This book is an appreciation of selected authors who make extensive use of humor in English detective/crime fiction. Works using humor as an amelioration of the serious have their heyday in the Golden Age of crime writing but they belong also to a long tradition. There is an identifiable lineage of humorous writing in crime fiction that ranges from mild wit to outright farce, burlesque, even slapstick. A mix of entertainment with instruction is a tradition in English letters. English crime fiction writers of the era circa 1913 to 1940 were raised in the mainstream literary tradition but turned their skills to detective fiction. And they are the humorists of the genre. This book is not an exhaustive study but an introduction into the best produced by the most capable and enjoyable authors. What the humorists seek is to surprise the reader by overturning their expectations using a repertoire of stylistic conceits and motifs (recurring incidents, devices, references). Humor has a liberating effect but is concerned too with "comic contrast" through ugliness and caricature. In crime fiction one effect is intellectual pleasure at solving (or attempting to solve) a puzzle. Another is entertainment but with serious undertones.
Though animal stories and fables stretch back into the antiquity of ancient India, Persia, Greece and Rome, the reasons for writing them and their resonance for readers (and listeners) remain consistent to the present. This work argues that they were essential sources of amusement and instruction--and were also often profoundly unsettling. Such authors in the realm of the animal fable as Tolkien, Freud, Voltaire, Bakhtin, Cordwainer Smith, Karel Capek, Vladimir Propp, and many more are discussed.
This book takes a revitalized look at how teams should work in today’s business is driving real growth in some of the world’s most innovative firms. Every manager desires to have great teams around them collaborating together and running with the mission. Unfortunately, most of these teams have been built around outdated practices made popular by companies that either no longer exist or haven’t been relevant in years. However, a new generation of teams has learned to do things differently--things like hiring the right person instead of the best person; focusing on one priority while leaving room to explore new ideas; creating an environment where people are comfortable dealing with the uncomfortable; and maximizing profit by not making it top priority. In Extreme Teams, take a peek into top companies and examine the teamwork experiments powering their results, including how: Pixar’s teams use constant feedback and debate to transform initially flawed films into billion-dollar hits A culture of radical “freedom and responsibility” helps Netflix execute on the next big thing Whole Food’s super-autonomous teams embrace hard metrics and friendly competition to drive performance Zappos fuels the weirdness and fun that sustains its success From marketing to design to technology to product demand, everything has changed in business and will continue to do so. Why shouldn’t the teams carrying out these changes undergo their own upgrades?
Extraordinary leaders share a passionate commitment to achieving their vision that borders and sometimes crosses the line into obsession. All In shows why obsession, if properly focused and managed, is both necessary and productive. Advances in any endeavor almost always depend on a small group of individuals who are completely consumed by the goal they're pursuing. When these leaders and teams are successful, everyone benefits from their obsessive nature. This book?explores the three obsessions underlying the achievements of the greatest leaders: delighting customers, building great products, and creating an enduring company. Author Robert Bruce Shaw takes you inside the success stories of iconic leaders and shows the upside of obsession plus the practices that support it, including Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Elon Musk of Tesla, and Steve Jobs of Apple. In All In, Shaw teaches you why: Amazon's first principle is customer obsession and the behaviors that sustain it as the firm becomes one of the largest in the world. Tesla puts products at the center of everything it does and the leadership approach that created a revolutionary electric car. Steve Jobs' greatest creation was not the Mac or iPhone but Apple the company. ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ???? Shaw also provides insight into the dark side of obsession and its destructive potential - as vividly illustrated in his case study of Uber's aggressive pursuit of growth during the tenure of CEO Travis Kalanick. Appealing to any reader of entrepreneurial biographies, All In shows individuals, teams and organizations how to manage obsession's downsides while realizing the benefits of relentlessly seeking to create something that truly matters.
This guide offers the discerning traveler delightful alternatives at every price range in our 45 most popular cities. More than 300 unique hotels, guest houses, bed and breakfasts, and inns are described in intimate detail. Each review includes room rates, accessibility to restaurants and entertainment, amenities and facilities, plus more.
Autobiographical accounts by Waddi Boyoi and Johnny Walker; reminiscences of traditional and station life; hunting, death rituals, initiation, devil myths, marriage, sorcery and inter-tribal conflict; contact history - Captain Cook myth; station work; brief notes on effects of World War II; leprosy and blindness; perceptions of alcohol abuse, intermarriage, work and Aboriginal Law; includes poem Johnny Walker-oh by Mary Durak, chronological table and glossary of colloquialisms and Kriol words.
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