Search results for ""Author Ian Fraser""

This is the definitive account of the Royal Bank of Scotland scandal. For a few brief months in 2007 and 2009, the Royal Bank of Scotland was the largest bank in the world. Then the Edinburgh-based giant - having rapidly grown its footprint to 55 countries and stretched its assets to £2.4 trillion under its hubristic and delinquent former boss Fred Goodwin - crashed to earth. In Shredded, Ian Fraser explores the series of cataclysmic misjudgments, the toxic internal culture and the 'light touch' regulatory regime that gave rise to RBS/NatWest's near-collapse. He also considers why it became the most expensive bank in the world to bail out and why a culture of impunity was allowed to develop in the banking sector. This new edition brings the story up to date, chronicling the string of scandals that have come to light since taxpayers rescued RBS and concluding with an evaluation of the attempts of the bank's post-crisis chief executives, Stephen Hester and Ross McEwan, to dismantle Goodwin's disastrous legacy and restore the damaged institutions to health. 'A gripping account - RBS was a rogue business, operating in what had become a rogue industry, with the connivance of government. Read it and weep' – Martin Woolf, Financial Times

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Ian Fraser is Senior Lecturer in Politics at Loughborough University, UK. He is the author of Dialectics of the Self: Transcending Charles Taylor (Imprint Academic, 2007), Hegel and Marx: The Concept of Need (Edinburgh UP, 1998) and co-editor, with Tony Burns, of The Hegel-Marx Connection (Palgrave Macmillan, 2000).Lawrence Wilde is Professor of Political Theory at Nottingham Trent University, UK. He is the author of Erich Fromm and the Quest for Solidarity (Palgrave Macmillan, 2004), Ethical Marxism and its Radical Critics (Palgrave Macmillan, 1998), Modern European Socialism (Dartmouth, 1994) and Marx and Contradiction (Avebury, 1989), editor of Marxism's Ethical Thinkers (Palgrave Macmillan, 2001), and co-editor, with Mark Cowling, of Approaches to Marx (Open UP, 1989).

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Fraser's diverse and wide-ranging book offers an examination of the work of four critically acclaimed novelists, Milan Kundera (The Unbearable Lightness of Being and Identity), Ian McEwan (Atonement and Saturday), Michel Houellebecq (Atomised and Platform) and J.M. Coetzee (Disgrace and Diary of a Bad Year), to aesthetically explore our understanding of identity. The analysis utilises frameworks from classical and contemporary political, philosophical and social theory to explore the notion of the aesthetic self within these texts. Fraser explores these ideas from within the Marxist aesthetic tradition, using theorists such as Friedrich Nietzsche, G. W. F. Hegel, E.P. Thompson, Julia Kristeva, Henri Lefebvre, Albert Camus, Thomas Aquinas and Theodor Adorno. Fraser therefore offers an innovative and unique approach that breaks new ground by developing a Marxist aesthetic account of identity through the medium of contemporary fiction.

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Everywhere we go there are birds, and they all have mysteries to be unravelled. These mysteries include the way they look, from bizarre to apparently mundane, why they live where they live, and the things they do, many of which are far too incredible ever to be imagined as fiction.Birds in Their Habitats is a collection of stories and experiences, which introduce fascinating aspects of birdlife, ecology and behaviour. Informed by a wealth of historical and contemporary research, Ian Fraser takes the reader on a journey through four continents: from places as unfamiliar as the Chonos Archipelago of southern Chile and the arid Sahel woodlands of northern Cameroon to those as familiar as a suburban backyard. This is a book of discovery of birds and the places they live. And with humour and personal insight, it is a book about the sometimes strange world of the people who spend a life absorbed in birds.FEATURES: Engaging and entertaining text written by one of Australia’s best natural history writers. This ‘birding travelogue’ will take readers on a journey of discovery through the far-flung habitats and fascinating birds of the world. Contains an illustrated section with colour photographs showcasing the incredible diversity of bird species and their habitats.

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This text introduces the concept of need as viewed by Hegel and Marx, and places it within the context of modern need theories and theorists. The book works through key texts, including Hegel's Philosophy of Right and Marx's Capital, and discusses the theory in relation to Soviet Communism and social democracy. * Covers key texts by Hegel and Marx studied by undergraduates on political theory courses * Looks at political implications for modern need theory * Accessible: author makes good use of textual evidence * Need theory is a major element of modern social theory

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This Second Edition of Australian Bird Names is a completely updated checklist of Australian birds and the meanings behind their common and scientific names, which may be useful, useless or downright misleading!For each species, the authors examine the many-and-varied common names and full scientific name, with derivation, translation and a guide to pronunciation. Stories behind the name are included, as well as relevant aspects of biology, conservation and history. Original descriptions, translated by the authors, have been sourced for many species.As well as being a book about names, this is a book about the history of the ever-developing understanding of birds, about the people who contributed to this understanding and, most of all, about the birds themselves. This Second Edition has been revised to follow current taxonomy and understanding of the relationships between families, genera and species. It contains new taxa, updated text and new vagrants and will be interesting reading for anyone with a love of birds, words or the history of Australian biology and bird-watching.Features Offers readers with a greater understanding of the origins and bases for the names and relationships of Australian birds, which will in turn provide greater appreciation of and familiarity with the birds themselves Presented in an entertaining and discursive manner, so that it can be read for enjoyment, as well as a reference Expanded, rewritten and reorganised to conform taxonomically to the most recent version of the International Ornithological Committee’s (IOC) World Bird List (Version 8.2), including the addition of new vagrants and taxa

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Ogg and Bob are cavemen. They’re also best friends. Ogg is good at thinking of things for the two friends to do together. Bob is good at solving the problems that he and Ogg encounter. But what happens when these two cavemen decide to get a pet mammoth? With simple text, funny “caveman speak,” and full-color illustrations on every page, these delightful chapter books are a treat for children.

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