John Sutherland
Author
Language
English
Description
"Do we still know how to read a novel?" John Sutherland, Chairman of the 2005 Booker Prize Committee, asks. His disheartened answer is an unequivocal, "No." But, Sutherland has not given up hope. With acerbic wit and intellect, he traces the history of what it used to mean to be well-read and tells readers what it still means today. Using this delightful book as a means to an end, he reminds readers how the delicate charms of fiction can be at once...
Author
Language
English
Description
When did cigarettes start making an appearance in English literature? Which author's heart was purportedly eaten by a cat? One of our best-known and best-loved literary critics turns his attention to the more bizarre areas of literature in this miscellany of fact and trivia. Which author had the heaviest brain? What was the original title of 1984? Who made the first bouillon soup? What do 12 percent of all winners of the Booker Prize have in common?...
Author
Language
English
Description
The first comprehensive 'biography' of one of the first celebrity animals who gave us one of our favourite words. Jumbo, Victorian England's favourite elephant, was born in 1861 in French Sudan, imported to a Parisian zoo and later sold on to London, where – for seventeen years – he dutifully gave children rides and ate buns from their hands, all the while being tortured at night to keep him docile. Worldwide fame came when he was bought by the...
Author
Language
English
Description
The Hubble Telescope has enabled us to see what we could only see dimly before and sometimes to see what we had never seen before. After reading "Astrophysics for People in a Hurry" by Neil deGrasse Tyson, I was inspired to think about the time before time, i.e. the time before "The Big Bang". With some ESA/Hubble images for inspiration, I jotted down some of my musings and then decided to share them.
I recommend you spend some time pondering these...