But there is no grand theory. He does not expect all of his reflections to be of interest to everyone, but he hopes that everyone will find something of interest.This is the first of a three-part series.

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'Well-researched ... I was fascinated' Roger Lewis, Daily MailFrom its debut in 1962, Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? was a wild success and a cultural lightning rod. The play transpires over one long, boozy night, laying bare the lies, compromises, and scalding love that have sustained a middle-aged couple through decades of marriage. It scandalised critics but magnetised audiences. Then, Hollywood took a colossal gamble on Albee's sophisticated play and won. Co-starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, the sensational 1966 film won five Oscars. How this scorching play became a movie classic-surviving censorship attempts, its creators' inexperience, and its stars' own tumultuous marriage, is one of the most riveting stories in all of cinema. Acclaimed author Philip Gefter traces Woolf from its hushed origins in Greenwich Village, through its tormented production process, to its explosion onto scree

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George's favourite author is signing at the new bookstore in town. Waiting in line is hard when you're as curious as our little monkey, especially when surrounded by so many great books! George has fun browsing but then takes organizing some open boxes of books into his own hands, with surprising results. At the end of the day, lucky George finally gets some time with his favourite author. Children will love his silly antics as George explores the wonderful world that is the local bookstore. This latest monkey tale is for book lovers, lovers of George, and especially lovers of curiosity!

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Un libro muy especial de Peppa Pig para Sant Jordi.George y Peppa se han convertido en un caballero y una princesa en su reino de fantasía. San George el Valiente lleva una armadura de caballero, monta a caballo y todos conocen su nombre:San George el Valiente! San George el Valiente!Todos gritan el nombre de su héroe.Ahora, se enfrenta a nada más y nada menos que... a un dragón enorme!Los libros de la colección Primeras lecturas de Peppa Pig están pensados para niños que empiezan a leer. Sus textos contienen vocabulario sencillo, los interiores son muy visuales y, además, relatan las divertidas aventuras del personaje favorito de los niños. Todo ello logrará motivar y entretener a los pequeños lectores, así como estimular su imaginación.

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This is the never-before-told story of George Orwell's first wife, Eileen, a woman who shaped, supported, and even saved the life of one of the twentieth century's greatest writers.In 1934, Eileen O'Shaughnessy's futuristic poem, 'End of the Century, 1984', was published. The next year, she would meet George Orwell, then known as Eric Blair, at a party. 'Now that is the kind of girl I would like to marry!' he remarked that night. Years later, Orwell would name his greatest work, Nineteen Eighty-Four, in homage to the memory of Eileen, the woman who shaped his life and his art in ways that have never been acknowledged by history, until now.From the time they spent in a tiny village tending goats and chickens, through the Spanish Civil War, to the couple's narrow escape from the destruction of their London flat during a German bombing raid, and their adoption of a baby boy, Eileen is the first account of the Blairs' nine-year marriage. It is also a vivid picture of bohemianism, political engagement, and sexual freedom in the 1930s and '40s.Through impressive depth of research, illustrated throughout with photos and images from the time, this captivating and inspiring biography offers a completely new perspective on Orwell himself, and most importantly tells the life story of an exceptional woman who has been unjustly overlooked.

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George Chapman is known today as a translator of Homer and as the author of dark tragedies such as Bussy D'Ambois. An Humorous Day's Mirth, written in 1597, was one of the most popular plays of the Elizabethan era. Not only was Chapman's play the Rose Theatre's greatest box-office success of that year, but it also presented an entirely new type of comedy, one that has profoundly influenced comic writing up to the present day. This play is the English theatre's first 'comedy of humours', in which the attitudes, behaviour, and social pretensions of contemporary men and women are satirised. Charles Edelman's is the first fully annotated, modern spelling edition of this long-neglected play. In his extensive introduction and commentary, Edelman discusses the intellectual, philosophical and theatrical background to Chapman's comedy, and shows that An Humorous Day's Mirth would delight the readers and audiences of today as much as it did those in 1597.

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Eight exciting stories about Curious George in a new, jam-packed treasury. You can enjoy these popular titles: "Curious George and the Firefighters"; "Curious George at the Aquarium"; "Curious George's Dinosaur Discovery"; "Curious George at the Baseball Game"; "Curious George at the Parade"; "Curious George's First Day of School"; "Curious George and the Pizza Party"; and, "Curious George Plants a Tree".

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Ceramic figurines of beautiful and romantic young women were made in hundreds of different poses and costumes by Josef Originals. This all-color illustrated, revised and expanded edition follows the art of California ceramicist Mauriel Josef George from 1945 through 1985 with over 700 color photographs. Also included for the first time are photos of Applause figurines next to the matching earlier figurines, and never before published catalog images from the authors' private collection. From the relatively common to the rare, this book is an essential reference for anyone with an interest in figurines designed by Muriel Joseph George.

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You are invited to travel by horse with the General, stay in his quarters, hear what he thinks, weigh upon his decisions, listen to his prayers, and fight by his side. Sometimes he will sound redundant. You will realize this is because many of the problems he faced were repetitive. Sometimes there will be little action. This will bother you. Please keep in mind, it bothered him more. You will see him in anguish and distress. You will experience his frustrations. You will grieve because of those who betrayed him. You will be a fly on the wall as he strategizes with his men. You will see some of those strategies carried out, while others were not executed. Even knowing the glorious outcome beforehand, you will see no possible way for victory to be had - until finally it is. You will be surprised to learn that this stoic figure had an inner turmoil few have ever faced. In the end, because of his own writings, you will know General George Washington more for who he was, above and beyond wh

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While researching Searching for George Gordon Meade, author Tom Huntington visited a severed leg, a buried arm, and a horse's head. He also hiked across Civil War battlefields, recited the names of fallen soldiers at a candlelit ceremony at Gettysburg, and drank a champagne toast in a Philadelphia cemetery on New Year's Eve.

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George Platt Lynes: The Daring Eye is a life of the gregarious American portrait, dance, fashion, and male nude photographer whose career spanned the late 1920s to 1955. From age 18, Lynes entered the cosmopolitan world of the American expatriate community in Paris when he became acquainted with the salon of Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas. Intending to pursue a literary and small press publishing career, Lynes also began photographing authors like Stein, Jean Cocteau, André Gide, and Colette. Soon, he turned exclusively to photography, establishing himself as one of the premier fashion photographers in the Condé Nast stable, documenting the early ballets of George Balanchine, and pursuing his private obsession with seductive images of young male nudes almost never published in his time. Lynes's private life was as glamorous and theatrical as his images with their brilliant studio lighting and dramatic Surrealist set-ups. Barely out his teens, he met the publisher Monroe Wheeler who was already in a relationship with the emerging expatriate novelist Glenway Wescott. The peripatetic threesome maintained a polyamorous connection that lasted some 15 years. Their New York apartment became a mecca for elegant cocktail and name-dropping dinner parties. Their ménage-à-trois complicates our understanding of the pre-Stonewall gay "closet." This biography, drawing upon intimate letters and an unpublished memoir of Lynes's life by his brother, writer and editor Russell Lynes, paints a portrait of the emerging influence of gays and lesbians in the visual, literary, and performing arts that defined transatlantic cosmopolitan culture and presaged later gay political activism.

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For those living in the Soviet Union, Orwell's masterpieces, Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four, were not dystopias, but accurate depictions of reality. Here, the Orwell scholar and expert on Russian politics, Masha Karp – Russian Features Editor at the BBC World Service for over a decade – explores how Orwell's work was received in Russia, when it percolated into the country even under censorship. Suggesting a new approach to the controversial ‘Orwell’s list’ of 1949, Karp puts into context the articles and letters written by Orwell at the time. She sheds light on how the ideas of totalitarianism exposed in Orwell’s writing took root in Russia and, in doing so, helps us to understand the contemporary political reality. As Vladimir Putin's actions continue to shock the West, it is clear we are witnessing the next transformation of totalitarianism, as predicted and described by Orwell. Now, over 70 years after Orwell's death, his writing, at least as far as Russia is concerned, remains as timely and urgent as it has ever been.

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George Gershwin blossomed as an accompanist before his talent as a songwriter opened the way to Broadway where he fashioned his own brand of American music. He composed a run of musical comedies, with his brother Ira as lyricist, and several classical works while he became a favoured guest in New York social circles. His 1924 Rhapsody in Blue was an instant classic rooted in in his absorption of African American music. A decade later came Porgy and Bess, his magnum opus. The brothers left New York to write songs for Hollywood—but their work was cut short when George developed a brain tumour and died at thirty-eight. Richard Crawford traces the arc of Gershwin’s remarkable life, seamlessly blending colourful anecdotes with a discussion of Gershwin’s unforgettable oeuvre.

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George Gershwin blossomed as an accompanist before his talent as a songwriter opened the way to Broadway where he fashioned his own brand of American music. He composed a run of musical comedies, with his brother Ira as lyricist, and several classical works while he became a favoured guest in New York social circles. His 1924 Rhapsody in Blue was an instant classic rooted in his absorption of African American music. A decade later came Porgy and Bess, his magnum opus. The brothers left New York to write songs for Hollywood—but their work was cut short when George developed a brain tumour and died at thirty-eight. Richard Crawford traces the arc of Gershwin’s remarkable life, seamlessly blending colourful anecdotes with a discussion of Gershwin’s unforgettable oeuvre.

Read more less

This is the never-before-told story of George Orwell's first wife, Eileen, a woman who shaped, supported, and even saved the life of one of the twentieth century's greatest writers.In 1934, Eileen O'Shaughnessy's futuristic poem, 'End of the Century, 1984', was published. The next year, she would meet George Orwell, then known as Eric Blair, at a party. 'Now that is the kind of girl I would like to marry!' he remarked that night. Years later, Orwell would name his greatest work, Nineteen Eighty-Four, in homage to the memory of Eileen, the woman who shaped his life and his art in ways that have never been acknowledged by history, until now.From the time they spent in a tiny village tending goats and chickens, through the Spanish Civil War, to the couple's narrow escape from the destruction of their London flat during a German bombing raid, and their adoption of a baby boy, Eileen is the first account of the Blairs' nine-year marriage. It is also a vivid picture of bohemianism, political engagement, and sexual freedom in the 1930s and '40s.Through impressive depth of research, illustrated throughout with photos and images from the time, this captivating and inspiring biography offers a completely new perspective on Orwell himself, and most importantly tells the life story of an exceptional woman who has been unjustly overlooked.

Read more less