We Seldom Talk About the Past is John MacKenna's first selected collection of short stories, from a career spanning over three decades. The stories selected represent a culmination of MacKenna's work in a form of writing he has made uniquely his own. MacKenna's stories examine the quotidian truths of our lives, of the momentousness of small moments
By endurance we conquer."--Shackleton family motto Eighty years after Ernest Shackleton's death, his legend and the extraordinary story of the Endurance South Pole expedition still hold a grip on the public imagination. Trapped in drifting polar pack-ice for ten months, Ernest Shackleton and his crew fought for survival against all the odds. When the Endurance was finally crushed, they were stranded on ice floes for more than a year before reaching Elephant Island. From there Shackleton; and five of his men embarked on the most remarkable rescue mission in maritime history, sailing in a small open boat to South Georgia Island across eight hundred miles of the world's roughest seas to bring help to the others. Though he failed to reach the South Pole, Shackleton's story lives on because of his unique qualities of leadership and the extraordinary fact that all of his men survived. This compelling narrative probes the profound influence of Shackleton's Irish and Quaker roots in the making of a great leader. It offers a vivid portrait of a man at odds with the world and with himself, whose ambition was tempered by his flawed humanity and egalitarianism. Here too are the untold stories of Shackleton's upbringing in Kildare, his time in the Merchant Navy, his 1901 voyage on the Discovery with Robert Falcon Scott, his 1907 Nimrod expedition, his marriage and love affairs, his life as a public figure and politician, and the haunting story of his final, fatal expedition on the Quest. Drawing on family records, diaries, and letters--and hitherto unpublished photographs and archive material--this mesmerizing book takes us beyond the myth to Shackleton; the man, for whom "optimism is true moral courage," and whose greatest triumph was that of life over death. Shackleton: An Irishman in Antarctica is lavishly illustrated with more than a hundred photographs, maps, and engravings, some of them appearing in print for the first time. Shackleton: An Irishman in Antarctica, copublished by the Lilliput Press in Dublin and the University of Wisconsin Press, presents Shackleton family history with a particular focus on the explorer.
The Girondins of Chile tells of the strong influence that the European revolutions of 1848 had in Chile, and how they motivated a young Santiago society with high cultural aspirations but little political knowledge or direction. Benjamin Vicuña Mackenna, a Chilean writer and historian who lived during those days in Santiago, relates the events of the time, events in which he was a participant. He pays special attention to how the 1848 revolutions influenced a group of young liberals he called "Chilean Girondins." When news of the fall of Philippe d'Orléans and the installation of the Second Republic arrived, there was an explosion of jubilation in Santiago. Now there were no barriers to ideas, "much less to the generous ideas proclaimed by the sincere people of France." But when a proletarian revolution took place in France in June, Chilean public opinion became virulently anti-revolutionary. Except, of course, among the liberal youth, the Chilean Girondins, who were headed towards revolution--and sooner than anyone thought. When revolution came in 1851, Vicuña Mackenna found himself sentenced to death for taking part in the uprising. After escaping and spending some years in exile, he was able to return in 1855. He remained active in politics, yet his account of what happened in the 1851-52 revolution was not published until 1876.
Following his critically acclaimed memoir, 'Things You Should Know', McKenna offers a collection of short stories, set over the centuries and held together by one central theme - a field near his beloved Athy, Co. Kildare. Each story showcases his gift for capturing a moment, an emotion, a time in sensuous yet stark language.
Colonial Latin America was famed for the precious metals plundered by the conquistadores and the gold and silver extracted from its mines. Historians and economists have attempted to determine the amount of bullion produced and its impact on the colonies themselves and the emerging early-modern world economy. Using official tax and mintage records, this book provides decade-by-decade and often annual data on the amount of gold and silver officially refined and coined in the treasury and mint districts of Spanish and Portuguese America. It also places American bullion output within the context of global production and addresses the issue of contraband production and bullion smuggling. The book is thus an invaluable source for evaluating the rise of the early-modern economy.
Nineteenth-century Chile was an exceptional phenomenon in Latin America: Constitutional procedures were observed, the army remained in its barracks, and development proceeded at a perceptible pace, even to contemporary observers. This book examines the enormous contribution British merchants made toward Chilean prosperity and stability during this period. The prospect of trade initially brought the British to Chile in the early 1800s. Great Britain soon provided the largest markets for Chilean produce, and British factories produced the largest share of Chile’s manufactured imports. British merchants organized the trade and provided services and expertise wherever needed. John Mayo documents the economic aspects of the British presence in Chile, but he also surveys the social, diplomatic, and political relations between the two countries. What emerges is a picture of a mutually profitable partnership based on the simplest of all motives—self-interest.
The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has amassed an outstanding collection of ceramics produced by the Chelsea porcelain Manufactory during its years of operation, 1745-1769. The most important part of the collection falls within the Manufactory's earliest, or triangle, period, and includes examples of nearly all the extant forms. Exotic teapots shaped like Chinamen holding creatures, and objects copied directly from silver prototypes are but a few of the fascinating forms from the early, experimental period. Also illustrated are unique and aesthetically pleasing examples that were manufactured at Chelsea later.
Although it escaped bombing raids, Blackpool played an important role in the Second World War as a centre for training — with numerous airfields and factories surrounding the area. This book is the first to offer a dedicated history of the town in the period. It includes many interesting stories such as the people’s playground, the Freckleton Air Disaster and an event-by-event account of activities. Despite being less affected than some other areas, the difficult war years still impacted on local people. Filled with true tales of local courage and of the spirit of the people of Blackpool during these tumultuous years, this nostalgic volume will be of interest to all who know and love Blackpool.
Ranging over 2,500 years of philosophical writing, this five-volume collection of essays is an unrivalled companion for studying and reading philosophy. Each essay provides an overview of a work and a clear exposition of its central ideas. Covering the most influential works of our greatest philosophers, the series offers remarkable insights into the ideas out of which our present ways of thinking emerged. VOLUME 1 offers readers a deep understanding of ancient philosophy and the medieval period in Western Europe during which philosophers sought to harmonize the great thinkers of antiquity with Christian belief. The works of Plato, Aristotle, Lucretius, Sextus Empiricus, Plotinus, Augustine, Anselm, Aquinas, Duns Scotus, and Ockham are considered. Contributors include Hugh H. Benson, Stephen R. L. Clark, Richard Cross, Paula Gottlieb, R.J. Hankinson, Peter King, Christopher Kirwan, Harry Lesser, John Marenbon, and Paul O'Grady.
This collection of essays showcases the most important and influential philosophical works of the ancient and medieval period, roughly from 600 BC to AD 1600. Each chapter takes a particular work of philosophy and discusses its proponent, its content and central arguments. These are: Plato's Republic; Aristotle' Nichomachean Ethics; Lucretius' On the Nature of the Universe; Sextus Emperiicus' Outlines of Pyrrhonism; Plotinus' The Enneads; Augustine's City of God; Anselm's Proslogion; Aquinas' Summa Theologia; Duns Scotus' Ordinatio; William of Ockham's Summa Logicae .
American writer Julien Green's (1900–1998) origins, artistic motivation, and identity was a source of mystery and confusion even for those that most fêted him. The first non-French national to be elected to the Académie française, Green authored several novels (The Dark Journey, The Closed Garden, Moira, Each Man in His Darkness, and the Dixie trilogy), a four-volume autobiography (The Green Paradise, The War at Sixteen, Love in America and Restless Youth), and his famous Diary. In this study, John. M Dunaway begins with an examination of the autobiographical context of Julien Green's works, in which the duality of mystic and sensualist is quite clearly polarized. He then proceeds through a selected series of Green's fictional works in an attempt to show the birth and nature of the third self as a personal myth of the artist. He then considers the fiction in chronological order with the intention of demonstrating the evolution of the myth of the third self in Green's career.
The Lost Village is an astonishingly compelling portrait of life in a small Irish village in 1925, a unique tapestry of village life woven out of Fair Days, court sessions, football finals and carnival dances, which along with such darker shadows of the period such as Civil War bitterness and unemployment, provide the backdrop for real-life triumphs, tragedies and minor scandals. Written by the acclaimed novelist and short story writer, John MacKenna (The Fallen, Clare), it draws on old newspaper reports along with first-hand interviews in his native Castledermot, in South Kildare to create a refreshingly accurate and unsentimental re-creation of life, as it was lived day-by-day and season-by-season in an Irish village some seventy years ago.
Kay Francis came of age in the Roaring Twenties and relished the era's hedonistic pursuits. Her career as an actress was launched at the same time, and before her death in 1968, she had appeared on many theater stages, in more than 60 films, on radio, in USO tours, as a model, and on television. The tall, stylish actress had a husky voice and dark beauty that was striking on film. Despite her financial success, relaxed morals, and life as a socialite, the millionaire actress shunned luxuries such as limousines and sprawling estates popular among Hollywood elite. The actress, who insisted she wanted to be forgotten, left behind scrapbooks, boxes of memorabilia and detailed diaries. These rich resources help provide an exhaustive look at the life of one of Hollywood's most intriguing early stars. Francis' biography is the heart of this book, beginning with her family background and her upbringing by a vaudevillian actress mother. The story of her extensive career and never-ending romantic pursuits is peppered with comments from the media and her own diaries, and supplemented with ample photographs. A chronology gives dates of theater openings, film releases, marriages, television and radio appearances, births and deaths. A filmography includes complete cast and credit lists.
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