Brian Alun Thomas's Books

Character Parts

Who's Really Who in CanLit

By: Brian Busby

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Character Parts

Who's Really Who in CanLit

By: Brian Busby

Ever wondered where novelists get the inspiration for their characters? Why the hero or villain of your favourite book seems oddly familiar? Who inspired Mordecai Richler to create Bernard Gursky; Margaret Atwood to create Zenia in The Robber Bride? In which novel does Northrop Frye appear (as a character named Morton Hyland)? The answers can be found in Character Parts, Brian Busby’s irreverent yet authoritative guide to who’s really who in Canadian literature. The most original and entertaining reference book to be published in years, Character Parts is the behind-the-scenes look at CanLit we have all been waiting for. Brian Busby settles the suspicions that arise when a fictional character reminds you of a real-life one, listing the sources for characters from the whole of Canadian literature. His canvas stretches from the settlers who inspired 1852’s Roughing It in the Bush to Glenn Gould’s appearance as Nathaniel Orlando Gow in Tim Wynne-Jones’ The Maestro, and beyond. But Character Parts is also chock-full of fascinating, less famous people who have been immortalized in Canadian books: seductive Alberta politicians, British army generals, anarchists, models, aristocrats -- and, of course, parents, siblings and ex-spouses. Authoritative, but presented with a light touch, Character Parts is as at home in a university library as on a bathroom shelf. It’s that rare find: an exemplary reference book that is also an absolutely entertaining read in its own right.

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Page Count

415

Publisher

Vintage Canada

Published Date

ISBN 10

0307368580

ISBN 13

9780307368584

A Further Slice Of Johnners

By: Brian Johnston

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A Further Slice Of Johnners

By: Brian Johnston

When Brian Johnston was a schoolboy, his reports were full of phrases such as 'talks too much in school' and 'apt to be a buffoon'. Later millions of radio listeners would be delighted to discover that some things never changed! Johnners brought his unique wit and personal charm to an enormous range of BBC radio and television programmes for nearly 50 years, from In Town Tonight and Down Your Way to Test Match Special. After Brian died in 1994, Christopher Martin-Jenkins wrote: 'It is hard to believe that anyone in the history of broadcasting has induced such widespread affection'. A Further Slice of Johnners covers Brian's early days, from his childhood in Hertfordshire and his schooldays at Eton and Oxford to his job in the family coffee business in the City and his service with the Grenadier Guards during the Second World War. There is also a selection of the most memorable characters and locations from his fifteen years on the Radio Four programme Down Your Way. Finally there is a collection of Brian's popular 'View From the Boundary' interviews on Test Match Special, including fascinating conversations with Eric Idle, John Major and Peter O'Toole.

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Page Count

413

Publisher

Random House

Published Date

ISBN 10

1448114071

ISBN 13

9781448114078

Another Slice Of Johnners

By: Brian Johnston

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Another Slice Of Johnners

By: Brian Johnston

Following the success of A Delicious Slice of Johnners, Barry Johnston has edited another delightful anthology based on three of his father’s most popular books, Brian Johnston’s Guide to Cricket, Chatterboxes and It’s Been a Piece of Cake.

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Page Count

329

Publisher

Random House

Published Date

ISBN 10

1448132894

ISBN 13

9781448132898

NEFYN, WALES Recollections from America

By: Brian Owen

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NEFYN, WALES Recollections from America

By: Brian Owen

Go back to an earlier time in the tiny town of Nefyn, Wales. Visit with a way-of-life and characters who made growing up there so interesting. Focused primarily on fishing experiences on Nefyn Beach, the reminiscences of a former resident brings this unique little town to life. Visit the places and the recollections the author experienced. A pleasant group of tales that take you back to the good old days - a time to be remembered with fondness and nostalgia. Follow the author as he leaves Nefyn to pursue a career in America. There he meets other Welsh emigrants and visits places where some of his ancestors established roots in the 1800's and early 1900's. Not surprisingly, his own roots are firmly entrenched in a very special place - old Nefyn.

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Page Count

206

Publisher

Lulu.com

Published Date

ISBN 10

1105547817

ISBN 13

9781105547812

Rugby: An Anthology

The Brave, the Bruised and the Brilliant

By: Brian Levison

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Rugby: An Anthology

The Brave, the Bruised and the Brilliant

By: Brian Levison

Inspiring and irreverent by turns, Brian Levison's new anthology has drawn on rugby's wealth of excellent writing. Frank Keating, P. G. Wodehouse, Alec Waugh, A. A. Thomson, John Reason and Mick Imlah are among the distinguished names who have written movingly, amusingly and entertainingly about the game they loved. Great players such as Brian O'Driscoll, Willie John McBride, J. P. R. Williams, Chester Williams, Colin Meads, Gavin Hastings and Brian Moore give us a fascinating insider's view, as does World Cup Final referee Derek Bevan, who reveals what it is like to try to control thirty powerful and often volatile men in a highly competitive situation. But some of the best writing and the wittiest insights come from those who played their rugby at a much less exalted level. The origins of the game - sometimes true, sometimes fanciful - are explored as are some of its rituals like the haka. There are amusing tales including that of the four Tibetan boys sent by the Dalai Lama to learn the game at Rugby School and an account of New Zealand scrum-half Chris Laidlaw's hostile reception at a village fête in Wales. Along with barely believable stories about the game's hardest men, including the French coach Jean 'le Sultan' Sébédio, who used to conduct training sessions wearing a sombrero and wielding a long whip, and 'Red' Conway who had his finger amputated rather than miss a game for South Africa. One section 'Double Vision' looks at the same incident from opposing viewpoints, such as when the then relatively inexperienced Irish immortal Willie John McBride took a swing at the mighty All Black Colin Meads in a line-out. Another, 'Giving it Everything', shows how exceptional courage was not restricted to the rugby field but extended to the battle grounds of the First World War. From the compiler of highly acclaimed All in a Day's Cricket, this selection covers the game from virtually every angle and is sure to delight any rugby fan.

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Page Count

289

Publisher

Robinson

Published Date

ISBN 10

1472135725

ISBN 13

9781472135728

A Right to Offend

Free Expression in the Twenty-first Century

By: Brian Winston

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A Right to Offend

Free Expression in the Twenty-first Century

By: Brian Winston

A Right to Offend examines the current state of the concept and practice of freedom of expression in the Western World.

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Page Count

433

Publisher

A&C Black

Published Date

ISBN 10

1849660034

ISBN 13

9781849660037

War Poems: An Anthology of Unforgettable Verse

An Anthology of Unforgettable Verse

By: Brian Busby

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War Poems: An Anthology of Unforgettable Verse

An Anthology of Unforgettable Verse

By: Brian Busby

Since time immemorial war has inspired poets, firing their imaginations to produce some of the world's greatest verse. The poems included in this new compilation cover conflicts from every period of history -- from the wars of the ancients, through the Renaissance and the Middle Ages to the present day. The experiences and emotions they encompass are timeless: heroism, courage, stoicism, comaraderie, despair, understanding, empathy, joy. Including over 150 poems, this thought-provoking anthology is a fitting tribute to all those affected by war, past and present.

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Page Count

481

Publisher

Arcturus Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

1848587066

ISBN 13

9781848587069

The Daffodil Blooms

The glorious rise of Glamorgan CCC to County Champions in 1948

By: Andrew Hignell ,Brian Halford

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The Daffodil Blooms

The glorious rise of Glamorgan CCC to County Champions in 1948

By: Andrew Hignell ,Brian Halford

The third book in the Cricket Witness series is a celebration of Glamorgan winning the 1948 County Championship. Not only was it their first-ever title, it was achieved just four years after the heartbreak of losing their inspirational captain, Maurice Turnbull, who was killed shortly after the Normandy invasion whilst serving King and Country. Maurice had steered the county through a series of difficult seasons when defeats were more common than success, and the committee was regularly contemplating a return to Minor County status. Elevated into first-class cricket in 1921, Glamorgan CCC were the Cinderella of the county game, with opponents travelling to South Wales only booking two nights’ accommodation instead of the normal three, given the Welsh county’s dreadful form. As defeat followed defeat during their first two decades, Glamorgan’s selection committee often found it difficult to raise a strong team, as talented amateurs declined invitations to play, and, in 1922, they had to draft in a virtually unknown 15-year-old schoolboy for what proved to be his one and only county game. There were calls for the debt-ridden club to wind up but, to the delight of their loyal band of supporters, they continued, and in 1948 Wilf Wooller, the former Welsh rugby international, led the county to the Championship title. This rags-to-riches tale is recounted with the use of contemporary quotes and extracts from the memoirs of the players themselves. It is also lavishly illustrated with many previously unpublished images to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the club’s first Championship-winning season and a special moment in Welsh sporting history.

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Page Count

132

Publisher

Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians

Published Date

ISBN 10

190816591X

ISBN 13

9781908165916

A Delicious Slice Of Johnners

By: Brian Johnston

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A Delicious Slice Of Johnners

By: Brian Johnston

Following Brian Johnston's death in 1994, Prime Minister John Major appeared to speak for the nation when he remarked that 'Summers will never be the same.' To an Englishman's ears, the sound of leather against willow will always be closely associated with the cheerful tones of Johnners. Brian Johnston was a man who admitted: 'I have this absurd hankering to make people laugh.' He also summed up his books as 'the meanderings of a remarkably happy and lucky person, to whom life, like cricket, is a funny game and still a lot of fun.' Lovingly edited by his eldest son, Barry, A Delicious Slice of Johnners is a wonderfully enjoyable compendium of three of Johnners' best loved books, the autobiographies It's Been a Lot of Fun and It's a Funny Game, and Rain Stops Play

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Page Count

402

Publisher

Random House

Published Date

ISBN 10

0753548054

ISBN 13

9780753548059

Witchcraft and Magic in Europe, Volume 6

The Twentieth Century

By: Marijke Gijswijt-Hofstra,Brian P. Levack,Roy Porter

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Witchcraft and Magic in Europe, Volume 6

The Twentieth Century

By: Marijke Gijswijt-Hofstra,Brian P. Levack,Roy Porter

The end of the 18th century saw the end of witch trials. This volume charts the processes and reasons for decriminalizing witchcraft. It also surveys the social role of witchcraft in European communities to the end of the 19th century.

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Page Count

257

Publisher

A&C Black

Published Date

ISBN 10

0485891050

ISBN 13

9780485891058

The British 'B' Film

By: Steve Chibnall,Brian McFarlane

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The British 'B' Film

By: Steve Chibnall,Brian McFarlane

This is the first book to provide a thorough examination of the British 'B' movie, from the war years to the 1960s. The authors draw on archival research, contemporary trade papers and interviews with key 'B' filmmakers to map the 'B' movie phenomenon both as artefact and as industry product, and as a reflection on their times.

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Page Count

521

Publisher

Bloomsbury Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

183871863X

ISBN 13

9781838718633

The Novels of Erich Maria Remarque

Sparks of Life

By: Brian Murdoch

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The Novels of Erich Maria Remarque

Sparks of Life

By: Brian Murdoch

New view of Remarque's novels as a chronicle of the century yet more than a mere reflection of historical events.

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Page Count

272

Publisher

Camden House

Published Date

ISBN 10

1571133283

ISBN 13

9781571133281

Class and Community in Provincial Ireland, 1851–1914

By: Brian Casey

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Class and Community in Provincial Ireland, 1851–1914

By: Brian Casey

This book explores the experience of small farmers, labourers and graziers in provincial Ireland from the immediacy of the Famine until the eve of World War One. During this period of immense social and political change, they came to grips with the processes of modernisation. By focusing upon east Galway, it argues that they were not an inarticulate mass, but rather, they were sophisticated and politically aware in their own right. This study relies upon a wide array of sources which have been utilised to give as authentic a voice to the lower classes as possible. Their experiences have been largely unrecorded and this book redresses this imbalance in historiography while adding a new nuanced understanding of the complexities of class relations in provincial Ireland. This book argues that the actions of the rural working class and nationalists has not been fully understood, supporting E.P. Thompson’s argument that ‘their aspirations were valid in terms of their own experiences’.

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Page Count

303

Publisher

Springer

Published Date

ISBN 10

3319711202

ISBN 13

9783319711201

Hearing Double

Jazz, Ontology, Auditory Culture

By: Brian Kane

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Hearing Double

Jazz, Ontology, Auditory Culture

By: Brian Kane

When we talk about a jazz "standard" we usually mean one of the many songs that jazz musicians repeatedly play. But unlike classical musical works, standards are always being transformed in performance. They are rearranged and improvised, which raises the question: what gives a standard its identity? Hearing Double answers that question. Filled with case studies and music analysis, this book will draw your attention to unheard aspects of jazz performance as well as unrecognized philosophical, social, and cultural dimensions of the jazz repertoire.

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Page Count

321

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0190600500

ISBN 13

9780190600501

Book's by Brian Alun Thomas

Character Parts

Character Parts

A Further Slice Of Johnners

A Further Slice Of Johnners

Another Slice Of Johnners

Another Slice Of Johnners

NEFYN, WALES Recollections from America

NEFYN, WALES Recollections from America

Rugby: An Anthology

Rugby: An Anthology

A Right to Offend

A Right to Offend

War Poems: An Anthology of Unforgettable Verse

War Poems: An Anthology of Unforgettable Verse

The Daffodil Blooms

The Daffodil Blooms

A Delicious Slice Of Johnners

A Delicious Slice Of Johnners

Witchcraft and Magic in Europe, Volume 6

Witchcraft and Magic in Europe, Volume 6

The British 'B' Film

The British 'B' Film

The Novels of Erich Maria Remarque

The Novels of Erich Maria Remarque

Class and Community in Provincial Ireland, 1851–1914

Class and Community in Provincial Ireland, 1851–1914

Hearing Double

Hearing Double

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