Canongate Books strana 18 z 27

The Vulture was written when Scott-Heron dropped out of his second year at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania in late 1968. Scott-Heron couldnt concentrate on his studies because he had the novel boiling up in his head and needed to get it down on p aper. The book was eventually published in 1970 to critical acclaim. Reading it now, 40 years later, it still packs a heavyweight punch. An intricate and intelligent murder mystery, it is soaked in the world of the black Manhattan ghettos of the time , where opportunities for young black men were scarce and the temptation of escaping the prejudice and dismal lives around them with excessive drink and with drugs was strong. In many respects, the novel is still relevant today much of the action and dialogue reads like a contemporary Tarantino or Spike Lee movie. In other ways, the novel seems dated in that fascinating way old black and white photos are a snapshot of its era. The views about women expressed by the male protagonists are hor ribly un PC in many places, women being seen as sex objects and labelled as sluts when they succumb. But although unfortunate, this is accurate enough those views were held by many then and still are .

If Kelsey Newman's theory about the end of time is true, we are all going to live forever. For Meg - locked in a hopeless relationship and creatively uninspired - this thought fills her with dread. But could there be an important connection to be made between a wild beast living on Dartmoor, a ship in a bottle, the science of time, a knitting pattern for the shape of the universe and the Cottingley fairies? And could a story offer a way through her own personal labyrinth?

Simon Tofield returns with a charming follow-up which sees the adorable but incorrigible cat embark on a series of adventures beyond the garden fence. Sharply observed and beautifully drawn, this new book promises to be an even bigger hit than the fi rst.

Few things are as fundamental to human happiness as sex, and few writers are as entertaining about the subject as Mary Roach. Can a woman think herself to orgasm? Is your penis three inches longer than you think? Why doesn't Viagra help women - or, for that matter, pandas? Does orgasm boost fertility? Or cure hiccups? The study of sexual physiology - what happens, and why, and how to make it happen better - has been taking place behind closed doors for hundreds of years. In this fascinating and funny book, Mary Roach steps inside laboratories, brothels, pig farms, sex-toy R&D labs - even Alfred Kinsey's attic - to tell us everything we wanted to know about sex, and more we'd never even thought to ask.

The ultimate anti-hero, Iceberg Slim, takes you into the secret inner world of the pimp, and the smells, sounds, fears and petty triumphs of his world. A legendary figure of the Chicago underworld, this is his story: from defending his mother against the evil men she brought into their lives to becoming a giant of the streets. A seething tale of brutality, cunning and greed, Pimp is a harrowing portrait of life on the wrong side of the tracks, and a rich warning from a true survivor.

In the early fifteenth century, as winter falls away, the people of Albania know that their fate is sealed. They have refused to negotiate with the Ottoman Empire, and war is now inevitable. Soon enough dust kicked up by Turkish horses is spotted from a citadel. Brightly coloured banners, hastily constructed minarets and tens of thousands of men fill the plain below. From this moment on, the world is waiting to hear that the fortress has fallen. The Siege tells the enthralling story of the weeks and months that follow - of the exhilaration and despair of the battlefield, the constantly shifting strategies of war, and those whose lives are held in balance, from the Pasha himself to the technicians, artillerymen, astrologer, blind poet and harem of women that accompany him. Brilliantly vivid, as insightful as it is compelling, The Siege is an unforgettable account of the clash of two great civilisations. As a portrait of war, it resonates across the centuries and confirms Ismail Kadare as one of our most significant writers.

A book that will change how you think and transform how you live Forget everything you thought you knew about how to motivate people - at work, at school, at home. It is wrong. As Daniel H. Pink explains in his paradigm-shattering book Drive, the secret to high performance and satisfaction in today's world is the deeply human need to direct our own lives, to learn and create new things, and to do better by ourselves and the world. Along the way, he takes us to companies that are enlisting new approaches to motivation, and introduces us to the scientists and entrepreneurs who are pointing a bold way forward.

The debut work, a short story collection from the bestselling, critically acclaimed author of Under the Skin, The Crimson Petal and the White and The Book of Strange New Things. Michel Faber's short stories reveal an extraordinarily vivid imagination, a deep love of language and an adventurous versatility. Playful, yet profoundly moving, wickedly satirical yet sincerely humane, these tales never fail to strike unexpected chords. 'Some Rain Must Fall' juxtaposes the tragic circumstances of traumatised schoolchildren with the interior monologue of a teacher/psychologist enlisted to aid their recovery. In the pseudo-sci-fi 'Fish' a mother tries to protect her child in a terrifying world where fish swim through the streets and lurk in alleyways. Faber's collection is rich and assured, with a dazzling reach.

When Ariel Manto uncovers a copy of The End of Mr Y in a second-hand bookshop, she can't believe her eyes. She knows enough about its author, the Victorian scientist Thomas Lumas, to know that copies are rare. And, some say, cursed. With Mr Y under her arm, Ariel finds herself thrust into an adventure of love, sex, death and time-travel.