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Portobello Books

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To The Castle And Back


This is the paperback edition of the intimate final memoirs from the great dissident-turned-politician who, along with Walesa and Gorbachev, will always be an icon of the magnificent, bloodless collapse of Soviet Bloc Communism.As president first of Czechoslovakia and then of the nascent Czech Republic, Havel led central Europe out of communism and into the twenty-first century before stepping down 5 years ago, in February 2003. In this illuminating memoir, he recollects his thirteen years at Prague Castle during this pivotal period, writing with wit, charm and candour about the peculiar life of a statesman and his lack of readiness for the surreal challenges of governing a young democracy, as well as reflecting on the future of the EU and the reach of the American superpower, and explaining why he has come to believe the war in Iraq is a fiasco. And then there are the personal revelations, as he speaks for the first time about his battle with lung cancer, the death of his first wife, Olga, and the controversy that has dogged his relationship with his second wife. Infused with characteristic humour, "To the Castle and Back" is an engaging self-portrait of one of the most important figures of our time.
Vypredané
11,35 € 11,95 €

When I Forgot


Given its surprising beauty and assured voice, it's hard to believe that When I Forgot is Elina Hirvonen's first novel. While on her way to the hospital where her brother is institutionalized, Anna experiences a moment of recollection so arresting it shatters her world — a recollection of searing pain and madness. Exploring psychological trauma, the boundaries of memory, and the political ramifications of September 11, 2001, When I Forgot offers gripping insights into the universal themes of suppressed pain and, above all, retaining a sense of hope in an increasingly grim world.
Vypredané
9,42 € 9,92 €

The Baby of Belleville


Jane de la Rochefoucault has just brought home her firstborn and her world is in chaos.As well as the nappies, the night-time gurgling, and the constant feeding, she can barely move for packing cases and the cumbersome musical instruments that her aristocratic French composer husband keeps inventing. And then one evening, a knock on the door brings some unexpected visitors: three kung fu experts bearing gifts for the baby. When the kung fu trio go missing (along with some stolen cars), Jane and Charles suddenly find themselves being interrogated by the police who seem to suspect that the kung fu-ers had links to a mysterious underground organization, and - ma foi! - that Jane's mother-in-law may have a hand in the whole thing too -
Vypredané
7,03 € 7,40 €

The Still Point


At the turn of the twentieth century, Arctic explorer Edward Mackley sets out to reach the North Pole and vanishes into the icy landscape without a trace. He leaves behind a young wife, Emily, who awaits his return for decades, her dreams and devotion gradually freezing into rigid widowhood. A hundred years later, on a sweltering mid-summer's day, Edward's great-grand-niece Julia moves through the old family house, attempting to impose some order on the clutter of inherited belongings and memories from that ill-fated expedition, and taking care to ignore the deepening cracks within her own marriage. But as afternoon turns into evening, Julia makes a discovery that splinters her long-held image of Edward and Emily's romance, and her husband Simon faces a precipitous choice that will decide the future of their relationship. Sharply observed and deeply engaging, The Still Point is a powerful literary debut, and a moving meditation on the distances - geographical and emotional - that can exist between two people.
Vypredané
8,93 € 9,40 €

To the Castle and Back


From the former president of the Czech Republic comes this first-hand account of his years in office and the transition to democracy following the fall of Communism.A renowned playwright, Václav Havel became one of Czechoslovakia's most prominent dissidents under Communist rule – and the president after the Velvet Revolution, making him a key player in European politics. Here we see first-hand the challenges of creating a new government, tempered with Havel's revealing insights into the difficulties posed by an era of increased globalization and conflict. He discusses not only the situation in his own country, but also such pressing issues as the future of the European Union, the war in Iraq, and the role of the United States in contemporary affairs. Written with an eye towards both the political and the personal and a witty, well-honed eloquence, To the Castle and Back is a rare glimpse into the minds of one of the most important political figures of modern times.From the Trade Paperback edition.
Vypredané
11,35 € 11,95 €

The Appointment


I've been summoned, Thursday, ten sharp.' So begins one day in the life of a young clothing-factory worker during Ceausescu's totalitarian regime. She has been questioned before, but this time she knows it will be worse. Her crime? Sewing notes into the linings of men's suits bound for Italy. 'Marry me', the notes say, with her name and address. Anything to get out of the country.As she rides the tram to her interrogation, her thoughts stray to her friend Lilli, shot while trying to flee to Hungary; to her grandparents, deported after her first husband informed on them; to Major Albu, her interrogator, who begins each session with a wet kiss on her fingers; and to Paul, her lover and the one person she can trust. In her distraction, she misses her stop and finds herself on an unfamiliar street.And what she discovers there suddenly puts her fear of the appointment into chilling perspective. Bone-spare and intense, The Appointment is a pitiless rendering of the terrors of a crushing regime.
Vypredané
8,93 € 9,40 €

My Friend Jesus Christ


When Nick is 13, he loses his parents in a car-crash. His sister, seven years his elder, is left to look after him. As he grows up, she longs to lose this brotherly millstone around her neck, but he cannot bear the thought of losing her protection. So Nick goes to extremes to retain her care and attention, putting himself, his girlfriend and others in harm's way, striking up with a gang, and administering violence to order. One day he goes so far that suicide attempt breeds suicide attempt. On the other side of tragedy, he returns to his flat to find an intruder on his sofa - a biker who proves immune to Nick's menace. The biker convinces Nick, first, that he is Jesus Christ, and, second, that he must now take charge of Nick's life. Nick is moved to return to his home village, where he sets about reconstructing himself, and doing penance for his failures. He even finds love anew. But does he know what to do with it? And has he really learned anything from his sister or from his miraculous new mentor?
Vypredané
15,15 € 15,95 €

The Appointment


'I've been summoned, Thursday, ten sharp'. So begins one day in the life of a young clothing-factory worker during Ceaucescu's totalitarian regime. She has been questioned before; but this time she knows it will be worse. Her crime? Sewing notes into the linings of men's suits bound for Italy. 'Marry me', the notes say, with her name and address. Anything to get out of the country. As she rides the tram to her interrogation, her thoughts stray to her friend Lilli, shot while trying to flee to Hungary; to her grandparents, deported after her first husband informed on them; to Major Albu, her interrogator, who begins each session with a wet kiss on her fingers; and, to Paul, her lover and the one person she can trust. In her distraction, she misses her stop and finds herself on an unfamiliar street. And what she discovers there suddenly puts her fear of the appointment into chilling perspective. Bone-spare and intense, "The Appointment" is a pitiless rendering of the terrors of a crushing regime.
Vypredané
15,15 € 15,95 €

Drugs 2.0


A few years ago, deals were done in dimly-lit side streets or on the phone via a friend of a friend. Today, you can order every conceivable pill or powder with the click of a mouse. But the online market in narcotics isn't just changing the way drugs are bought and sold; it's changing the nature of drugs themselves. Enterprising dealers are using the web to engage highly skilled foreign chemists to tweak the chemical structures of banned drugs - just enough to create a similar effect, just enough to render them legal in most parts of the world. Drugs such as mephedrone (aka miaow-miaow) are marketed as 'not for human consumption', but everyone knows exactly how they're going to be used - what they can't know is whether their use might prove fatal. From UK dancefloors to the offices of apathetic government officials, via social networking sites and underground labs, Mike Power explores this agile, international, virtual subculture that will always be one step ahead of the law.
Vypredané
15,19 € 15,99 €

Memory Palace


The rooms we live in are always more than just four walls. As we decorate these spaces and fill them with objects and friends, they shape our lives and become the backdrop to our sense of self. One day, the houses will be gone, but even then, traces of the stories and the memories they contained will remain. In this dazzling work of imaginative re-construction, Edward Hollis takes us to the sites of five great spaces now lost to history and pieces together the fragments he finds there to re-create their vanished chambers. From Rome's Palatine to the old Palace of Westminster and the Petit Trianon at Versailles, and from the sets of the MGM studios in Hollywood to the pavilions of the Crystal Palace and his own grandmother's sitting room, The Memory Palace is a glittering treasure trove of luminous forgotten places and the people who, for a short time, made them their home.
Vypredané
30,39 € 31,99 €

Apocalypse for Beginners


Mickey is your average teenage boy, until he meets 17 year old Hope Randall. Living in what was once an exotic pet shop with a bathtub for a bed, Hope is anything but average. For every member of her family, the onset of puberty seems to bring with it a prophetic vision of the world, which - when Armageddon fails to materialise - invariably tips the expectant prophet over the edge. So far, Hope is a late developer and has yet to receive her revelation. Instead, she picks a date at random, has it 'confirmed' by the best-before date on a batch of ramen noodles, and begins to wait for the worst. In the meantime, Mickey is falling helplessly in love. But what kind of future can you have with someone who believes that doomsday looms? Moving between Canada and Japan, between solid ground and flights of the surreal, Apocalypse for Beginners is the lovely, surprising story of two people travelling from friendship to romance, and from separation to the possibility of reunion.
Vypredané
8,93 € 9,40 €

Fallout


A Journey Through the Nuclear Age, From the Atom Bomb to Radioactive Waste At a moment when a new generation of power stations and weapons are being developed, Fallout is a measured and fascinating exploration of our most misunderstood energy source and asks: what can we learn from our past mistakes, and what role should nuclear play in our future?Hiroshima. Bikini Atoll. Windscale. Chernobyl. Fukushima. These names no longer denote a place, but a disaster. In a few syllables, they evoke the heights of human ingenuity clashing with the worst of human error. Individually, each place has its own sobering story to tell; together, they form a timeline of the nuclear age. In this compelling and deeply researched book, Fred Pearce investigates the greatest nuclear incidents and accidents of the past 80 years by visiting their now iconic landscapes. He tours former power stations and abandoned testing sites in the company of scientists and engineers; and in toxic wastelands, where radioactive wolves now stalk the streets , he witnesses the surprising resilience of nature. As well as the radiological legacy, Pearce also considers the psychological impact of these disasters. Amid rumours of state cover-ups, corporate deception, and hushed-up medical epidemics, Pearce expertly weighs the evidence on either side of the argument to disentangle the facts from the fear and reveal the truth about radiation.
Vypredané
18,00 € 18,95 €

Convenience Store Woman


Meet Keiko. Keiko is 36 years old. She's never had a boyfriend, and she's been working in the same supermarket for eighteen years. Keiko's family wishes she'd get a proper job. Her friends wonder why she won't get married. But Keiko knows what makes her happy, and she's not going to let anyone come between her and her convenience store...
Vypredané
16,10 € 16,95 €

The White Book


From the author of The Vegetarian and Human Acts comes a book like no other. The White Book is a meditation on colour, beginning with a list of white things. It is a book about mourning, rebirth and the tenacity of the human spirit. It is a stunning investigation of the fragility, beauty and strangeness of life. Translated from the Korean by Deborah Smith.
Vypredané
12,30 € 12,95 €

What to Eat?


Deciding what to eat is no longer a simple matter of instinct and appetite. Every choice we make about the food we put on our plates is complicated. Is meat good or bad for me? Is buying local always best? Is organic worth it? WHAT TO EAT? asks all these questions and more: some are specific, going back to the nature of particular foods such as milk, meat and fish. Some are more general and challenging, examining the green and the good at a time when money is short and choices matter. The book also offers answers. This is a refreshingly practical guide to the stuff of everyday living, from the ingredients up: Hattie Ellis exposes the myths and unveils the truth about how food is produced, what gives us most value for money, what it does to us, and what we have done to it.
Vypredané
12,30 € 12,95 €