Author: Ross Clark
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781839012105
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 192
Book Description
The Denial: A Satirical Novel of Climate Change
Author: Ross Clark
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781839012105
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 192
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781839012105
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 192
Book Description
A Friend of the Earth
Author: T. C. Boyle
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1408826836
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 379
Book Description
_______________________ 'A comedy with teeth ... razor sharp and darkly funny' (TIMES) 'Boyle's prose is so good and his imagination so fertile that after a while you just sit back and are swept along' (TELEGRAPH) 'Surreal, daring and compassionate. Easily one of the best books of the year' (MAIL) 'Superb ... if Boyle was from this side of the pond, this is the book they'd all have to beat for the Booker Prize' (SUNDAY TIMES) It's 2025, and 75-year-old environmentalist and retired eco-terrorist Ty Tierwater is eking out a bleak living managing a pop star's private zoo. It is the last one in southern California, and vital for the cloning of its captive species. Once, Ty was so serious about environmental causes that as a radical activist committed to Earth Forever! he endangered the lives of both his daughter, Sierra, and his wife, Andrea. Now, when he's just trying to survive in a world cursed by storm and drought, Andrea re-enters his life. Frightening, funny, surreal and gripping, T.C. Boyle's story is both a modern morality tale, and a provocative vision of the future.
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1408826836
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 379
Book Description
_______________________ 'A comedy with teeth ... razor sharp and darkly funny' (TIMES) 'Boyle's prose is so good and his imagination so fertile that after a while you just sit back and are swept along' (TELEGRAPH) 'Surreal, daring and compassionate. Easily one of the best books of the year' (MAIL) 'Superb ... if Boyle was from this side of the pond, this is the book they'd all have to beat for the Booker Prize' (SUNDAY TIMES) It's 2025, and 75-year-old environmentalist and retired eco-terrorist Ty Tierwater is eking out a bleak living managing a pop star's private zoo. It is the last one in southern California, and vital for the cloning of its captive species. Once, Ty was so serious about environmental causes that as a radical activist committed to Earth Forever! he endangered the lives of both his daughter, Sierra, and his wife, Andrea. Now, when he's just trying to survive in a world cursed by storm and drought, Andrea re-enters his life. Frightening, funny, surreal and gripping, T.C. Boyle's story is both a modern morality tale, and a provocative vision of the future.
How to Label a Goat
Author: Ross Clark
Publisher: Harriman House Limited
ISBN: 1897597959
Category : Bureaucracy
Languages : en
Pages : 280
Book Description
Have you ever thrown your arms up in despair while trying to fill in an official form and asked yourself "Just what is the point of this?" You are not the only one. Red tape in Britain has reached epidemic proportions. In just 12 months the Government produced a shocking 3621 pieces of legislation, running to a total of 98,600 pages. That is 13 times as long as War and Peace. If it wasn't so serious it would be quite funny. In this volume Ross Clark exposes some of the most petty and bizarre rules and regulations which are blighting the lives of Britons today. Among his discoveries are: - That there are 279 different tax forms for businesses alone, asking a total of 6614 questions - The notes explaining the Treasury's 'simpilified' pensions' regime ran to 1369 pages - One Police force discovered that it had a total of 1150 different forms on which to report crimes - There are 1300 pages of road traffic law - and that does not even include the law preventing petrol stations selling hot food after 11pm unless they apply for a licence - A council spent #5000 planting yew trees to screen a new children's play area. It then dug them up again after health and safety experts advised children could fall ill if they gobbled 'several handfuls' of leaves
Publisher: Harriman House Limited
ISBN: 1897597959
Category : Bureaucracy
Languages : en
Pages : 280
Book Description
Have you ever thrown your arms up in despair while trying to fill in an official form and asked yourself "Just what is the point of this?" You are not the only one. Red tape in Britain has reached epidemic proportions. In just 12 months the Government produced a shocking 3621 pieces of legislation, running to a total of 98,600 pages. That is 13 times as long as War and Peace. If it wasn't so serious it would be quite funny. In this volume Ross Clark exposes some of the most petty and bizarre rules and regulations which are blighting the lives of Britons today. Among his discoveries are: - That there are 279 different tax forms for businesses alone, asking a total of 6614 questions - The notes explaining the Treasury's 'simpilified' pensions' regime ran to 1369 pages - One Police force discovered that it had a total of 1150 different forms on which to report crimes - There are 1300 pages of road traffic law - and that does not even include the law preventing petrol stations selling hot food after 11pm unless they apply for a licence - A council spent #5000 planting yew trees to screen a new children's play area. It then dug them up again after health and safety experts advised children could fall ill if they gobbled 'several handfuls' of leaves
Florence of Arabia
Author: Christopher Buckley
Publisher: Corsair
ISBN: 1780336799
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 205
Book Description
The bestselling author who made mincemeat of political correctness in Thank You for Smoking, conspiracy theories in Little Green Men, and Presidential indiscretions No Way to Treat a First Lady now takes on the hottest topic in the entire world-Arab-American relations-in a blistering comic novel sure to offend the few it doesn't delight. Appalled by the punishment of her rebellious friend Nazrah, youngest and most petulant wife of Prince Bawad of Wasabia, Florence Farfarletti decides to draw a line in the sand. As Deputy to the deputy assistant secretary for Near East Affairs, Florence invents a far-reaching, wide-ranging plan for female emancipation in that part of the world. The U.S. government, of course, tells her to forget it. Publicly, that is. Privately, she's enlisted in a top-secret mission to impose equal rights for the sexes on the small emirate of Matar (pronounced "Mutter"), the "Switzerland of the Persian Gulf." Her crack team: a CIA killer, a snappy PR man, and a brilliant but frustrated gay bureaucrat. Her weapon: TV shows. The lineup on TV Matar includes A Thousand and One Mornings, a daytime talk show that features self-defense tips to be used against boyfriends during Ramadan; an addictive soap opera featuring strangely familiar members of the Matar royal family; and a sitcom about an inept but ruthless squad of religious police, pitched as "Friends from Hell." The result: the first deadly car bombs in the country since 1936, a fatwa against the station's entire staff, a struggle for control of the kingdom, and, of course, interference from the French. And that's only the beginning. A merciless dismantling of both American ineptitude and Arabic intolerance, Florence of Arabia is Christopher Buckley's funniest and most serious novel yet, a biting satire of how U.S. good intentions can cause the Shiite to hit the fan.
Publisher: Corsair
ISBN: 1780336799
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 205
Book Description
The bestselling author who made mincemeat of political correctness in Thank You for Smoking, conspiracy theories in Little Green Men, and Presidential indiscretions No Way to Treat a First Lady now takes on the hottest topic in the entire world-Arab-American relations-in a blistering comic novel sure to offend the few it doesn't delight. Appalled by the punishment of her rebellious friend Nazrah, youngest and most petulant wife of Prince Bawad of Wasabia, Florence Farfarletti decides to draw a line in the sand. As Deputy to the deputy assistant secretary for Near East Affairs, Florence invents a far-reaching, wide-ranging plan for female emancipation in that part of the world. The U.S. government, of course, tells her to forget it. Publicly, that is. Privately, she's enlisted in a top-secret mission to impose equal rights for the sexes on the small emirate of Matar (pronounced "Mutter"), the "Switzerland of the Persian Gulf." Her crack team: a CIA killer, a snappy PR man, and a brilliant but frustrated gay bureaucrat. Her weapon: TV shows. The lineup on TV Matar includes A Thousand and One Mornings, a daytime talk show that features self-defense tips to be used against boyfriends during Ramadan; an addictive soap opera featuring strangely familiar members of the Matar royal family; and a sitcom about an inept but ruthless squad of religious police, pitched as "Friends from Hell." The result: the first deadly car bombs in the country since 1936, a fatwa against the station's entire staff, a struggle for control of the kingdom, and, of course, interference from the French. And that's only the beginning. A merciless dismantling of both American ineptitude and Arabic intolerance, Florence of Arabia is Christopher Buckley's funniest and most serious novel yet, a biting satire of how U.S. good intentions can cause the Shiite to hit the fan.
I'm With the Bears
Author: Mark Martin
Publisher: Verso Books
ISBN: 1844677443
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 209
Book Description
A collection of 10 “striking” short stories on the dangers of climate change—featuring works by Margaret Atwood, David Mitchell, Kim Stanley Robinson, and an introduction by Bill McKibben (The Boston Globe). The size and severity of the global climate crisis is such that even the most committed environmentalists are liable to live in a state of denial. The award-winning writers collected here have made it their task to shake off this nagging disbelief, bringing the incomprehensible within our grasp and shaping an emotional response to the deterioration of our global habitat. From T. C. Boyle’s account of early eco-activists, to Nathaniel Rich’s vision of a near future where oil sells for $800 a barrel—these ten provocative, occasionally chilling, sometimes satirical stories bring a human reality to disasters of inhuman proportions. Royalties from I’m With the Bears will go to 350.org, an international grassroots movement working to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Publisher: Verso Books
ISBN: 1844677443
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 209
Book Description
A collection of 10 “striking” short stories on the dangers of climate change—featuring works by Margaret Atwood, David Mitchell, Kim Stanley Robinson, and an introduction by Bill McKibben (The Boston Globe). The size and severity of the global climate crisis is such that even the most committed environmentalists are liable to live in a state of denial. The award-winning writers collected here have made it their task to shake off this nagging disbelief, bringing the incomprehensible within our grasp and shaping an emotional response to the deterioration of our global habitat. From T. C. Boyle’s account of early eco-activists, to Nathaniel Rich’s vision of a near future where oil sells for $800 a barrel—these ten provocative, occasionally chilling, sometimes satirical stories bring a human reality to disasters of inhuman proportions. Royalties from I’m With the Bears will go to 350.org, an international grassroots movement working to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Channel Blue
Author: Jay Martel
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 178185579X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 346
Book Description
'Skip the blurbs and just start reading this very funny book' MICHAEL MOORE. Earth used to be Galaxy Entertainment's most lucrative show. The inhabitants of the Western Galaxy – the saviest, richest demographic in the Milky Way – just couldn't get enough of the day-to-day details of the average Earthling's life. But Channel Blue's ratings are flagging and its producers are planning a spectacular finale. In just three weeks, their TV show will go out with a bang. The trouble is, so will Earth. Only one man can save our planet and he's hardly a likely hero...
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 178185579X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 346
Book Description
'Skip the blurbs and just start reading this very funny book' MICHAEL MOORE. Earth used to be Galaxy Entertainment's most lucrative show. The inhabitants of the Western Galaxy – the saviest, richest demographic in the Milky Way – just couldn't get enough of the day-to-day details of the average Earthling's life. But Channel Blue's ratings are flagging and its producers are planning a spectacular finale. In just three weeks, their TV show will go out with a bang. The trouble is, so will Earth. Only one man can save our planet and he's hardly a likely hero...
Risk and the English Novel
Author: Julia Hoydis
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 311061541X
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 674
Book Description
Taking the cue from the currency of risk in popular and interdisciplinary academic discourse, this book explores the development of the English novel in relation to the emergence and institutionalization of risk, from its origins in probability theory in the late seventeenth century to the global ‘risk society’ in the twenty-first century. Focussing on 29 novels from Defoe to McEwan, this book argues for the contemporaneity of the rise of risk and the novel and suggests that there is much to gain from reading the risk society from a diachronic, literary-cultural perspective. Tracing changes and continuities, the fictional case studies reveal the human preoccupation with safety and control of the future. They show the struggle with uncertainties and the construction of individual or collective ‘logics’ of risk, which oscillate between rational calculation and emotion, helplessness and denial, and an enabling or destructive sense of adventure and danger. Advancing the study of risk in fiction beyond the confinement to dystopian disaster narratives, this book shows how topical notions, such as chance and probability, uncertainty and responsibility, fears of decline and transgression, all cluster around risk.
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 311061541X
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 674
Book Description
Taking the cue from the currency of risk in popular and interdisciplinary academic discourse, this book explores the development of the English novel in relation to the emergence and institutionalization of risk, from its origins in probability theory in the late seventeenth century to the global ‘risk society’ in the twenty-first century. Focussing on 29 novels from Defoe to McEwan, this book argues for the contemporaneity of the rise of risk and the novel and suggests that there is much to gain from reading the risk society from a diachronic, literary-cultural perspective. Tracing changes and continuities, the fictional case studies reveal the human preoccupation with safety and control of the future. They show the struggle with uncertainties and the construction of individual or collective ‘logics’ of risk, which oscillate between rational calculation and emotion, helplessness and denial, and an enabling or destructive sense of adventure and danger. Advancing the study of risk in fiction beyond the confinement to dystopian disaster narratives, this book shows how topical notions, such as chance and probability, uncertainty and responsibility, fears of decline and transgression, all cluster around risk.
A Children's Bible: A Novel
Author: Lydia Millet
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 1324005041
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 193
Book Description
Finalist for the 2020 National Book Award for Fiction One of the New York Times' Ten Best Books of the Year Named one of the best novels of the year by Time, Washington Post, NPR, Chicago Tribune, Esquire, BBC, and many others National Bestseller "A blistering little classic." —Ron Charles, Washington Post A Children’s Bible follows a group of twelve eerily mature children on a forced vacation with their families at a sprawling lakeside mansion. Contemptuous of their parents, the children decide to run away when a destructive storm descends on the summer estate, embarking on a dangerous foray into the apocalyptic chaos outside. Lydia Millet’s prophetic and heartbreaking story of generational divide offers a haunting vision of what awaits us on the far side of Revelation.
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 1324005041
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 193
Book Description
Finalist for the 2020 National Book Award for Fiction One of the New York Times' Ten Best Books of the Year Named one of the best novels of the year by Time, Washington Post, NPR, Chicago Tribune, Esquire, BBC, and many others National Bestseller "A blistering little classic." —Ron Charles, Washington Post A Children’s Bible follows a group of twelve eerily mature children on a forced vacation with their families at a sprawling lakeside mansion. Contemptuous of their parents, the children decide to run away when a destructive storm descends on the summer estate, embarking on a dangerous foray into the apocalyptic chaos outside. Lydia Millet’s prophetic and heartbreaking story of generational divide offers a haunting vision of what awaits us on the far side of Revelation.
Odds Against Tomorrow
Author: Nathaniel Rich
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 0374224242
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 318
Book Description
While working for a financial consulting firm that offers insurance against catastrophic events, a young mathematician becomes increasingly obsessed with doomsday scenarios until one of his worst-case scenarios unfolds in Manhattan.
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 0374224242
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 318
Book Description
While working for a financial consulting firm that offers insurance against catastrophic events, a young mathematician becomes increasingly obsessed with doomsday scenarios until one of his worst-case scenarios unfolds in Manhattan.
Outstanding Books for the College Bound
Author: Angela Carstensen
Publisher: American Library Association
ISBN: 083899315X
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 175
Book Description
More than simply a vital collection development tool, this book can help librarians help young adults grow into the kind of independent readers and thinkers who will flourish at college.
Publisher: American Library Association
ISBN: 083899315X
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 175
Book Description
More than simply a vital collection development tool, this book can help librarians help young adults grow into the kind of independent readers and thinkers who will flourish at college.