Search results for ""author tina kover""
Europa Editions (UK) Ltd Belle Greene: She hid an incredible secret
THE TRANSFIXING TRUE STORY OF A WOMAN WHO DEFIED ALL ODDS TO CHOOSE HER OWN DESTINY "This life of the astonishing Belle Greene, the director of the Morgan Library who took the decision to "pass" as white in New York's Gilded Age, is a breathtaking and poignant work of social history."–Rebecca Fraser, author of Charlotte Brontë “Erudite, sharp, and worldly, she hid an incredible secret... The story told with panache by Alexandra Lapierre of one of the first women of the 20th century to have had the madness, and above all the courage, to choose her own destiny.”–ELLE New York in the 1900s. A young girl, fascinated by rare books, defies the odds and climbs all the ranks. She becomes the director of the fabulous library of the magnate J. P. Morgan and the darling of the international aristocracy, under the false name of Belle da Costa Greene. Belle Greene to close friends. But the flamboyant collector who turns heads and reigns over the world of bibliophiles hides a terrible secret for the violently racist America of her time. Although she looks white, she is actually African American and, moreover, the daughter of a famous black activist who sees her desire to hide her origins as a betrayal. It is this drama of a being torn between history and a woman’s choice to belong to the society which oppresses her people that Alexandra Lapierre recounts. The fruit of three years of investigation, this novel retraces the victories and heartbreaks of a woman full of life, as free as she is determined, whose astonishing daring echoes today's battles.
£12.99
Amazon Publishing Blue: A Novel
An award-winning Haitian novel about silence, beauty, and the solidarity of tears. Airports are distillations of the world. I like thinking of them that way. The hope of leaving and the desire to come home, existing side by side. Any voyage is possible. My mind flies off toward the blue province once again. I don’t know, anymore, why I always associate it with blue. It isn’t even my favorite color. Traveling alone from Miami to Port-au-Prince, our narrator finds comfort at the airport. She feels free to ponder the silence that surrounds her homeland, her mother, her aunts, and her own inner thoughts. Between two places, she sees how living in poverty keeps women silent, forging their identities around practicality and resilience. From a distance, she is drawn inevitably homeward toward her family and the glittering blue Caribbean Sea. Blue comes alive through vivid images crowding the page, just as memories do in real life, as if the author is trying to sort through them, to come to grips with her own emotional conflict. Balancing the pain and anger are spiritual bonds that connect the author to the women who have come before her, who have created her, and with Haiti itself, her motherland. No amount of glittering opportunity up north can prevent her from finding her way home.
£7.87
Europa Editions (UK) Ltd Lenin Walked on the Moon: The Mad History of Russian Cosmism
How a Soviet cosmic dream is becoming a modern reality Cheating death and raising the dead. Creating life. Freeing the spirit. Colonising space. These projects, of which some have been achieved and some will soon, have a shared Russian history, belonging to a movement known as cosmism – a mixture of scientific research, metaphysics and mysticism. More than 100 years ago, key Russian thinkers and anarchists alike wanted to resurrect the dead and send them into space. Since then, cosmists have prepared to colonise the planets, to save a world that would become overpopulated after death had been vanquished. Cosmism was the model behind the Soviet Union. Yet, it is still ever-present, and cosmism is responsible for a number of Russian policies. Decades ago, it also found itself a second home: Silicon Valley. A principal source of inspiration for Californian transhumanists, Soviet cosmism founded the core dreams of contemporary society – immortality and colonisation of space. The cosmists have written our future, and we’re now living it.
£14.99
Europa Editions (UK) Ltd The Postcard: The International Bestseller
A moving novel from the bestselling author of HOW TO BE PARISIAN WHEREVER YOU ARE “A deeply moving book.” —LEILA SLIMANI *** “A powerful exploration of family trauma.” —LAUREN ELKIN “A work of rare grace and importance.”—THE GUARDIAN In January 2003, the Berest family receive a mysterious, unsigned postcard. On one side was an image of the Opéra Garnier; on the other, the names of their relatives who were killed in Auschwitz: Ephraïm, Emma, Noémie and Jacques. Years later, Anne sought to find the truth behind this postcard. She journeys 100 years into the past, tracing the lives of her ancestors from their flight from Russia following the revolution, their journey to Latvia, Palestine, and Paris, the war and its aftermath. What emerges is a thrilling and sweeping tale based on true events that shatters her certainties about her family, her country, and herself. At once a gripping investigation into family secrets, a poignant tale of mothers and daughters, and an enthralling portrait of 20th-century Parisian intellectual and artistic life, The Postcard tells the story of a family devastated by the Holocaust and yet somehow restored by love and the power of storytelling. READER REVIEWS "I am rarely moved to tears by books, but the Postcard had me twice. It is so intensely moving, so cleverly structured, and so gripping. This is one of the best books I have read in years." —Tom, Mr B's Emporium bookseller "One of the best books I've ever read." —Naomi, Netgalley "This extraordinary 'true novel' is a must-read." —Aoife, Netgalley "Powerful, painful, important... Highly recommend." —Stephen, Amazon "This book is more than the blurb, quotes and taglines. It is a feeling to felt, something to be passed on, something to be reflected and something to show the importance in remembering and reading." —Lucy, Waterstones bookseller "A beautiful masterpiece." —Beth, Amazon
£17.09
Pegasus Books The Science of Middle-earth: A New Understanding of Tolkien and His World
The surprising and illuminating look at how Tolkien's love of science and natural history shaped the creation of his Middle Earth, from its flora and fauna to its landscapes.The world J.R.R. Tolkien created is one of the most beloved in all of literature, and continues to capture hearts and imaginations around the world. From Oxford to ComiCon, the Middle Earth is analyzed and interpreted through a multitude of perspectives. But one essential facet of Tolkien and his Middle Earth has been overlooked: science. This great writer, creator of worlds and unforgettable character, and inventor of language was also a scientific autodidact, with an innate interest and grasp of botany, paleontologist and geologist, with additional passions for archeology and chemistry. Tolkien was an acute observer of flora and fauna and mined the minds of his scientific friends about ocean currents and volcanoes. It is these layers science that give his imaginary universe—and the creatures and characters that inhabit it—such concreteness. Within this gorgeously illustrated edition, a range of scientists—from astrophysicists to physicians, botanists to volcanologists—explore Tolkien’s novels, poems, and letters to reveal their fascinating scientific roots. A rewarding combination of literary exploration and scientific discovery, The Science of Middle-earth reveals the hidden meaning of the Ring’s corruption, why Hobbits have big feet, the origins of the Dwarves, the animals which inspired the dragons, and even whether or not an Ent is possible. Enhanced by superb original drawings, this transportive work will delight both Tolkien fans and science lovers and inspire us to view both Middle Earth—and our own world—with fresh eyes.
£15.72