Martin Goodman

A darkly satirical literarythriller that will captivate readers of transgressive fiction and socialcritique. When Faisal emerges from the English Channel after his record-breaking swim from France, Brian and Eileen Pratchett expectgratitude—after all, they rescued him from the refugee pool, fed him, trainedhim, transformed him. But Cameron, a young Scottish drifter, has come searchingfor his brother Malcolm, one of the Pratchetts' earlier 'projects.' Malcolm wasgoing to be a tennis champion. Instead, he disappeared. As Cameron's questions growmore pointed and Faisal's gratitude turns ambiguous, the Pratchetts' carefullymaintained facade begins to crack. Behind their respectable seafront home withits immaculate rose garden lies a darker story—one of control, obsession, andthe terrible price of failing to meet expectations. Swimming for England is amasterful psychological portrait that operates simultaneously as thriller,social satire, and searing indictment. Goodman's prose is both beautiful andbrutal, his imagery visceral, his characters rendered with uncomfortable intimacy. This is fiction that disturbs, provokes, and lingers—perfect for book clubsseeking compact, challenging material and readers who appreciate the intersection ofliterary ambition and page-turning suspense.

Silently, digitally, a boy takes apart your family Tom''s a regular teenager – sullen, anxious, super-smart, feeling safe within his bedroom and wedded to his screen. On a packed train, a London commodities trader gets under his skin. The trader''s got a fine wife, two kids, a yappy dog, big house, annual bonus. Tom hacks him. The trader''s hardware becomes stuffed with dangerous, damaging images. Call it collateral damage. Hacking is what Tom does. He''s got control of the keyboards of key players in the fossil fuel industry. If he doesn''t bring down the grid, who will? Roads and trainlines lead the main players to a violent confrontation in the brutalist surrounds of London''s Barbican Centre. Government agents work to prevent a global blackout. Tom''s set to save the planet. Who will win?

''Sensitive and engaging ... I hope everybody reads it'' Brian EnoA SPECTATOR BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024With a foreword by Peter WohllebenHow much can one love a tree? Rajasthan, in northern India, is home to the Bishnoi, a community renowned for the extreme lengths they go to in order to protect nature: Bishnoi men and women have died to defend trees from loggers and wildlife from poachers.Writer and conservationist Martin Goodman, one of few trusted outsiders, relates the history of the Bishnoi, and asks what a world facing climate change and natural disaster can learn from a 600-year-old sustainable community leading an existence in delicate balance with nature and under threat from rapacious modernity. My Head for a Tree offers a timely reflection on indigenous, community-based activism and how we might adjust our lives to fight for the natural world.

Silný příběh tří generací žen z rodiny nacistického důstojníka v koncentračním táboře Dachau a židovské rodiny z Vídně, v němž je každý hluboce poznamenán válečnými hrůzami bez ohledu na to, na které straně konfliktu stojí. V 90. letech 20. století se v Kalifornii setkávají dva přeživší z obou rodin. Rosa je mladá australská muzikoložka, Otto světoznámý skladatel a violoncellista. Spojuje je hudba i minulost, ale bude zapotřebí ještě něčeho dalšího, co jim pomůže překlenout rány i propasti způsobené dějinami. S dětskými vzpomínkami na rozbombardovaný Leicester a Coventry se Martin Goodman po škole přestěhoval do Berlína. Jeho dílo zkoumá způsoby, jimiž válka působí v šokových vlnách na další generace. Spisovatel, oceněný za své romány i vědecká díla, nyní přednáší jako profesor kreativního psaní na Univerzitě v Hullu.

'An absolute godsend ... Goodman has done both Jews and non-Jews a great service with this book, encapsulating most of Jewish thought over four millennia into one extraordinarily readable volume' Julia Neuberger, Literary Review A panoramic history of Judaism from its origins to the present Judaism is by some distance the oldest of the three Abrahamic religions. Despite the extraordinarily diverse forms it has taken, the Jewish people have believed themselves bound to God by the same covenant for more than three thousand years. This book explains how Judaism came to be and how it has developed from one age to the next, as well as the ways in which its varieties have related to each other. 'A one-volume tour de force. Goodman meets the substantial challenge of charting the twists and turns, tributaries and backwaters of Judaism's many streams over 2,000 years - and succeeds' Harry Freedman, Jewish Chronicle 'Learned and illuminating ... this magnificently lucid account will become the standard reference for a generation' Dominic Green, Wall Street Journal

In this book, the first comprehensive, single-volume work of its kind in English, Martin Goodman explains how Judaism came to be and how it has developed from one period to another, as well as the ways in which its varieties have related to each other. This book addresses one of the world's great religions on a grander scale than any predecessor.