Au Revoir, Tristesse - Lessons in Happiness from French Literature by Viv Groskop

$12.00 NZD

Category: Literature | Reading Level: very good

A lighthearted look at how to bring more humor, happiness, and joie de vivre into our lives through French literature Like many people the world over, Viv Groskop wishes she was a little more French. A writer, comedian, and journalist, Groskop studied the language obsessively starting at age 11, and spent every vacation in France, desperate to escape her Englishness and to have some French chic rub off on her. In Au Revoir, Tristesse, Groskop mixes literary history and memoir to explore how the classics of French literature can infuse our lives with joie de vivre and teach us how to say goodbye to sadness. From the frothy hedonism of Colette and the wit of Cyrano de Bergerac to the intoxicating universe of Marguerite Duras and the heady passions of Les Liaisons dangereuses, this is a love letter to great French writers. With chapters on Marcel Proust, Victor Hugo, Gustave Flaubert, Stendhal, Honor de Balzac, Albert Camus, and of course Fran oise Sagan, this is a delectable read for book lovers everywhere. ...Show more

Walking with Ghosts - A memoir by Gabriel Byrne

$14.00 NZD

Category: Film | Reading Level: very good

Walking with Ghosts is the stunningly evocative memoir by Irish actor and Hollywood star, Gabriel Byrne.'Make no mistake about it: this is a masterpiece . . . poetic, moving and very funny' -- Colum McCann, author of Let the Great World SpinAs a young boy growing up in the outskirts of Dublin, Gabriel B yrne sought refuge in a world of imagination among the fields and hills near his home, at the edge of a rapidly encroaching city. Born to working-class parents and the eldest of six children, he harboured a childhood desire to become a priest. When he was eleven years old, Byrne found himself crossing the Irish Sea to join a seminary in England. Four years later, Byrne had been expelled and he quickly returned to his native city. There he took odd jobs as a messenger boy and a factory labourer to get by. In his spare time he visited the cinema, where he could be alone and yet part of a crowd. It was here that he could begin to imagine a life beyond the grey world of '60s Ireland.He revelled in the theatre and poetry of Dublin's streets, populated by characters as eccentric and remarkable as any in fiction, those who spin a yarn with acuity and wit. It was a friend who suggested Byrne join an amateur drama group, a decision that would change his life forever and launch him on an extraordinary forty-year career in film and theatre. Moving between sensual recollection of childhood in a now almost vanished Ireland and reflections on stardom in Hollywood and on Broadway, Byrne also courageously recounts his battle with addiction and the ambivalence of fame.Walking with Ghosts is by turns hilarious and heartbreaking as well as a lyrical homage to the people and landscapes that ultimately shape our destinies. ...Show more

The Trouser People - A Story of Burma in the Shadow of the Empire by Andrew Marshall

$15.00 NZD

Category: Asia | Reading Level: very good

Sir George Scott was an unsung Victorian adventurer who hacked, bullied and charmed his way through uncharted jungle to help establish British colonial rule in Burma. Born in Scotland in 1851, Scott was a die-hard imperialist with a fondness for gargantuan pith-helmets and a bluffness of expression that bordered on the Pythonesque. Stepped on something soft and wobbly, he records in his bush diary one dark night. Struck a match, found it was a dead Chinaman. ...Show more

Chasing Doctor Dolittle - Learning the Language of Animals by Con Slobodchikoff

$14.00 NZD

Category: Natural History | Reading Level: very good

"Slobodchikoff's ground-breaking research" (Jonathan Balcombe) shows us that animals have much to teach us about language Groundbreaking research has been done teaching animals human language, but what about the other way around? Studies have shown that lizards, squid, monkeys, and birds are talking to each other, communicating information about food, predators, squabbles, and petty jealousies. These animal languages are unique and highly adaptive. By exploring them, we come to appreciate the basis of our own languages; understanding or even "speaking" them allows us to get closer to the other species who inhabit this planet with us. The implications of animals having language are enormous. It has been one of the last bastions separating "us" from "them." Slobodchikoff's studies of the communication system of prairie dogs over twenty-five years have attracted a considerable amount of attention from the media, including a one-hour documentary on his work produced by BBC and Animal Planet. In Chasing Doctor Dolittle, he posits that the difference is one of degree, not the vast intellectual chasm that philosophers have talked about for millennia. Filled with meticulous research, vivid examples and daring conclusions, this book will challenge the reader's assumptions and open up new possibilities of understanding our fellow creatures. ...Show more

Frantz Fanon - A Spiritual Biography by Patrick Ehlen

$14.00 NZD

Category: Biography | Series: Lives and Legacies Ser. | Reading Level: very good

Fanon's remarkable life is resurrected at the turn of the century in Martinique. The author recounts the trial of an ordinary family in extraordinary times, fusing social,economic and psychological elements which fed Frantz Fanon's intellect. The book reveals how a single man matures into a decorated wa r hero, pioneer in psychiatry, theorist in philosophy and a passionate revolutionary. It is the story of love, disappointment and loss during the Algerian war of independence. ...Show more

Ships of the Cunard Line by Frank E Dodman

$20.00 NZD

Category: Shipping | Reading Level: very good

Science and the Modern World by A N Whitehead

$15.00 NZD

Category: Science | Reading Level: very good

Sartre - Romantic Rationalist by Iris Murdoch

$10.00 NZD

Category: Philosophy | Series: Studies in Modern European Literature and Thought | Reading Level: good-very good

Edward Lear's Nonsense Omnibus - With All the Original Pictures, Verses, and Stories of His Book of Nonsense ... by Edward Lear; E. Strachey (Introduction by)

$16.00 NZD

Category: Humour | Series: Warne Children's Classics Ser. | Reading Level: very good

A Motor-Flight Through France by Edith Wharton

$10.00 NZD

Category: Travel | Series: Picador Travel Classics | Reading Level: good

Purple Cow - Transform your business by being remarkable by Seth Godin

$10.00 NZD

Category: Business | Reading Level: very good

The Future of Nature - Writing on a Human Ecology from Orion Magazine by Barry Lopez (ed.)

$14.00 NZD

Category: Ecology | Series: The\World As Home Ser. | Reading Level: very good

The western mindset is arguably one of the greatest threats to the world's ecological balance. Corporatism and globalization are two of the obvious villains here, but what part does human nature play in the problem? Since its inception in 1982, Orion magazine has been a forum for looking beyond the effe cts of ecological crises to their root causes in human culture. Less an anthology than a vision statement, this timely collection challenges the division of human society from the natural world that has often characterized traditional environmentalism. Edited and introduced by Barry Lopez, The Future of Nature encompasses such topics as local economies, the social dynamics of activism, America's incarceration society, naturalism in higher education, developing nations, spiritual ecology, the military-industrial landscape, and the persistent tyranny of wilderness designation. Featuring the fine writing and insights for which Orion is famous, this book is required reading for anyone interested in a livable future for the planet. ...Show more