cune press us washington state (70 Ergebnisse)

Paperback. Zustand: Very Good. In February 2001 Scott C. Davis flew to Damascus, attended raucous political salons, talked all night, and sat in local cafes debating the nature of the evolving Syrian nation. Such openness was new in Syria. Was it a sign of things to come? Would the Damascene Curtain fall as heavily and permanently as did the Berlin Wall? Would Damascus become another tourist trap bursting with American franchise restaurants, another Amman? To answer these questions, and to give a feel for the real country beneath the rapidly changing surfaces, Davis tells a story of an earlier time when Syrians did not discuss politics for fear of the 'mukhabarat' and when some hesitated, in their own homes, even to mention the name of the Syrian president. Fourteen years earlier, in October 1987, Davis had come to Damascus and begun a slow, difficult journey through Syrian society. He met artists and intellectuals, wealthy landowners, retired mystics, and also slept on the floor beside humble peasants and working folk. The times were quiet, jobs scarce, and ordinary folk could take a few moments for tea with a guest. Many of those Davis met took pride in their own simplicity. Denied political power and wealth, they aspired instead to wisdom -- or at least to perfecting a sardonic wit. This tale of grace, humour, and humanity turns on the author's search for truth and, also, for a few good quotes for his book -- a search that took him across Syria in the footsteps of Alexander to the ancient Roman Bridge over the Tigris River in the far eastern tip of the country -- and then brought him racing back to Damascus to find the Patriarch of Antioch. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.

Paperback. Zustand: new. Ferzat, Ali (illustrator). Paperback. Muslims, Arabs, and Arab-Americans is based on Author Nawar Shora's time-tested seminar program that has reached law enforcement, the intelligence community, church groups, academic institutions, and private corporations for the past two decades. His combinations of quick-witted humor and approachable simple methods to explain complex and often intimidating topics have made him a nationally recognized authority on Muslims, Arabs, and Arab-Americans. The book with its new title is the third edition of what was The Arab American Handbook and has been updated with additional information, anecdotes, and examples. This non-politicized book is perfect for anyone interested in learning more about the people, culture, faiths, geography, and social and behavioral norms and mores of Muslim and Arab people. The book will help everyone from novices on the topic, to experienced academics who are curious to achieve greater understanding of these cultures. Shora's formula has remained the same for decades: Communication + Understanding = Trust. If we can truly understand one another, if we know how to effectively communicate, then real and genuine trust will bloom organically. Once trust is achieved, anything is possible. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Zustand: new. Paperback. Shahrazads Gift is a collection of linked short stories set in contemporary Cairomagical, absurd and humorous. The author focuses on the off-beat, little-known stories, far from CNN news: a Swedish belly dancer who taps into the Oriental fantasies of her clientele; a Japanese woman studying Arabic, driven mad by the noise and chaos of the city; a frustrated Egyptian housewife who becomes obsessed by the activities of her Western gay neighbor; an American journalist who covered the civil war in Beirut who finds friendship with her Egyptian dentist. We also meet the two protagonists of McCullough's Confessions of a Knight Errant, before their escapades in that story. These stories are told in the tradition of A Thousand and One Nights. Shahrazad's Gift is a collection of linked short stories, set in an apartment building in contemporary Cairo, with a cast of flamboyant, unlikely characters, who seem to have stepped out of A Thousand and One Nights. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Zustand: new. Paperback. When international correspondent Tom Craig travels to Malawi to report on a mysterious string of murders terrorizing the tiny country, he discovers another mystery that must be solved, this one very close to his heart. He decides to revisit Joss, a woman with whom he had a passionate affair some years back and who is married to the newly arrived American ambassador to Malawi. Although they last parted vowing never to meet again, he is secretly hoping to see her. But he discovers that the woman at the ambassador's side is an imposter. He also learns he's had a daughter by Joss who is in mortal danger. As he struggles to find out what happened to Joss and save his daughter, Tom is also solving the mystery of the string of murders with possible political links, reportedly being committed by a leopard-man. His view of life evolves as he confronts African myth very much alive in Malawi, threats to his own life, and deep desire for justice and family. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Zustand: new. Paperback. Michael Haddad, the teenage son of Palestinian immigrants, comesof age during the tumultuous sixties in his familys neighborhood grocery storein New York City.In 1967 Michael maneuvers through the working-class neighborhooddelivering groceries and enters the homes and lives of his customers. Hesconfronted by the violence of racist bullies and falls for the radical collegecoed who teaches him about sex, love, and protest. Michael grieves with themother whose only son died in the Vietnam War and is embraced by the firstblack couple who move into the neighborhood. They all shape him, and throughthe conflict of hate, acts of kindness, and his sexual awakening, Michaelstruggles to figure out who this dutiful son of an immigrant family is. Michaels lifeis buffeted by the killing of Martin Luther King, Jr, and the death, two monthslater, of Bobby Kennedy. His girlfriend opens his eyes to the ongoing struggle totest national ideals against the growing diversity of America. But when Michael experiences a sudden personal tragedy, he mustlearn to get past his fears, come to terms with his heritage, and set himselffree. ARAB BOY DELIVERED is an intimate story set in the late sixties. As Michael maneuvers through the working-class neighborhood delivering groceries, he enters the homes and lives of his customers. He's confronted by the violence of racist bullies and falls for the radical college coed who teaches him about Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Zustand: new. Paperback. Sand Paper Stone is the story of a British man from Liverpool living in London where he works in a decent job, with good friends from different backgrounds, yet as a muslim convert and with a landmark moment in his life approaching he finds himself compelled to embark on his pilgrimage to Mecca. Despite encountering obstacles at the consulate in London and also on arrival at Jeddah he is taken in as a wayfarer by a large extended family who assist in instructing him in the rituals and requirements of attendance at Islams holiest shrine and watch on at his astonishment at the scenes that they witness together. However, just at the moment when he begins to come close to realising the spiritual ambitions of his journey, the practicalities of life invade the peace in the form of what seems petty officialdom and he finds himself launched into a bureaucratic maze, at first trapped in baffling meetings with lofty government ministers and lethargic administrators before finally running alone in the night through an empty terminal onto a runway looking for a plane to Geneva. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Zustand: new. Paperback. Melody Sullivan is falling apart after the death of her mother.The 16-year-old pours her cynicism and grief into poetry and an intense relationship with her powerhouse best friend, Yasmina Khdour. When Melody's father drags her to an overseas archeology conference in Jerusalem, she is left to wander alone.Hanging out on a Tel Aviv beach, smoking dope with her Israeli cousins and their army buddies, sounds like fun until she is sexually assaulted by a friend of her cousin. She cannot share this devastating truth with her emotionally distant dad and impulsively flees to Hebron where Yasmina is visiting her family. As a Palestinian, Yasmina is unable to enter Jerusalem.Melody's only other source of solace is Aaron Shapiro, a shy, religious boy back home with an awkward crush on her, but Aaron's anxious texts make it clear he believes she's wandering into enemy territory.This is a story about trauma and taking emotional risks, about facing internal demons and the external realities of war and occupation, about finding oneself in the most unexpected places. Melody Sullivan, an angry 16-year-old haunted by her mother's death and a sexual assault, defies her father and embarks on a search for friends in a most difficult place where she is forced to face her pain and the power of love and forgiveness. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Zustand: new. Paperback. On a brief visit to Cairo to support an investigation her fianc, a Jewish American journalist, has undertaken, Salma is caught up in the machinations of a new, radical Islamist group with a vendetta against her father, a man with his own dark side. A former lover and Islamist, kidnaps her. He forces her to flee with him from Cairo to Aswan in the far south of Egypt. As they navigate the backroads, Salma, a privileged Egyptian-American, finds herself hiding under a burqa, running desert sandstorms and relying on the goodwill of poor villagers.A page-turner, Escape to Aswan is not only a political thriller but a dramatic telling of the clashes of culture and class in the Arab world. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Zustand: new. Paperback. Contemporary readers, who wonder at the British and American knack for misguided adventure, will enjoy these three essays on Custer, the Titanic, and the onset of World War I.The American adventures in Iraq and Afghanistan have finally wound down after incurring enormous costs. One wonders if we have forgotten the lessons of history, and in particular of World War I? It is far easier to enter into armed conflict than it is to withdraw the troops and heal the wounds.The Soldier, the Builder, and the Diplomat consists of rapier-like literary thrusts into the lives of General George Armstrong Custer, Thomas Andrews (the builder of the Titanic), and Edward Grey (British Foreign Secretary before World War I.However spectacular their failures, it's generally agreed that these men (or, in the case of Edward Grey, the men around him) could have avoided disaster except for arrogance - a flaw that has long characterized the imperial ambition of leaders from both countries.One shudders to think where such a mentality will take us in a nuclear age.Steven Schlesser's readable study is more than entertainment or scholarship, it is a plea for balance, probity, and reason in an era when a single fit of arrogance by a world leader can devastate hundreds of thousands of innocent human beings and imperil the very project of civilized human existence on this planet.It's difficult to overstate the importance of The Soldier, the Builder, and the Diplomat. Contemporary readers, who wonder at the British and American knack for misguided adventure, will enjoy these three essays on Custer, the Titanic, and the onset of World War I. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Zustand: new. Paperback. The short stories in FLUID are set in California, New York, Nevada, North Carolina, Northern England, and Namibia, taking a deep dive into the vastly differing perspectives of an intriguingly diverse collage of characters, who are navigating lives within society's most challenging contemporary issues. "Fluid is a fascinating collage of short stories that explore a kaleidoscope of intriguing characters with vastly differing perspectives, as they navigate their lives within society's most challenging contemporary issues"-- Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Hardcover. Zustand: new. Hardcover. Twenty-five paintings by Helen Zughaib accompanied by text based on favorite stories told by her father about life in Syria and Lebanon in the 1930s and during World War II. Helen's father was born in the Old Quarter of Damascus during Ottoman times, when Le Grande Syrie included the lands that are now demarked as Syria and Lebanon. His father and Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Hardcover. Zustand: new. Hardcover. Audacious, brilliant, chameleon. All these words could be used to describe the man that became Britains greatest spy, a man known by several names and who came from many places, depending on who was asking and when. Was he from Poland? Or was he the son of an Irish clergyman? Many believe he was born in Odessa, Ukraine, a place hot in todays headlines. He certainly had the ability to be convincing to anyone he met, including the head of Britains intelligence services. Sidney Reilly, one of many names he was known by, was the most successful spy in history. His adventures first came to light during the Russian Revolution in 1917 when he was tasked by Britains Secret Service with overthrowing the Bolsheviks after they had formed a new government. He had already succeeded in stealing the plans of the Kaisers new and modern fleet of battleships from Krupp, to help Britain and her allies win World War I, and was awarded the Military Cross in 1919.In 1953, novelist Ian Fleming used Reillys secret Admiralty Intelligence file to write his novels about a fictional secret agent he called James Bond 007. But Reillys true exploits were even more thrilling and fantastic than those of the fictional James Bond. Reilly was Britains best spy but was he also a Soviet double-agent?Author John Harte retells Reillys story as it really was, in fast-moving prose with an eye for telling detail and provides a twist: He tells us what really happened to Reilly after he vanished in Soviet Russia in 1925 and was assumed to have been murdered by Stalins secret police. Apparently not!'A true espionage mystery that reads like a detective story. timely reading, especially now when the world balance is at risk and forces of discontent are rising from every quarter.' Arianna Dagnino, author of The Afrikaner As the basis for the popular James Bond stories, Sidney Reilly's true exploits were even more thrilling and fantastic than those of the fictional James Bond. Reilly was Britain's best spy-but was he also a Soviet double-agent? Author John Harte retells Reilly's story as it really was, in fast-moving prose with an eye for telling detail-and pr This item is printed on demand. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Zustand: new. Paperback. This book is about raw visual imagination and the essential creative practice that's required to be a visual artist. The book is broken into three sections: Doodles, Sketchbooks, and Creative Tips. A fourth section is a Gallery of the author's paintings and illustrations .with the story behind each. The Doodle section is devoted to some of the author's 500-piece doodle collection -- accumulated over many years, grouped according to subject and style. The Sketchbook section is about the ups and downs of keeping a sketchbook -- everyone does it differently but there are tips and rules of thumb that make the sketchbook an effective tool in personal and professional artistic development. The book offers encouragement and urges artists to overcome perfectionism in the interest of producing in a large enough volume to find one's native themes and to develop an individual style. Also includes a 90 day sketchbook journey -- with a different sketch for each day. Creative Tips is where the author examines the value of art and offers different ways to build your creative muscles. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Zustand: new. Hamam, Hassan (illustrator). Paperback. Dusk Visitor is a warning from the Middle East: We are Next. The Dusk Visitor is one of the few works of literature by a Syrian on the subject of the Syrian Civil War, the Assad government, and the authoritarian style of other Arab dictators. Musa Al-Halool is from Raqqa, Syria, with one home in town and a larger family home in a village nearby. He came to the US in 1989 on a Fulbright, took his MA and PhD from Penn State, and has taught American literature in the Arab world for many years.Raqqa was captured by the opposition in 2013 and became the capitol of ISIS the year after and the author begins with an introduction that details his losses, as a Syrian from Raqqa, to ISIS occupiers and US bombing. The heart of The Dusk Visitor is short fiction that paints a dystopian landscape, Kafkaesque, life that appears to offer hope and yet is riven with absurdity, unfreedom, fear, and death.The author reveals his intentions when he titles one section Che Ti Dice La Patria a chant used by Italian Fascists in the 1920s and that Hemingway chose for the title of his 1927 short story. The author is well aware that Hemingway warned the world of the rise of Fascism and World War Two in his reports from Italy in the 1920s and from Spain at the time of Guernica. Now, Musa Al-Halool tips us off, in this one phrase. The dystopian world he describes in the Middle East is what awaits the US and Europe. Our current resurgence of undemocratic sentiment, sleeper cells, and militias mirrors what Hemingway was seeing in Europe.The collection of stories harkens back to such classic authors like Franz Kafka, George Orwell, William Golding, Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Aldous Huxley, Ray Bradbury and Anthony Burgess. Musa Al-Halool, from Raqqa Syria, has put together 36 tales on the subject of the Syrian Civil War, the Assad government, and the authoritarian style of other Arab dictators. The heart of The Dusk Visitor is short fiction that paints a dystopian landscape, Kafkaesque, life that appears to offer hope and yet is riven with absurdity, unfreedom, fear, and death. Shipping may be from our Sydney, NSW warehouse or from our UK or US warehouse, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Zustand: new. Paperback. These six short stories weave together a story about modern women creating independent lives in the US, the Middle East, and back again. These six short stories weave together a story about modern women creating independent lives in the US, the Syrian and Kurdish Middle East, and back again. Shipping may be from our Sydney, NSW warehouse or from our UK or US warehouse, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Zustand: new. Paperback. In White Carnations, the Syrian fiction writer Musa Rahum Abbas, revered in the Arab world, makes his English language debut with 101 tales that sketch life inside and outside Syria during the revolution that began in 2011.The prose in White Carnations is etched, distilled, essential. It recalls curious fables from distant foreign lands. Delicious vignettes and anecdotes are followed with the most absurd and horrific headlines of the Syrian revolution. Other tales document the furious efforts of non-poor Syrians who have escaped for a few weeks or forever. They are burrowing into superficially normal lives in the modern world. Yet their lives are not normal, because they are utterly unable to release the memories of pain and cruelty that they carry with them, like an emotional passport.Cune Press is presenting White Carnations as a companion to The Dusk Visitor. The scholar, translator, and creative writer Musa Al-Halool is the co-translator of White Carnations along with the delightful academic Sanna Dhahir. Note that Musa Al-Halool is the author of The Dusk Visitor.Both books are light reading on a serious subject. They explore through the tool of short fiction the fascist style that can slowly and decisively overtake democratic governments. (Yes, Syrian democracy emerged when the French left in 1946. After several years of free elections, an era of coup and counter-coup mixed with democratic maneuvering held sway as the Baath Party gained strength. In 1963, the Baath ousted Nazim Qudsi, considered the last democratically elected president of Syria).Whereas The Dusk Visitors commentary applies to several security state governments in North Africa and the Middle East, White Carnations focuses on the eruption of violence and displacement within a single country, Syria, and follows its expats as they struggle in exile.Both books hold lessons for readers who value an open civil society, the rule of law, an independent judiciary, and democratic elections as a way to transfer power within democratic institutions. In White Carnations is a collection of 101 tales that sketch life inside and outside Syria during the revolution that began in 2011. Shipping may be from our UK warehouse or from our Australian or US warehouses, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Zustand: new. Paperback. A collection of stories that depict Westerners encountering Africa -- its people, its mysteries, its beauty and bafflements. Often those encounters change the Westerners, leading some to wisdom, others to heartache. The stories take the reader from the heart of the Congo to modern Madagascar, from a village in Nairobi to the mountain-top palace of the Mwami of Kabare, from a train in South Africa to a dinner party in Ouagadougou. Journalists, diplomats, and teachers experience the problems and fascinations of life in Africa. An African king, a girl who disappears in the Congo jungle, a Belgian planter escaping from his past, a journalist starting a family in Nairobi: meet them in Africa, Africa!, a collection of stories about expatriates who encounter Africa, its people, and its mysteries. Shipping may be from our UK warehouse or from our Australian or US warehouses, depending on stock availability.

Hardcover. Zustand: new. Hardcover. This startlingly edgy, seductive debut collection of short stores, travels from New York to Northern California, Mexico, Los Angeles and Paris, dropping us dead centre into the lives of those whose extreme behaviour has led them to the threshold of significant transition. Among the many intriguing, unique individuals, there is Marty wrestling with sobriety and his unspeakable obsession; Gita trying to conduct the love triangle she orchestrated; the frustrated lover, Tim, attempting to wedge himself between his girlfriend and her brother; and the surf chick, Magda, tightrope-walking in her circus of drugs, opportunistic men and the waves of Baja California. Finely crafted and painstakingly written, each of these twelve stories is a stunningly powerful, dynamic look into lives at the breaking point. This startlingly edgy, seductive debut collection of short stores, travels from New York to Northern California, Mexico, Los Angeles and Paris, dropping us dead centre into the lives of those whose extreme behaviour has led them to the threshold of significant transition. Among the many intriguing, unique individuals, there is Marty wrestling with sobriety and his unspeakable obsession; Gita trying to conduct the love triangle she orchestrated; the frustrated lover, Tim, attempting to wedge himself between his girlfriend and her brother; and the surf chick, Magda, tightrope-walking in her circus of drugs, opportunistic men and the waves of Baja California. Finely crafted and painstakingly written, each of these twelve stories is a stunningly powerful, dynamic look into lives at the breaking point. Shipping may be from our UK warehouse or from our Australian or US warehouses, depending on stock availability.

Hardcover. Zustand: new. Hardcover. Michael Haddad, the teenage son of Palestinian immigrants, comesof age during the tumultuous sixties in his familys neighborhood grocery storein New York City.In 1967 Michael maneuvers through the working-class neighborhooddelivering groceries and enters the homes and lives of his customers. Hesconfronted by the violence of racist bullies and falls for the radical collegecoed who teaches him about sex, love, and protest. Michael grieves with themother whose only son died in the Vietnam War and is embraced by the firstblack couple who move into the neighborhood. They all shape him, and throughthe conflict of hate, acts of kindness, and his sexual awakening, Michaelstruggles to figure out who this dutiful son of an immigrant family is. Michaels lifeis buffeted by the killing of Martin Luther King, Jr, and the death, two monthslater, of Bobby Kennedy. His girlfriend opens his eyes to the ongoing struggle totest national ideals against the growing diversity of America. But when Michael experiences a sudden personal tragedy, he mustlearn to get past his fears, come to terms with his heritage, and set himselffree. ARAB BOY DELIVERED is an intimate story set in the late sixties. As Michael maneuvers through the working-class neighborhood delivering groceries, he enters the homes and lives of his customers. He's confronted by racist bullies and falls for a radical college coed who teaches him about sex. Shipping may be from our Sydney, NSW warehouse or from our UK or US warehouse, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Zustand: new. Paperback. Farid Younes makes his home in Byblos, a coastal town in northern Lebanon. He lived through both the Lebanese and now the Syrian civil wars. Like all Lebanese, he has plenty of serious in his life. The need for him and other Lebanese is to find the distance needed to cope and if possible to move events and circumstances in a better direction. His answer was to create a book that is a literary imitation of a coffee house with an open mic like the famous HavenThe Cabin that rests on a Byblos hilltop looking out over the Mediterranean.The author's neighbors meditate over their chess boards or gather in a back corner spinning epic tales of conspiracy as a way of passing time before the next spoken word performance . . . and as a way of making sense of the carnage of war and strife beyond Lebanese borders and the women and children-Syrian refugees-who line the streets in the major cities.Nietzsche Awakens! is a game, yet it ultimately reaches past clever word play and the razor sharp slicing of meaning to depths that Nietzsche experienced in his own life, depths akin to those that Farid Younes has seen face-to-face among his fellow citizens.At a certain point, the parlor game of this book becomes a controlled yet also a thrashing, desperate effort to survive-for one's mind to survive against the ravages of age, and also for the culture as a whole to survive the inanity of rigid thinking, blatant self-dealing, and the other idiocies that prevent us from addressing the primary challenges of our time. Nietzsche Awakens! is a philosophical work, written entirely in aphorisms. It is an analytical way to trigger readers to think: - to negate "common sense" notions - to re-question the raison d'etre of principles and elements - Shipping may be from our Sydney, NSW warehouse or from our UK or US warehouse, depending on stock availability.

Hardcover. Zustand: new. Hardcover. The Passionate Spies describes how Britain, in June 1916, attempted to end the slaughter of World War I by undermining Turkey (a German Ally). Three British spies, motivated by their aversion to the imperialism of the major powers and their own idealism, were able to spark a revolt among Arab tribes from the Turkish border to the Red Sea. With some help from British troops, they succeeded in overcoming Turkish forces and established Damascus as the Arab capital. They "freed" Arabs to begin the bruising negotiation with Western powers that set the course for the Middle East as we know it today.The intention of Harte's book is to provide a true story of the 1916-1918 Arab Revolt as concisely and clearly as possible to engage with general readers of adventure stories and history, as well as biography, by revealing it through the colorful lives of its three main protagonists. Shipping may be from our Sydney, NSW warehouse or from our UK or US warehouse, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Zustand: new. Paperback. Graphic designers combat the equivalent of "writer's block" with this system for creating fresh ideas and great designs on deadline.Learning First in Black and White introduces The Design Code , an idea-generating system developed by Northwest artist and educator, Fred Griffin. It is a remedy for the artists equivalent of writers block, those times when the well of ideas runs dry. This system makes it possible to find fresh ideas and execute great designs on deadline.Through many years of teaching design principles, Griffin found that if students worked first in black and white their grasp of basic design principles was much clearer than if they were dealing with the confusion of color. Color, a study unto itself, introduces an element of distractionhence the title, Learning First in Black and White.In this book, each lesson is explained with geometric shapes, followed by illustrations of an apple visually repeating the concepts. At the end of the book is a section that gives tips on how to dig deeper for better ideas. It's an answer to the question, "Where do ideas come from?" For those who know a little about design and those who know a lot about it. Learning First in Black and White is a great introduction or easy review. It takes you through The Design Code, a unique system for idea-generation that approaches art from a logical viewpoint. Shipping may be from our Sydney, NSW warehouse or from our UK or US warehouse, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Zustand: new. Paperback. A middle-aged playwright -- in conflict with his ex-wife, his current girlfriend, and a legion of creditors -- journeys from Hollywood to Atlanta to work with his youthful idol, legendary avant-garde director Joseph Chaikin. Thus begins a roller coaster ride of a very unusual sort, combining personal revelations with theatrical obsessions, a step-by-step disclosure of a master director's rehearsal process with a search for spiritual truth (and a decent night's sleep). Just hop aboard and get a backstage pass to the 'holding-on-by-your-fingernails' reality of the contemporary American theatre. A middle-aged playwright -- in conflict with his ex-wife, his current girlfriend, and a legion of creditors -- journeys from Hollywood to Atlanta to work with his youthful idol, legendary avant-garde director Joseph Chaikin. Thus begins a roller coaster ride of a very unusual sort, combining personal revelations with theatrical obsessions, a step-by-step disclosure of a master director's rehearsal process with a search for spiritual truth (and a decent night's sleep). Just hop aboard and get a backstage pass to the 'holding-on-by-your-fingernails' reality of the contemporary American theatre. Shipping may be from our Sydney, NSW warehouse or from our UK or US warehouse, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Zustand: new. Paperback. David Lang was once a big deal - a cult hero who wrote and directed the underground horror flick Zombie Film Schooland its two sequels in the late 1980s, earning himself the pop-culture nickname of Zombie Guy. But now it s the late 1990s and David often feels like a real zombie guy, just another Hollywood script doctor living off his former glory. The only thing that makes David feel really alive is his love for Holly Markham, a beautiful, brilliant and complicated cabaret singer and writer an unstable planet, David calls her, as sometimes they make love for days, while other times she freezes him out completely. David and Holly seem to have finally reached the end of their relationship s twists and turns when Holly at 42 discovers that she s pregnant. Even David isn't sure that going forward with the pregnancy is a good idea and Holly has no doubt that it could never work. Then again, Holly may never have another chance to be a mom. And who is that otherworldly being that David thinks he sees on their bed? Shipping may be from our UK warehouse or from our Australian or US warehouses, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Zustand: new. Paperback. In February 2001 Scott C. Davis flew to Damascus, attended raucous political salons, talked all night, and sat in local cafes debating the nature of the evolving Syrian nation. Such openness was new in Syria. Was it a sign of things to come? Would the Damascene Curtain fall as heavily and permanently as did the Berlin Wall? Would Damascus become another tourist trap bursting with American franchise restaurants, another Amman? To answer these questions, and to give a feel for the real country beneath the rapidly changing surfaces, Davis tells a story of an earlier time when Syrians did not discuss politics for fear of the 'mukhabarat' and when some hesitated, in their own homes, even to mention the name of the Syrian president. Fourteen years earlier, in October 1987, Davis had come to Damascus and begun a slow, difficult journey through Syrian society. He met artists and intellectuals, wealthy landowners, retired mystics, and also slept on the floor beside humble peasants and working folk. The times were quiet, jobs scarce, and ordinary folk could take a few moments for tea with a guest. Many of those Davis met took pride in their own simplicity.Denied political power and wealth, they aspired instead to wisdom -- or at least to perfecting a sardonic wit. This tale of grace, humour, and humanity turns on the author's search for truth and, also, for a few good quotes for his book -- a search that took him across Syria in the footsteps of Alexander to the ancient Roman Bridge over the Tigris River in the far eastern tip of the country -- and then brought him racing back to Damascus to find the Patriarch of Antioch. In February 2001 Scott C. Davis flew to Damascus, attended raucous political salons, talked all night, and sat in local cafes debating the nature of the evolving Syrian nation. Such openness was new in Syria. Was it a sign of things to come? Would the Damascene Curtain fall as heavily and permanently as did the Berlin Wall? Would Damascus become another tourist trap bursting with American franchise restaurants, another Amman? To answer these questions, and to give a feel for the real country beneath the rapidly changing surfaces, Davis tells a story of an earlier time when Syrians did not discuss politics for fear of the 'mukhabarat' and when some hesitated, in their own homes, even to mention the name of the Syrian president. Fourteen years earlier, in October 1987, Davis had come to Damascus and begun a slow, difficult journey through Syrian society. He met artists and intellectuals, wealthy landowners, retired mystics, and also slept on the floor beside humble peasants and working folk. The times were quiet, jobs scarce, and ordinary folk could take a few moments for tea with a guest. Many of those Davis met took pride in their own simplicity. Denied political power and wealth, they aspired instead to wisdom - or at least to perfecting a sardonic wit. This tale of grace, humour, and humanity turns on the author's search for truth and, also, for a few good quotes for his book - a search that took him across Syria in the footsteps of Alexander to the ancient Roman Bridge over the Tigris River in the far eastern tip of the country - and then brought him racing back to Damascus to find the Patriarch of Antioch. Shipping may be from our UK warehouse or from our Australian or US warehouses, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Zustand: new. Paperback. "It sounds like a horror movie". That's what Stephen Fife's friend said when he told her what happened at his private prep school in New York City. "Fifteen teachers messing with students at the same high school?.How is that even possible?" she asked. Indeed. When one man abused 11 boys at Penn State, there was shock and horror both inside the university community and out, and legal action swiftly followed. But at Horace Mann School, where teachers regularly abused boys over three decades, no formal acknowledgement or independent investigation has taken place. And because of the restrictive statute of limitations in New York, no lawsuits can be filed. Stephen Fife, a poet, playwright, and screenwriter, whose most recent screenplay, "Blue Kiss", was just optioned by Fable Entertainment (to be packaged by Paradigm), was one of these abused boys. He has written a compelling, soul-baring account of his experience. Fife's mentor, an English teacher who praised his writing and told him he could be a famous poet (if he worked closely with him and did everything he advised), used his power over the teenage boy to sexually attack him in a hotel room on a school-sponsored trip.Later he lured Fife to his apartment repeatedly, where the abuse continued. This was 1970-71, before the days of iphones and selfies. When 17 year-old Fife finally found the courage to report the abuse to the associate headmaster, he was told that without solid evidence, he had better keep quiet. An accusation without hard proof, said the associate headmaster, would put Fife's stellar college recommendation letters in jeopardy. To go public would mean risking his Ivy League aspirations and his future as a writer, as well as informing his parents. At the time, Fife did not know he was one of many victims. Nor did he know that Mr Berman, the teacher who abused him, was just one of many teachers at Horace Mann molesting students. Only years later, after an article in the New York Times Magazine named other teachers as well as some administrators (and didn't mention Mr Berman), did Fife realize the extent of the abuse. Hoping to provide insight into what happened at Horace Mann (including suicide by many of the victims, and obsessive suicidal thoughts of his own), Fife is trying to compel Horace Mann to cooperate in an independent investigation.With the publication of this book he also seeks to change the statute of limitations laws, so that future victims will not be prevented from going to court; and to provide moral support for his fellow victims, who were betrayed by adults they trusted. The book also provides practical advice to parents: how to recognise the threat of predatory adults and the signs of molestation, and how to handle the emotional fall out, if abuse does occur. Shipping may be from our Sydney, NSW warehouse or from our UK or US warehouse, depending on stock availability.

Hardcover. Zustand: new. Hardcover. A collection of stories that depict Westerners encountering Africa -- its people, its mysteries, its beauty and bafflements. Often those encounters change the Westerners, leading some to wisdom, others to heartache. The stories take the reader from the heart of the Congo to modern Madagascar, from a village in Nairobi to the mountain-top palace of the Mwami of Kabare, from a train in South Africa to a dinner party in Ouagadougou. Journalists, diplomats, and teachers experience the problems and fascinations of life in Africa. An African king, a girl who disappears in the Congo jungle, a Belgian planter escaping from his past, a journalist starting a family in Nairobi: meet them in Africa, Africa!, a collection of stories about expatriates who encounter Africa, its people, and its mysteries. Shipping may be from our UK warehouse or from our Australian or US warehouses, depending on stock availability.

Hardcover. Zustand: new. Hardcover. Girl Fighters is a novel based on a true account of two girls who passed as men and fought in Yemens 1960s civil war.The characters in our story are two cousins who dress as males and are known as Mohammed and Ali. The men in their family have died in war. The girls feel it is their duty to seek revenge, the code of honor in tribal society. However in Yemen girls are hidden from public viewbehind walls, doors, and veils. When Mohammed and Ali decide to seek revenge, they ironically violate another tribal expectation: that fighters be males.At first, Mohammed and Ali are inspired by their act of resistance. The war was compelling, a noble cause. Later, they come to realize that war benefits corrupt political leaders and business interests, both local and international. Against the backdrop of war they gain new perspectives. Taking off veils and dressing as men opens their eyes to gender inequities. They question female roles in tribal society. For example, boys can be educated at mosques, but girls cannot attend schools.Mohammed plans to open a girls school when the war ends. Ali is a military medic. When Ali is killed, Mohammed confronts loss and guilt. She cannot return to her former life. The dream of educating girls cannot happen as a man. In tribal society, as a woman she must marry and produce children. Against the odds, Mohammed reshapes her life as leader in the community. Shipping may be from our UK warehouse or from our Australian or US warehouses, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Zustand: new. Paperback. Elizabeth Jenkins, 17, raised on a Congo mission station, is under intense pressure to marry the station doctor, twenty years her senior. Hours before the wedding, Elizabeth flees. She runs toward the wider world beyond the station. She reaches Nairobi, a place of danger for a single woman without a protecting clan. Can she survive? This novel chronicles the journey of Liz across two continents, in and out of the arms of three lovers, to find a life she can call her own. Shipping may be from our UK warehouse or from our Australian or US warehouses, depending on stock availability.

Paperback. Zustand: new. Paperback. Abu al-Abbas was one of Yasser Arafat's top generals. His name is forever linked to an operation in 1985 that sparked an international crisis: the hijacking of an Italian cruise liner named the Achille Lauro and the death of Leon Klinghoffer, an elderly American tourist. This memoir by the wife of Abu al-Abbas recalls an era of Palestinian resistance, the hard realities of a cause that faced impossible odds, and the irony that the death of a single man should outweigh all arguments of right and wrong. Shipping may be from our UK warehouse or from our Australian or US warehouses, depending on stock availability.