Jasper Fforde
Three separate interviews in which Jasper Fforde discusses the Thursday Next series, his Nursery Crime novels and Shades of Grey, the first in a trilogy set in a future world recognizable as our own - but only just.
Abraham Verghese
An interview with Abraham Verghese about his life and writing and in particular about his extraordinary 2009 novel Cutting for Stone, set in 1960s and '70s Ethiopia and 1980s New York.
Martha A Sandweiss
An interview with Martha Sandweiss in which she discusses her book Passing Strange, a biography of Clarence King who lived a double life—as the celebrated white explorer, geologist, and writer Clarence King and as a black Pullman porter named James Todd, married to Ada with whom he had five children.
Amy Greene
Amy Greene talks about her first novel, Bloodroot, which brings her native Appalachia—and the faith and fury of its people—to rich and vivid life.
"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts."
"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so
certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts." - Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Arthur William Russell (1872-1970) was a British philosopher, logician,
mathematician, historian, social reformist and pacifist (for which he was
imprisoned during WWI). Along with G.E. Moore, Russell is generally recognized
as one of the founders of analytic philosophy. He is also often credited with
being one of the two most important logicians (a person who studies logic) of
the twentieth century. In addition, Russell made significant contributions to a
broad range of subjects including education, history, political theory and
religious studies.
After a life marked by controversy, he was awarded the Order of Merit in 1949
and the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1950, "in recognition of his varied and
significant writings in which he champions humanitarian ideals and freedom of
thought." He is noted for his many anti-war and anti-nuclear protests and as a
champion of free trade and anti-imperialism; for example, he campaigned against
Hitler and for nuclear disarmament, and criticized Soviet totalitarianism and
the USA's involvement in Vietnam.
Most bibliographies cite 80 or more works written by him, but that is a mere
fraction of his total output. In 1983 McMaster University began publishing
The Collected Papers of Bertrand Russell. The collection is currently up
to16 volumes with much more to come. Apparently, an additional three
volumes are devoted to simply cataloguing his bibliography (the Russell archives
at McMaster University hold more than 30,000 letters written by him). Of all his
works, he is perhaps best remembered for his History of Western Philosophy
(1945).
More quotes from Bertrand Russell:
Collective fear stimulates herd instinct.
We are faced with the paradoxical fact that education has become one of
the chief obstacles to intelligence and freedom of thought.
There are two motives for reading a book: one, that you enjoy it; the
other, that you can boast about it.
There is much pleasure to be gained from useless knowledge.
Named for a flower whose blood-red sap possesses the power both to heal and poison, Bloodroot is a stunning fiction debut about the legacies—of magic and madness, faith and secrets, passion and loss—that haunt one family across the generations, from the Great Depression to today.
Samara Taylor used to believe in miracles. But her mother is in rehab, and her father seems more interested in his congregation than his family. And when a young girl in her small town is kidnapped, her already-worn thread of faith begins to unravel.
When she's not digging up bones or other ancient objects, quirky, tart-tongued archaeologist Ruth Galloway lives happily alone in Norfolk. But when a child's bones are found on a desolate beach nearby, and Detective Chief Inspector Harry Nelson calls Galloway for help, Ruth finds herself in...
Few works of literature are as universally beloved as Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Now, in this spellbinding historical novel, we meet the young girl whose bright spirit sent her on an unforgettable trip down the rabbit hole –and the grown woman whose story is no less...
The Coral Thief, as riveting and beautifully rendered as Ghostwalk, Rebecca Stott’s first novel, is a provocative and tantalizing mix of history, philosophy, and suspense. It conjures up vividly both the feats of Napoleon and the accomplishments of those working without fame or...
I rarely read anything before this. Years ago I picked this one up and couldn't put it down. It changed me into a book nut. It was a wonderful ...
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I can't believe I waited so long to read this book. Shame on me. This book was wonderful, lyrical, entertaining - all the makings of a wonderful ...
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The book held so much for the reader but in the end I felt robbed. The evolution of Trudy was disturbing and somewhat insulting. She came across as ...
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Justice Department still has issues with Google Settlement(Feb 05 2010) The Department of Justice dealt a serious blow Thursday evening to the chances that the Google Book Search settlement will gain court approval later this...
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Hachette formally adopts 'agency model'(Feb 05 2010) Hachette Book Group USA became the second major U.S. publisher to officially announce its intention to move to an agency model for the sale of e-books....
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