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When Albert Camus died in a car crash in January 1960 he was only 46 years old — already a winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature and a world figure — author of the enigmatic The Stranger, the fable called The Plague, but also of the combative The Rebel — which attacked the ‘politically correct’ among his con-temporaries.Thanks to his early literary achievement, his work for the under-ground newspaper Combat and his editorship of that daily in its Post-Liberation incarnation, Camus’ voice seemed the conscience of postwar France. But it was a very personal voice that rejected the conventional wisdom, rejected ideologies that called for killing in the cause of justice. His call for personal responsibility will seem equally applicable today, when Camus’ voice is silent and has not been replaced. The secrecy which surrounded Algerian-born Camus’ own life, public and private — a function of illness and psychological self-defense in a Paris in which he still felt himself a stranger — seemed to make the biographer’s job impossible.Lottman’s Albert Camus was the first and remains the definitive biography — even in France. On publication it was hailed by New York Times reviewer John Leonard: “What emerges from Mr. Lottman’s tireless devotions is a portrait of the artist, the outsider, the humanist and skeptic, that breaks the heart.” In The New York Times Book Review British critic John Sturrock said: “Herbert Lottman’s life (of Camus) is the first to be written, either in French or English, and it is exhaustive, a labor of love and of wonderful industry.” When the book appeared in London Christopher Hitchens in New Statesman told British readers: “Lottman has written a brilliant and absorbing book… The detail and the care are extra-ordinary… Now at last we have a clear voice about the importance of liberty and the importance of being concrete.”The new edition by Gingko Press includes a specially written preface by the author revealing the challenges of a biographer, of some of the problems that had to be dealt with while writing the book and after it appeared.

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• Mako Idemitsu is an established and internationally acclaimed feminist artist and pioneer in the medium of experimental film. Her work has been featured in exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, The National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo, The Los Angeles Institute for Contemporary Art, among many others• She is a member of a powerful Japanese family akin to the Rockefellers in the United States. Her father Sazo Idemitsu owns Japanese petroleum company Idemitsu Kozan. White Elephant, though fictional, dramatizes her emancipation from the patriarchal values of this family and will appeal to fiction readers and autobiography fans alike.• Both White Elephant and Mako’s work in other mediums, inflected by her personal upbringing, depict the inner lives of women struggling in male-dominated settings and will appeal to female readers and gender studies enthusiasts• Translator Juliet Winters Carpenter is highly regarded. Her past translations have won the 2014 Lewis Galantiere Award of the American Translators Association and the Japan-US Friendship Commission Prize for the Translation of Japanese Literature in 1980• This is the first English language translation of Mako Idemitsu’s debut novel

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Leslie D. Helm's decision to adopt Japanese children launches him on a personal journey through his family's 140 years in Japan, beginning with his great-grandfather, who worked as a military advisor in 1870 and defied custom to marry his Japanese mistress. The family's poignant experiences of love and war help Helm overcome his cynicism and embrace his Japanese and American heritage. This is the first book to look at Japan across five generations, with perspective that is both from the inside and through foreign eyes. Helm draws on his great-grandfather's unpublished memoir and a wealth of primary source material to bring his family history to life. Leslie D. Helm is a veteran foreign correspondent, having served eight years in Tokyo for Business Week and the Los Angeles Times. Currently, he is editor of Seattle Business, a monthly magazine that has won multiple first place excellence in journalism awards in the Pacific Northwest. Helm earned a master's degree in journalism from the Columbia University School of Journalism and in Asian studies from the University of California, Berkeley. He was born and raised in Yokohama, Japan, where his family has lived since 1868.

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Author published popular Rozek's newsletter in 1990s, which was called «antimedia media» by Wired and featured in The Wall Street Journal, The Christian Science Monitor and on NPR's «Talk of the Nation.» Focus on dialogue to tell Lynzsea's story makes for easy reading. Reader is a fly on the wall listening to a twentysomething college student. Lynzsea Sky raises a lot of questions about drugs, divorce, the education system, sexuality, and thus makes an excellent selection for book clubs. Rozek is a dynamic speaker. Probably a good target for RTIR. Parents of teens and young adults will be drawn to this unadulterated portrait of a young American woman. The new form – not just transcription, different from Studs Terkel – should be of interest to journalism students. A candidate for Kindle Shorts? Author is planning a series of these books. The plan is to paint a portrait of the US in the 2010s by profiling people of different walks of life.

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Джозеф Дэйвис – личный друг Рузвельта, посол к Сталину в 1937-38 годах. В книге совершенно секретные донесения Белому дому, письма и личные дневники посла о России. Посол даёт взгляд на репрессии, гигантские стройки СССР, Советское искусство и быт. Описаны переговоры со Сталиным, Черчиллем, руководителями нацистской Германии. Дэйвис награждён высшим орденом СССР – Орденом Ленина за помощь в ленд-лизе и открытии второго фронта. В книге большое число бытовых заметок посла – от посещения Артека, до дегустации вин в Массандре или секретных кладовых Эрмитажа со скифским золотом.

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Книга Ольги Черненьковой рассказывает о жизни двух величайших поэтов Серебряного века – Анне Ахматовой и Николае Гумилеве. Вы узнаете о сложной истории их взаимоотношений, которая развивалась на фоне происходившей в стране драмы. Два поэта, две личности, соединившиеся в браке, – случай уникальный. Они говорят на одном языке, они понимают и чувствуют друг друга, эта связь превыше всего земного и обыденного. Но трагедия расставания неизбежна. Воин и дева, как назвала их в своем стихотворении Анна Ахматова, не смогут ужиться вместе, не сумеют справиться с ревностью, оправдать ожидания друг друга. Автор детально описывает удивительные судьбы двух выдающихся русских поэтов, литературный мир Петербурга и события того беспокойного времени. © Storysidе

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Радянська пропаганда зробила Симона Петлюру чи не найголовнішим антирадянським «демоном», утіленням усіх «темних сторін» людини: зради, обману, підступності. Цьому сприяла та обставина, що сам Петлюра – літератор і журналіст – ніколи не писав про своє життя ані спогадів, ані нотаток: він неначе спеціально намагався залишитися людиною «без особистого життя». Книжка В. Савченка – спроба перетворити цей «безтілесний символ» на живу людину, щоб сучасний читач мав змогу нарешті дізнатися, яким насправді було життя Симона Петлюри.

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Павло Іванович Харитоненко – особистість, можна сказати, грандіозна. Він успадкував від батька, Івана Герасимовича, найбільше в російській імперії об’єднання цукрових заводів і за роки своєї праці зумів зміцнити його і збільшити. До 1914 року статки Харитоненка досягли 60 млн рублів, його земельні володіння становили 56 тис. десятин (не рахуючи орендованих), а в Державному банку у нього була кредитна лінія в 9 млн рублів. Тож П. І. Харитоненка по праву називали королем «цукрової держави». Але в історію він увійшов ще й як один з найвідоміших меценатів Російської імперії. Харитоненко зібрав одну з найбільших в Росії колекцій живопису, очолював московське відділення російського музичного товариства, фінансував будівництво в Києві пам’ятника Богдану Хмельницькому… А те, що він зробив для свого улюбленого міста Суми, навіть перерахувати складно: побудував дитячу лікарню, кадетський корпус, міст через річку, замостив бруківкою головні вулиці, оплачував навчання студентів… Згідно із заповітом в Сумах Харитоненко і був похований.

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What happens when a city woman takes up rural roots and becomes a shepherd? Read &quot;Letters from the Country: From High Heels to Wellington Boots. A Memoir and Survival Guide&quot; and find out.<br><br>Journalist and broadcaster Marsha Boulton made the leap that so many urbanites only fantasize about. As more and more people today are choosing country life over city life, Marsha&#39;s experiences propel the reader into her world with hilarious consequences.<br><br>Who knew that a hair dryer could become an indispensable farm tool?<br><br>What lessons are learned when a lawyer buys a farm as a weekend retreat and then buys 10 bulls to breed his 10 cows? <br><br>Whether in the lambing shed serving as midwife, picking two acres of pickle cucumbers or analyzing the intelligence of turkeys, Marsha&#39;s observations on her rural learning curve offer a roller coaster ride filled with bucolic wonder and genuine affection for creatures large and small.<br><br>A runaway bestseller when first published in Canada, &quot;Letters From the Country&quot; received the Stephen Leacock Award for Humor, prompting one of her neighbors to say: &quot;Don&#39;t let that go to your head, girl. After all they nominated a pig named Babe for an Academy Award.&quot;<br><br>Now, for the first time in the United States and around the world, readers can revel in what one reviewer cited as &quot;humor on the lamb.&quot;<br><br>Editorial Reviews<br><br>&quot;If you&#39;re thinking about a move to rural digs, &#39;Letters From the Country&#39; is must reading.&quot; (The Calgary Herald)<br><br>&quot;An affectionate, humorous and personal account of a city woman&#39;s leap into life &#39;down on the farm&#39; – Boulton&#39;s voice of experience makes her book a unique achievement.&quot; (David Staines, University of Ottawa)<br><br>&quot;If nothing else, you&#39;ll know why sheep sometimes have crayon marks on their backsides – a sweet collection, sprinkled with insights about the realities of moving to the country.&quot; (The Hamilton Spectator)<br><br>&quot;One of those rare books that will appeal to almost every reader.&quot;<br>(The London Free Press)<br><br>&quot;Boulton&#39;s musings are as soft as a lamb&#39;s fleece. The 57 pieces in the collection, classified by the four seasons, capture some key elements of rural living … Another good choice for the humor prize.&quot; (The Globe and Mail)<br><br>Reader Reviews<br><br>&quot;This is a great book – one you cannot put down. Each chapter is a story of funny and serious antics as a woman who made a major career change. Sure to please anyone who lives in either the city or country.&quot; – Babs<br><br>This is a very pleasant book to pick up and enjoy, a chapter at a time. I am not a wannabe farmer and Marsha Boulton does not paint a perfect picture of farm life. However she does manage to convey the joys and aggravation of life in the country. I wouldn&#39;t want to live there but I would certainly like to visit. (As long as I don&#39;t need to deal with the sheep!) – Teacher Suzanne<br><br>&quot;This is one of my comfort books. When I&#39;m feeling down or out of sorts, I take refuge in a hot bath with this book. The book is a collection of stories written by a woman who moves from the big city (the &#39;big smoke&#39; as her country neighbors call it) to a farm. The stories are arranged by season and there are a good variety of topics. The writing is light but very competently written nonetheless. – John<br><br>Journalist and broadcaster Marsha Boulton – big city woman – moves to the country and becomes a shepherd. She never dreamed she would do this and how it came about is enjoyable and funny. – Helen<br><br>&quot;Love the short tales which allow me to read a few chapters before bedtime. I live in a rural area and can identify with the stories in this book.&quot; – Patricia

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OPEN THE HEART of Self-Discovery through the Life and Amazing Works of Walt Whitman<br><br>Walt Whitman was known as the &quot;Good Gray Poet&quot; who paved the way for modern American poetry. The epithets &quot;good&quot; and &quot;gray&quot; make Whitman sound dull to the modern reader, yet Whitman was anything but dull. <br><br>In &quot;Whitman&#39;s Self: Mysticism in the Life and Writings of Walt Whitman,&quot; Paul Hourihan explores how Whitman&#39;s spiritual revelations and struggles informed his most significant works&mdash;especially his ground-breaking poem &quot;Song of Myself.&quot; &quot;Whitman&#39;s Self&quot; contains insightful and provocative interpretations of Whitman&#39;s writing that will intrigue those who know Walt Whitman well … as well as those who are just getting introduced to him. <br><br>&quot;At a time like this, Dr. Hourihan performs a valuable service by his courageous reaffirmation of what is of permanent value in the life and works of one of the most original minds in American literature.&quot; – Dr. V. K. Chari, author of &quot;Whitman in the Light of Vedantic Mysticism&quot;

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