Search results for ""Author Dan O'Brien""
Taylor & Francis Ltd Hume on Testimony
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£118.75
University of Nebraska Press Great Plains Bison
Book Synopsis A Project of the Center for Great Plains Studies and the School of Natural Resources, University of NebraskaGreat Plains Bison traces the history and ecology of this American symbol from the origins of the great herds that once dominated the prairie to its near extinction in the late nineteenth century and the subsequent efforts to restore the bison population. A longtime wildlife biologist and one of the most powerful literary voices on the Great Plains, Dan O’Brien has managed his own ethically run buffalo ranch since 1997. Drawing on both extensive research and decades of personal experience, he details not only the natural history of the bison but also its prominent symbolism in Native American culture and its rise as an icon of the Great Plains. Great Plains Bison is a tribute to the bison’s essential place at the heart of the North American prairie and its ability to inspire naturalists and wildlife advocates in the fight to preTrade Review"The Great Plains, a region long on ecological majesty and American mythos but short on recorded history, can best be studied through its most important animal: the bison. . . . South Dakota rancher Dan O'Brien offers a lucid assessment of the species."—Alex Starace, Rain Taxi"[Great Plains Bison] is a story of the bison's relationship to the prairie ecosystem and the humans who have lived there. Told in a linear fashion, it covers the arc of bison history from nomadic Asian hunters who pursued the modern bison's larger and slower ancestors across the Bering Land Bridge, to bison's symbiotic relationship with Native Americans and the ultimate decimation of both under the banner of Manifest Destiny. . . . For those who want to be informed about bison, this book is a great place to start!"—Dave Sands, Nebraska History"Dan O'Brien, wildlife biologist, bison rancher, author, has written a short, thought-provoking book about that American icon, the buffalo."—Craig Anderson, Natural Areas Journal"Dan O'Brien's Great Plains Bison is a welcome addition to the historiography of the rise and fall of America's national mammal. . . . By using his knowledge of ecology and how bison fertilized their grazing range, O'Brien offers an innovative interpretation of the Dust Bowl."—John Buchkoski, Chronicles of Oklahoma“Dan O’Brien’s reverent history of the buffalo is a fascinating look at the relationship between nature and people—and an important reminder of the need to keep that relationship in balance.”—Mark R. Tercek, president and CEO of the Nature Conservancy “In America we have never liked wildness in our rivers, parks, or animals. The bison, wolf, and grizzly have all suffered from deliberate extirpation. Dan O’Brien warns us that it does not have to be that way.”—Yvon Chouinard, founder and owner of Patagonia Inc. “In just a few pages Dan O’Brien narrates the arc of Manifest Destiny and the demise of cultures and creatures at the heart of the American story. He describes our kinship with buffalo and the moral imperative to keep this wild creature, its landscape, and our indigenous cultures from going completely extinct. A must-read.”—Carter Roberts, president and CEO of the World Wildlife Fund in the United StatesTable of ContentsList of Illustrations Introduction Chapter One. The Great Plains: The Lay of the Land Chapter Two. Invasion: The First Wave Chapter Three. Cleansing the Land: Killing the Buffalo on the Central and Southern Plains Chapter Four. The Empty Land: The Slaughter Moves North Chapter Five. The Old Switcheroo: The Second Wave Chapter Six. Penning the Prairie: The Third Wave Chapter Seven. The Unintended Consequences of Technology: The Fourth Wave Chapter Eight. The Resistance: Creeping Back from the Shadows Chapter Nine. Legacy: Lessons from the Buffalo Appendix: Where to Find Buffalo on the Great Plains Bibliography Index
£13.94
University of Nebraska Press Wild Idea Buffalo and Family in a Difficult Land
Book SynopsisTrade Review“Wild Idea is a lyrical tribute to the idea of buffalo back on the plains, the rewards and challenges of putting them there. But it is so much more. It’s about all the life on the prairie, on the hardscrabble ranches and in the small towns. With this book, Dan secures his place as our modern prairie muse.”—Tom Brokaw, NBC journalist and author“Dan O’Brien’s book strikes me as a gentle but badly needed confrontation. . . . Figuring out how to realign the way we live with the health of the ecological systems that support us is the single most important challenge of the twenty-first century, and that makes O’Brien’s book an essential meditation.”—Edward Norton, actor and UN Goodwill Ambassador for Biodiversity“Making strong, lasting connections between the rugged land and the strong people is a staple of life on the Great Plains. Dan O’Brien’s gift is helping people understand this connection and the basic and difficult truth that sustainable living is not simple; it is as matted and dense as the thick fur that defines the buffalo’s very nature.”—Tom Daschle, former U.S. senator from South Dakota and former U.S. Senate majority leader"A deeply humane book that looks at ranching as a sustainable enterprise, a way of life more than an economic engine. . . . There may be plenty of disappointments out on the Plains, but this book is not one of them."—Kirkus"[Wild Idea] is a sweet little sagebrush soap opera of extended family joys and travails."—Jim Sterba, Wall Street Journal"[Wild Idea: Buffalo and Family in a Difficult Land is] a book that elegantly explores the tension between hope and futility in one man’s effort to kindle restoration on the Great Plains."—Carson Vaughan, High Country NewsTable of ContentsNo TOC
£24.16
University of Nebraska Press The Contract Surgeon
Book SynopsisWinner of the Western Heritage Award, this beautifully crafted historical novel from one of the West's most popular writers tells the true story of the friendship between Valentine McGillycuddy, a young doctor plucked from his prestigious medical career and newly married wife to serve in the army during the Great Sioux War, and the fearsome chief Crazy Horse.Trade Review“This powerful story is a thinking man’s western, in which action is secondary to O’Brien’s nuanced exploration of character and the tragic dimensions of a morally fraught conflict.”—Publishers Weekly“Draws a vivid portrait of Crazy Horse and gives an interesting, fresh perspective on the Great Sioux War.”—Larry McMurtry, author of Lonesome Dove“Impeccably researched.”—New York Times“The Contract Surgeon is an eerie, harrowing novel with terrifying implications. There is the aura that the ghosts of the Sioux made him write this book. It is lucid and harsh, and deftly avoids the sentimentality that mars novels that deal with our first citizens. The Contract Surgeon should bring O’Brien to the wide audience he deserves.”—Jim Harrison, author of Legends of the Fall“A thoughtful work of fiction about historical and psychological frontiers.”—National Public Radio“An intriguing, well-written, down-to-earth medical western.”—BooklistTable of ContentsAcknowledgmentsAuthor's NoteIntroductionChronology of EventsThe Contract Surgeon [41 numbered chapters]
£15.19
Bison Books Wild Idea
£18.04
Random House USA Inc Buffalo for the Broken Heart
Book SynopsisFor twenty years Dan O’Brien struggled to make ends meet on his cattle ranch in South Dakota. But when a neighbor invited him to lend a hand at the annual buffalo roundup, O’Brien was inspired to convert his own ranch, the Broken Heart, to buffalo. Starting with thirteen calves, “short-necked, golden balls of wool,” O’Brien embarked on a journey that returned buffalo to his land for the first time in more than a century and a half.Buffalo for the Broken Heart is at once a tender account of the buffaloes’ first seasons on the ranch and an engaging lesson in wildlife ecology. Whether he’s describing the grazing pattern of the buffalo, the thrill of watching a falcon home in on its prey, or the comical spectacle of a buffalo bull wallowing in the mud, O’Brien combines a novelist’s eye for detail with a naturalist’s understanding to create an enriching, entertaining narrative.
£15.30
John Wiley and Sons Ltd An Introduction to the Theory of Knowledge
Book SynopsisAn Introduction to the Theory of Knowledge, 2nd Edition guides the reader through the key issues and debates in contemporary epistemology. Lucid, comprehensive and accessible, it is an ideal textbook for students who are new to the subject and for university undergraduates. The book is divided into five parts.Trade Review"This is an excellent introduction to the theory of knowledge, comprehensive in scope but also accessible throughout, and written in an engaging style. Highly recommended." Duncan Pritchard, University of Edinburgh "It is the best book of its kind in this area available today. O�Brien has a distinctive approach, using many colourful examples and illustrations, and maintains a lively and readable style throughout, without becoming superficial. It covers a very wide range of epistemological topics, and the additions in this new edition enhance its value." Mark Tebbit, University of Reading "It is a perfect introduction for students and people interested in knowledge and the theory of knowledge."Waterstones AmsterdamTable of ContentsPREFACE TO THE NEW EDITION PART I: INTRODUCTION TO KNOWLEDGE Chapter 1: THE THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE Chapter 2: WHAT IS KNOWLEDGE? PART II: SOURCES OF KNOWLEDGE Chapter 3: A PRIORI KNOWLEDGE Chapter 4: PERCEPTION Chapter 5: TESTIMONY PART III: JUSTIFICATION Chapter 6: FOUNDATIONALISM Chapter 7: COHERENTISM Chapter 8: INTERNALISM AND EXTERNALISM PART IV: SCEPTICISM Chapter 9: SCEPTICISM I: EVIL DEMONS AND BRAINS IN VATS Chapter 10: SCEPTICISM II: CONTEXTUALISM AND INVARIANTISM Chapter 11: THE PROBLEM OF INDUCTION Chapter 12: NATURALIZED EPISTEMOLOGY PART V: AREAS OF KNOWLEDGE Chapter 13: MEMORY Chapter 14: OTHER MINDS Chapter 15: MORAL KNOWLEDGE Chapter 16: GOD GLOSSARY BIBLIOGRAPHY
£49.50
Syracuse University Press Fine Meshwork
Book SynopsisSince the publication of their first controversial novels in the 1950s and 1960s, Philip Roth and Edna O'Brien have always argued against the isolation of mind from body, autobiography from fiction, life from art, and self from nation. In this book Dan O'Brien investigates these shared concerns of the two authors.Trade ReviewExceptional, original . . . O’Brien takes on a fascinating topic about which very little has been written and, in so doing, makes a valuable contribution to the growing corpus of books in the emergent field of Irish-Jewish studies. O'Brien's Fine Meshwork interlaces intricately the works, lives and preoccupations of two (variously) misunderstood contemporary writers so as to ask questions that go beyond considerations of nation and biography. O'Brien's carefully and playfully written study, with its bold thesis of flirtatious intertextuality, will do much to advance their cause, while offering new and exciting frameworks against which to consider Irish and Jewish-American literature both as separate entities and in relation to transnational and transatlantic studies.
£36.97
Springer International Publishing AG Hume on the Self and Personal Identity
Book SynopsisThis book brings together a team of international scholars to attempt to understand David Hume’s conception of the self. The standard interpretation is that he holds a no-self view: we are just bundles of conscious experiences, thoughts and emotions. There is nothing deeper to us, no core, no essence, no soul. In the Appendix to A Treatise of Human Nature, though, Hume admits to being dissatisfied with such an account and Part One of this book explores why this might be so. Part Two turns to Books 2 and 3 of the Treatise, where Hume moves away from the ‘fiction’ of a simple self, to the complex idea we have of our flesh and blood selves, those with emotional lives, practical goals, and social relations with others. In Part Three connections are traced between Hume and Madhyamaka Buddhism, Husserl and the phenomenological tradition, and contemporary cognitive science.Table of ContentsPart 1: I The Self in Treatise Book 1.- 1. Andrew Ward, How Sceptical Is Hume’s Account of Personal Identity?’.- 2. Don Ainslie,Does Hume Have a “Bundling Problem"?.- 3.Galen Strawson,There is No Question in Philosophy More Abstruse: Hume On Personal Identity’.- 4. Josef Moural, ‘Hume and Kames on the Self and Personal Identity’.- Part 2: Character, Sympathy and Self.- 5. Ruth Boeker,‘Character Development in Shaftesbury’s and Hume’s Approaches to Self’.- 6. Dan O’Brien, Hume and the Epistemic Roles of the Self.- 7. Louise Braddock, Scottish Sympathy: Hume, Smith and Psychoanalysis.- Part 3 Self, Narrative and Action.- 8. Anik Waldow, Hume on Self-Determination.- 9. Lorenzo Greco, A Fragmented Unity: Hume On Narrative Identity and Temporality.- 10. Constantine Sandis, Hume on Characteristic Selves and Moral Responsibility.- Part 4 No-Self Views and Cognitive Science.- 11. Jay Garfield, Candrakīrti and Hume on the Self and the Person’.- 12. Mark Collier,Hume and Cognitive Science on the Natural Belief in Persistent Selves
£104.49
Acre Books Our Cancers: Poems
Book SynopsisOn the fourteenth anniversary of 9/11—an event that caused their downtown apartment to become “suffused with the World Trade Center’s carcinogenic dust”—Dan O’Brien’s wife discovers a lump in her breast. Surgery and chemotherapy soon follow, and on the day of his wife’s final infusion, O’Brien learns of his own diagnosis. He has colon cancer and will need to undergo his own intensive treatment over the next nine months. Our Cancers is a compelling account of illness and commitment, of parenthood and partnership. This spare and powerful sequence creates an intimate mythology that seeks meaning in illness while also celebrating of the resilience of sufferers, caregivers, and survivors. As O’Brien explains in an introduction, “The consecutiveness of our personal disasters, with a daughter not yet two years old at the start of it, was shattering and nearly silencing. At hospital bedsides, in hospital beds myself, and at home through the cyclical assaults of our therapies, these poems came to me in fragments, as if my unconscious were attempting to reassemble our lives, our identities and memories . . . as if I were in some sense learning how to speak again.”Trade Review"Our Cancers is an excellent example of Shelley’s secret alchemy, which turns 'to potable gold the poisonous waters which flow from death through life.' . . . [O'Brien's] skillful enjambments give a hypnotic effect to the stream of poems; lacking titles and punctuation, they lull the reader into a trance-like state which alone, perhaps, makes their content bearable. . . . Writing the truth, he says, 'saved him.' And it has produced an exquisite and terrible beauty in these pages." * Times Literary Supplement *"O’Brien explains that his obligation as a writer is 'To tell others the truth, as skillfully as possible. To make art out of pain. To heal.' Our Cancers tells his truth not only skillfully but masterfully, making from pain a lasting chronicle of art that traces fragmentary moments of healing over time." * North American Review *"[A] powerful [meditation] on being a husband, a father, and a human while dealing with the very real possibility that it could all come to an end." * Katie Couric Media *"Deeply personal and touching. . . . A testament to resilience during ongoing trauma, these poems carve out snippets of wonder and remembrance to eulogize twin disasters. This collection reminds us that there are moments in any given day, even the bad ones, that are worth remembering." * The Fiddlehead *"The title of this new volume of poems by playwright Dan O’Brien is heartbreaking. Our Cancers is an account of the illnesses suffered by both by O’Brien, and his wife, Jessica. In an especially harrowing twist of fate, O’Brien discovers he has colon cancer on the very day his wife receives her final treatment of chemotherapy. . . . The reader is called to witness, to hold the sorrow, to understand. . . . We might wince, look away, or we might gaze and offer a hand. I think that is O’Brien’s message for his readers: anyone one of us can be so afflicted at any time in our lives. Our Cancers then becomes universal, a quiet warning. " * The Key Reporter *"Like all those who write about their own illness and suffering, O’Brien offers up the deepest recesses of his pain for the rest of us to pick over and examine. These are sparse and beautiful poems to live by." * Magma Poetry *"O’Brien’s books are raised far above the run of subjective accounts of recovery." * Wild Court *"Twenty years after the events of 9/11, the dust continues to settle—in the Battery Park apartment and surrounding neighborhoods where Dan O’Brien and his wife lived and worked, in their breath and bodies, and in the brief 24 hours in which the one cancer journey concludes only to find another lying in wait. Love and nothingness curl around the enjambments and white space of these 101 terse lyric poems, each of which finds O’Brien acknowledging in new ways that 'I must find / my way / to live here.'” * Sugar House Review *
£13.00
University of Nebraska Press The Indian Agent
Book SynopsisDan O'Brien's earlier award-winning novel The Contract Surgeon introduced readers to Valentine McGillycuddy, a friend of the great war chief Crazy Horse. The Indian Agent is the riveting sequel to The Contract Surgeon.Trade Review“Well suited to those who like their historical fiction more historical than fictitious.”—Kirkus Reviews“Readers will clamor for a further installment of this well-written, absorbing and deeply affecting story.”—Publishers WeeklyTable of Contents[no TOC; 23 numbered chapters in 7 parts]Part One: The Capital - Winter 1878-1879Part Two: Pine Ridge - Spring 1879Part Three: The Yeoman Sioux - Summer, Fall 1879Part Four: Eastern Politics - 1880-1882Part Five: Outbreak - Fall 1882Part Six: Ghost Dance - 1884-1889Part Seven: Wounded Knee - Winter 1890-1891
£15.19
University of Nebraska Press Stolen Horses
Book SynopsisThe story of the residents of a small western plains town and the turmoil that results from the colliding interests of its "native" inhabitants and newcomersTrade Review"Interconnected lives in the small western Nebraska town of McDermot navigate the rocky transition from rustic old ways to new money opportunities and opportunists in the slow-burning latest from O'Brien."—Publishers Weekly"[Dan O'Brien] gives a fairly large number of characters individual attention, making them, with their good traits and bad, all quite memorable."—NPR's All Things Considered"Some books take you beyond reading. They take you inside, into your feelings and emotions. I "felt" this book. I believe that anyone with any land ownership in their lineage will also feel Stolen Horses."—Nancy Simpson, Book Vault Bookstore"Like a runaway team of Clydesdales, O'Brien's writing grabs the reader and pulls them along page by page. Grab the covers tightly, and ride along with Stolen Horses."—Alan J. Bartels, Nebraska LifeTable of ContentsNo TOC
£15.19
John Wiley and Sons Ltd An Introduction to the Theory of Knowledge
Book SynopsisAn Introduction to the Theory of Knowledge, 2nd Edition guides the reader through the key issues and debates in contemporary epistemology. Lucid, comprehensive and accessible, it is an ideal textbook for students who are new to the subject and for university undergraduates. The book is divided into five parts.Trade Review"This is an excellent introduction to the theory of knowledge, comprehensive in scope but also accessible throughout, and written in an engaging style. Highly recommended." Duncan Pritchard, University of Edinburgh "It is the best book of its kind in this area available today. O�Brien has a distinctive approach, using many colourful examples and illustrations, and maintains a lively and readable style throughout, without becoming superficial. It covers a very wide range of epistemological topics, and the additions in this new edition enhance its value." Mark Tebbit, University of Reading "It is a perfect introduction for students and people interested in knowledge and the theory of knowledge."Waterstones AmsterdamTable of ContentsPREFACE TO THE NEW EDITION PART I: INTRODUCTION TO KNOWLEDGE Chapter 1: THE THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE Chapter 2: WHAT IS KNOWLEDGE? PART II: SOURCES OF KNOWLEDGE Chapter 3: A PRIORI KNOWLEDGE Chapter 4: PERCEPTION Chapter 5: TESTIMONY PART III: JUSTIFICATION Chapter 6: FOUNDATIONALISM Chapter 7: COHERENTISM Chapter 8: INTERNALISM AND EXTERNALISM PART IV: SCEPTICISM Chapter 9: SCEPTICISM I: EVIL DEMONS AND BRAINS IN VATS Chapter 10: SCEPTICISM II: CONTEXTUALISM AND INVARIANTISM Chapter 11: THE PROBLEM OF INDUCTION Chapter 12: NATURALIZED EPISTEMOLOGY PART V: AREAS OF KNOWLEDGE Chapter 13: MEMORY Chapter 14: OTHER MINDS Chapter 15: MORAL KNOWLEDGE Chapter 16: GOD GLOSSARY BIBLIOGRAPHY
£17.09
MP-SYR Syracuse University P Irish Questions and Jewish Questions
Book SynopsisBringing together leading and emerging scholars from the fields of Irish studies and Jewish studies, this volume captures the most recent scholarship on their comparative history with nuance and remarkable insight.
£26.06
John Wiley and Sons Ltd Gardening Philosophy for Everyone
Book SynopsisPhilosophy and gardens have been closely connected from the dawn of philosophy, with many drawing on their beauty and peace for philosophical inspiration. Gardens in turn give rise to a broad spectrum of philosophical questions. For the green-fingered thinker, this book reflects on a whole host of fascinating philosophical themes. Gardens and philosophy present a fascinating combination of subjects, historically important, and yet scarcely covered within the realms of philosophy Contributions come from a wide range of authors, ranging from garden writers and gardeners, to those working in architecture, archaeology, archival studies, art history, anthropology, classics and philosophy Essays cover a broad spectrum of topics, ranging from Epicurus and Confucius to the aesthetics and philosophy of Central Park Offers new perspectives on the experience and evaluation of gardens Trade Review“Intriguing ideas combined with a philosophical method of inquiry bring the benefits of gardening into the 21st century. Gardening Philosophy for Everyone: Cultivating Wisdomproduces what the title suggests – it cultivates and grows the body of knowledge about gardening, exploring the value of gardening past and present for multiple disciplines.” (Journal of Therapeutic Horticulture, 1 November 2012) "So pull up a chair, relax under a shady canopy and delve into the fascinating garden-related philosophies contained in this most interesting read." (Australian Horticulture, 1 March 2011)"A good mix of topics, ideas and arguments - a very good and meaty read." (Gardensandpeople.co.uk, 1 March 2011) "Reading this book has been an experience so enchanting, that I am eager to revisit each of the essays, to re submerge myself in their expertise. If one is a gardener, this is a publication reserved for cold winter nights or long plane rides; for the non-gardener, it is an engaging private symposium. One might also call it "variations on a theme of gardening", enriched by diverse intellectual disciplines and unexpected perspectives of the contributing authors." (Gardenguru, 29 March 2011) "Reading this book has been an experience so enchanting, that I am eager to revisit each of the essays, to re submerge myself in their expertise. If one is a gardener, this is a publication reserved for cold winter nights or long plane rides; for the non-gardener, it is an engaging private symposium. One might also call it "variations on a theme of gardening", enriched by diverse intellectual disciplines and unexpected perspectives of the contributing writers." (Bookpleasures.com, 26 March 2011) "There's nothing too 'difficult' philosophically in this book, so definitely one for any thoughtful gardeners, philosophers or not." (Wittgenstein's Watering Can, 21 April 2011) "Finally, we have a book which celebrates and examines the topic of gardens and gardening in a way that involves more than simply helping pick the perfect plant for your shady nook." (A Garden of Possibilities, 18 April 2011) "The book is comprised of numerous essays by different authors, each with their own unique angle. I am very impressed that Permaculture is mentioned at least once by name, and hunter-gatherers, foragers, and horticulturalists, are discussed in many of the essays. Also, each author brings their own definition of gardening, and some of them are broad enough to include the most cutting edge forest gardens as well as many primitive peoples' land management techniques. Even the essays with a more narrow view of what a garden is had interesting thoughts of our interaction with plants and how that impacts us philosophically." (Nathan Carlos Rupley, 15 April 2011) "Editor Dan O'Brien has assembled a collection of essays, among which are Mara Miller's reflections upon the many layers of time and change inherent in gardens, and the ways in which they affect persona experiences, which illuminate how these may play into design considerations". (Garden Design Journal, 1 April 2011) "Gardening is not absent from philosophy; after all, Voltaire's Candide ends with the admonition to ‘cultivate our garden.' This book examines how gardening is like philosophy and vice versa. Much space is also given to political philosophy and some fascinating explorations into the political and philosophical ramifications of historical gardening in London and Aztec Mexico. The series is likely to appeal to armchair philosophers and undergraduates alike, and this volume will give gardeners of an intellectual bent a philosophical justification for their hobby." (Library Journal, March 2011) "A new book on the philosophy of gardening - edited by Dan O'Brien and Fritz Allhoff - has been written by and for the green-thumbed thinker, the practical gardener, the salad gardener, the architect, the archaeologist, and the artist at work among the ferns". (Horticulture Week, 12 January 2011) "Either way, it is an engaging and enjoyable read, and readers of the ERB will certainly want to stay tuned for future volumes in this diverse - and apparently all-encompassing - series!". (Englewood Review of Books, 28 December 2010) "Another essay takes a slightly different slant on Miller's theme, showing how gardens exist as patterns in time, just as music does. Overall, too many of these essays treat of the garden as a metaphor rather than as an actuality. But such books are rarely seen, and this one provides more than enough food for thought amid acres of identikit 'your kitchen-garden' and allotment books." (The Telegraph, 7 December 2010)Table of ContentsForeword viiiDavid E. Cooper Acknowledgments xiDan O’Brien Planting the Seed: An Introduction to Gardening – Philosophy for Everyone 1Dan O’Brien Part I The Good Life 11 1 The Virtues of Gardening 13Isis Brook 2 Cultivating the Soul: The Ethics of Gardening in Ancient Greece and Rome 26Meghan T. Ray 3 Escaping Eden: Plant Ethics in a Gardener’s World 38Matthew Hall 4 Food Glorious Food 48Helene Gammack Part II Flower Power 63 5 Plants, Prayers, and Power: The Story of the First Mediterranean Gardens 65Jo Day 6 Brussels Sprouts and Empire: Putting Down Roots 79Michael Moss 7 Transplanting Liberty: Lafayette’s American Garden 93Laura Auricchio 8 Cockney Plots: Allotments and Grassroots Political Activism 106Elizabeth A. Scott Part III The Flower Show 119 9 Hortus Incantans: Gardening as an Art of Enchantment 121Eric MacDonald 10 Gardens, Music, and Time 135Ismay Barwell and John Powell 11 The Pragmatic Picturesque: The Philosophy of Central Park 148Gary Shapiro Part IV The Cosmic Garden 161 12 Illusions of Grandeur: A Harmonious Garden for the Sun King 163Robert Neuman 13 Time and Temporality in the Garden 178Mara Miller 14 Cultivating Our Garden: David Hume and Gardening as Therapy 192Dan O’Brien Part V Philosophers’ Gardens 205 15 The Garden of the Aztec Philosopher-King 207Susan Toby Evans 16 Epicurus, the Garden, and the Golden Age 220Gordon Campbell 17 Gardener of Souls: Philosophical Education in Plato’s Phaedrus 232Anne Cotton Notes on Contributors 245
£13.95
Taylor & Francis Ltd Teleology and Modernity
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£39.99
Dalkey Archive Press True Story: A Trilogy
Book SynopsisTrue Story: A Trilogy gathers together three documentary plays by award-winning playwright and poet Dan O’Brien concerning trauma, both political and personal. The Body of an American speaks to a moment in history when a single, stark photograph—of a US Army Ranger dragged from the wreckage of a Blackhawk helicopter through the streets of Mogadishu—altered the course of global events. In a story that ranges from Rwanda to Afghanistan to the Canadian Arctic, O’Brien dramatizes the ethical and psychological haunting of journalist Paul Watson. In The House in Scarsdale: A Memoir for the Stage the playwright applies journalistic principles to investigating the source of his childhood unhappiness, as he searches for the reason why his parents and siblings cut him off years ago. The more he learns about his family, the more mysterious the circumstances surrounding their estrangement become, until his sense of self is shaken by rumors regarding his true parentage. The trilogy concludes with New Life, a tragicomedy that finds Paul Watson in Syria and the playwright in treatment for cancer, while together they endeavor to sell a TV series about journalists in war zones. New Life explores the paradox of war as entertainment, and dares to dream of healing after catastrophe. These three gritty yet poetic plays stand as a testament to the value of witnessing, honoring, and perhaps transcending the struggles of living.Trade ReviewPraise for A Story That Happens “A master class in surviving through art.” ― Margaret Gray, The Los Angeles Times “Powerful . . . . This is a book for our times. It reminds us that theatre is ‘fractured and failing yet struggling towards the mouth’s translation of the heart’s tongue’. Like [O’Brien], we buzz with the desire for the ‘chance for more life, and for that most valued of theatrical currencies – change’.” ― Alice Jolly, The Times Literary Supplement "Subtly weaving between sometimes harrowing personal reminiscences and perceptive and astute lessons on the art of dramatic writing, the book is a quiet revelation.” ― Caridad Svich, Contemporary Theatre Review Praise for Our Cancers “Our Cancers is an excellent example of Shelley’s secret alchemy, which turns 'to potable gold the poisonous waters which flow from death through life.' . . . Writing the truth, [O’Brien] says, ‘saved him.’ And it has produced an exquisite and terrible beauty in these pages.” ― Stephen Wilson, The Times Literary Supplement “O’Brien explains that his obligation as a writer is ‘To tell others the truth, as skillfully as possible. To make art out of pain. To heal.’ Our Cancers tells his truth not only skillfully but masterfully, making from pain a lasting chronicle of art that traces fragmentary moments of healing over time.” ― J. D. Schraffenberger, North American Review “These are sparse and beautiful poems to live by.” ― Sophie Thomas, Magma Poetry Praise for War Reporter “A masterpiece of truthfulness and feeling, and a completely sui generis addition not just to writing about war but to contemporary poetry” ― Patrick McGuinness, The Guardian Praise for The Body of an American “Poetic . . . Truthful . . . A lyrical and poignant work of theater” ― Alexis Soloski, The New York Times “Hauntings, on a personal and national scale, guilt, obsession and depression form the subject of this dense, knotty play . . . a play that tightens its grip as it probes where war lives, and discovers we each carry it inside ourselves.” – The Guardian “An engrossingly subjective docu-drama which feels psychologically acute and politically important . . . a really superb piece of theatre.” – The Stage Praise for The House in Scarsdale “[A] tour-de-force…in an inexorable forward motion rife with adventure, anger, frustration, and a certain joy of the chase.” – Stage Stuck “Dan O’Brien has written an American gothic tale on a par with Pulitzer Prize winner Sam Shepard’s best works.” – TheaterMania
£13.30
Dalkey Archive Press From Scarsdale: A Childhood
Book SynopsisFrom Scarsdale is an evocative and lyrical memoir of a haunted childhood in Scarsdale, New York.With a cancer diagnosis in his early forties, the author is compelled to revisit and resolve the mystery of his family’s sadness. The fourth of six children in an Irish-American household distinctly out-of-place in this affluent suburb of New York City, O’Brien grows up in a claustrophobic milieu of secrecy, lies, and mental illness. The turning point in his maturation is an older brother’s attempted suicide — an event he witnesses firsthand. From Scarsdale traces with sensitivity the complex histories and dynamics that lead to this trauma, as O’Brien investigates the psychologies of his parents, themselves the survivors of painful childhoods in Scarsdale. Then, simultaneously disturbed and catalyzed by his brother’s depression, and his own developing obsessive-compulsive disorder, the adolescent O’Brien discovers literature and the theatre as an escape, though it will take years for an actual liberation to occur. In many ways this memoir is that liberation, as his ambition here has been to tell “the story of who I am and where I’m from, with honesty, insight, and something like forgiveness. To try to leave the old place behind.” With the specificity and aching affection of William Maxwell’s Ancestors, and the impressionistic, mosaic-like structure of Michael Ondaatje’s Running in the Family, this book’s subject is ultimately, like all memoir, the solace and the conundrum of memory. From Scarsdale is a rare book, uniquely told, and a poignant example of the redemptive power of a true story.
£13.30
Dalkey Archive Press A Story that Happens: On Playwriting, Childhood,
Book SynopsisDrawing on O’Brien’s experience of cancer and of childhood abuse, and on his ongoing collaboration with a war reporter, the four essays in A Story that Happens—first written as craft lectures for the Sewanee Writers’ Conference and the US Air Force Academy—offer hard-won insights into what stories are for and the reasons why, "afraid and hopeful," we begin to tell them.
£9.99
CB Editions Scarsdale
Book SynopsisIn Scarsdale Dan OBrien applies to his own early life the same honesty and insight that were evident in his prize-winning War Reporter. Growing up in a family scarred by past trauma, he makes a bid for freedom only to be pulled back into the orbit of the place he had sought to escape.
£8.99
CB Editions New Life
Book SynopsisThe second poetry collection by Dan O'Brien based on the experience of the war reporter Paul Watson, following War Reporter, taking in the aftermath of the Arab Spring in Syria, Libya and Egypt.
£8.99
CB Editions A Story that Happens: On playwriting, childhood,
Book SynopsisDrawing deeply on O'Brien's experience of cancer and of childhood abuse, and of collaboration with a war reporter, the four essays in A Story that Happens offer hard-won insights into what stories are for and the reasons why, afraid and hopeful', we begin to tell them.
£8.54
Samuel French Ltd The Body of an American
Book SynopsisDan O''Brien''s gripping and provocative play, The Body of an American speaks to a moment in recent history when a single, stark photograph - of the body of an American dragged from the wreck of a Blackhawk through the streets of Mogadishu - reshaped the course of global events. In a story ranging far in time and place, from Rwanda to Afghanistan to the Canadian Arctic, and in powerful, theatrical language, Dan O''Brien explores the ethical and personal consequences of Paul Watson''s photogra
£12.76
Salamander Street Limited The Angel in the Trees and Other Monologues
Book SynopsisA lapsed academic haunted by her past, and by an ambiguous angel, in the backwoods of the American South; a Midwestern widower dreams of returning to the Ireland of his youth; a heartsick cabbie auditions for his ex in a pub-theatre in Cork City; a schizophrenic grapples for freedom from the mother in his mind; three voices of the COVID-19 pandemic seek long-distance resolution and reunion. In these and other monologues, selected from over two decades of work, award-winning American playwright Dan O’Brien illuminates, in heartbreaking and unwavering fashion, the humanity of lost souls longing to be heard. "Dan O'Brien is a playwright-poet who, like a mash-up of Seamus Heaney and Dashiel Hammett, puts the audience in the middle of an unfolding mystery promising both revelation and terror, and delivering an equal measure of both." Robert Schenkkan “O’Brien is an outstanding wordsmith and a sharp observer of character.” Variety "emotionally gripping, psychologically astute...a bracing and absorbing piece of theater." New York Times (Critics' Pick) on The Body of an American "A masterpiece of truthfulness and feeling" The Guardian on War Reporter "utterly riveting...frequently exhilarating" The Washington Post on The Body of an American
£11.39
