2008, ISBN: 9780711212596

Gebundene Ausgabe

Broadway Books. Very Good. 5.2 x 0.7 x 8 inches. Paperback. 2008. 306 pages. <br>A longer life. A happier life. A healthier life. A bove all, a life that matters-so that when you le… Mehr…

Broadway Books. Very Good. 5.2 x 0.7 x 8 inches. Paperback. 2008. 306 pages. <br>A longer life. A happier life. A healthier life. A bove all, a life that matters-so that when you leave this world, you'll have changed it for the better. If science said you could have all this just by altering one behavior, would you? Dr. Step hen Post has been making headlines by funding studies at the nati on's top universities to prove once and for all the life-enhancin g benefits of caring, kindness, and compassion. The exciting new research shows that when we give of ourselves, especially if we s tart young, everything from life-satisfaction to self-realization and physical health is significantly affected. Mortality is dela yed. Depression is reduced. Well-being and good fortune are incre ased. In their life-changing new book, Why Good Things Happen to Good People, Dr. Post and journalist Jill Neimark weave the growi ng new science of love and giving with profoundly moving real-lif e stories to show exactly how giving unlocks the doors to health, happiness, and a longer life. The astounding new research incl udes a fifty-year study showing that people who are giving during their high school years have better physical and mental health t hroughout their lives. Other studies show that older people who g ive live longer than those who don't. Helping others has been sho wn to bring health benefits to those with chronic illness, includ ing HIV, multiple sclerosis, and heart problems. And studies show that people of all ages who help others on a regular basis, even in small ways, feel happiest. Why Good Things Happen to Good P eople offers ten ways to give of yourself, in four areas of life, all proven by science to improve your health and even add to you r life expectancy. (And not one requires you to write a check.) T he one-of-a-kind Love and Longevity Scale scores you on all ten w ays, from volunteering to listening, loyalty to forgiveness, cele bration to standing up for what you believe in. Using the lessons and guidelines in each chapter, you can create a personalized pl an for a more generous life, finding the style of giving that sui ts you best. The astonishing connection between generosity and health is so convincing that it will inspire readers to change th eir lives in ways big and small. Get started today. A longer, hea lthier, happier life awaits you. Editorial Reviews Review Advan ce Praise for Why Good Things Happen to Good People In writing s o compellingly about the importance of lifelong giving, Stephen P ost and Jill Neimark have actually modeled their own principle by giving all of us a gift. Bringing together a summary of new scie ntific data on altruism, a compendium of moving stories of human compassion, and a new survey tool to assist in self-examination, this book convincingly demonstrates that 'love your neighbor as y ourself' can indeed provide a joyful path towards a fulfilled lif e. --Francis S. Collins, MD, PhD, director, Human Genome Project and author of The Language of God Stephen Post and Jill Neimark make the scientific case for generosity eloquently, humanely, and compellingly. This book meets Nietzsche's criterion for good phi losophy: 'Change your life!' --Martin E. P. Seligman, PhD, Fox Le adership Professor of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, and author of Learned Optimism and Authentic Happiness: Using the Ne w Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfi llment In my entire lifetime I have never read a book that prese nts the benefits of giving for the giver as well as this one does , and using such powerful science in the process. --Robert H. Sc huller, founder of The Crystal Cathedral Stephen Post and Jill N eimark have brought together the main findings from the new scien ce of genuine love and translated them into helpful, practical ad vice that the reader can easily apply. Those who take this book t o heart will surely make their lives better, and will help to mak e the world a better place as well. --Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Ph D, professor of psychology, Claremont Graduate University, and au thor of Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience This book is chock-full of good stuff. Read, enjoy and be uplifted! --Millard Fuller, founder and president of the Fuller Center for Housing an d founder of Habitat for Humanity About the Author Stephen Post, PhD, is a professor of bioethics at Case Western Reserve Univers ity's School of Medicine. He is president of the Institute for Re search on Unlimited Love, and his work has appeared in top journa ls such as JAMA, Science, and The Lancet. Jill Neimark is a jour nalist, novelist, and former features editor for Psychology Today whose work has appeared in The New York Times, The Economist, an d Discover. Excerpt. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserv ed. One Find the Fire If I could take one word with me into ete rnity, it would be give. For the past eighteen years I've taught medical ethics at Case Western University Medical School, and si nce 2001 I've run a research institute dedicated to exploring the extraordinary power of giving. We've funded over fifty studies a t forty-four major universities. I have one simple message to of fer and it's this: giving is the most potent force on the planet. Giving is the one kind of love you can count on, because you can always choose it: it's always within your power to give. Giving will protect you your whole life long. Most of us can recall wit h radiant clarity those moments when giving was receiving, when a nother's happiness was our own. After fifty-five years on this ea rth, I, like you, hold those moments as my most precious. But I a lso know about the power of giving because, as head of the Instit ute for Research on Unlimited Love (IRUL), I've funded studies an d seen scientific proof. Pioneering scientists across many discip lines are pursuing a whole new topography of research focused on the traits and qualities that create happiness, health, contentme nt, and lasting success in life. These scientists are discovering the deep, remarkable impact of benevolent behavior on mental and physical health. Personally, I am now convinced that giving is t he answer to the malaise that corrodes many lives today, a malais e born of too much bowling alone, as the sociologist Robert Putna m describes our fragmented lives. You wish to be happy? Loved? S afe? Secure? You want to turn to others in tough times and count on them? You want the warmth of true connection? You'd like to wa lk into the world each day knowing that this is a place of benevo lence and hope? Then I have one answer: give. Give daily, in smal l ways, and you will be happier. Give and you will be healthier. Give, and you will even live longer. Generous behavior shines a protective light over the entire life span. The startling finding s from our many studies demonstrate that if you engage in helping activities as a teen, you will still be reaping health benefits sixty or seventy years later. And no matter when you adopt a givi ng lifestyle, your well-being will improve, even late in life. Ge nerous behavior is closely associated with reduced risk of illnes s and mortality and lower rates of depression. Even more remarkab le, giving is linked to traits that undergird a successful life, such as social competence, empathy, and positive emotion. By lear ning to give, you become more effective at living itself. As psy chiatrist Dr. Karl Menninger wrote, Love cures--both the ones who give it and the ones who receive it. This book will show you why giving is scientifically sound advice, and by the time you're fi nished reading these pages, you'll have many tools for embarking on a healthier, more giving lifestyle yourself. Romance of a Dif ferent Kind This book has one purpose: to inspire you to a healt hier, more giving lifestyle. It offers: *The latest scientific f indings connecting generous behavior and happiness, health and lo ngevity, as well as a look toward future science *A practical ro admap detailing the distinctly different ways of giving available to all of us every day that will allow you to think about daily giving concretely, chapter by chapter *Stories of giving, for wh at is life but a tapestry of stories? We are meaning-making creat ures, and stories inspire us *A new and unique Love and Longevit y Scale, developed by top scientists, with which you can self-rat e your own strengths and gifts *Simple, practical suggestions an d exercises to help you shift easily and gradually to a life of g reater giving You'll notice, as you read this book, that when I speak of giving and love, I rarely mention romantic infatuation. What of the face that launched a thousand ships? The rose that, b y any other name, would smell as sweet? The troubadours, music, p oetry, art, and wars waged because of love? Romantic attraction is a pleasure-driven passion that carries its own unique brain ch emistry, marked by fevered highs and, at times, wrenching lows. W hen we fall in love, infatuation propels us to ride a tidal wave of overwhelmingly positive feelings, so that we see our beloved a s perfection incarnate. This early bliss helps propagate the spec ies--but it tends to be fleeting. Though falling in love is an ex perience we all cherish, it is not the kind of love that does the heavy lifting in life. Staying in love requires the many express ions of generous behavior that are the core of this book. I have been married for twenty-five years. It's fair to say that my marr iage began with romantic infatuation. Friendship emerged because it had to. After the birth of our daughter, cooperation and toler ance became essential; in fact, the transition to parenthood was one of the most maturing events of my life. But even the new, coo perative friendship that developed as we became parents would not have been enough to hold us together over the decades. A deeper kind of love emerged, one grounded in compassion, hope, forgivene ss, loyalty, tolerance, respect. In every marriage that begins w ith the dizzying highs of romance, it is the deeper, quieter ways of love that ultimately sustain it. The Harvard psychiatrist Geo rge Vaillant, who has followed the lives of Harvard graduates for half a century, gives the example of a judge who met his wife in high school. At age sixty-five, he reported that his love was mu ch deeper than at the beginning. At age seventy-seven, he said, A s life gets shorter, I love Cecily even more. This book is about that kind of love. And it is giving that renews and sustains love over time. How Did a Bioethicist End Up Running an Institute on Love? One evening in the year 2000, at Duke University, a phila nthropist named Sir John Templeton sat with me over a friendly cu p of tea and suggested that I start an institute to study love, a nd love alone. Sir John is legendary in the investing world for c reating one of the most successful mutual funds of the last centu ry. His specialty was to identify emerging markets so that stimul ating business could benefit the local economy. Knighted in 1987 for his achievements, Sir John retired to the Bahamas and began a unique kind of philanthropy. His foundation gives away $60 milli on a year for both spiritual and scientific endeavors and achieve ment. His annual Templeton Prize for Progress Toward Research or Discoveries About Spiritual Realities offers about $1.5 million a year and has been awarded to everybody from Mother Teresa to Ale ksandr Solzhenitsyn to the physicist Paul Davies. I was a bit fl oored by Sir John's suggestion. When I came to Case Western Reser ve University School of Medicine in 1988, I chose to focus on the needs of Alzheimer's sufferers and their families. I was drawn t o these people I call the deeply forgetful because I had seen my own grandmother die of Alzheimer's. I knew that even in the haze of dementia, she could still give and receive love--in fact, it w as the only language left to her. These patients revealed to me t he simple truth that love is our core. I learned a lot about givi ng from the deeply forgetful and their families as I traveled aro und the country holding focus groups. Sir John knew this, and he himself had long been captivated by the idea of unselfish love. A few months after we'd shared tea, Sir John wrote me to continue the conversation; he asked that I establish a first-class scient ific institute to study the impact of love and giving on our live s. Soon after, I sat down with the dean of Case Medical School, N athan A. Berger, to discuss it. Nate, I said, public health is ab out more than the flu and lead paint and obesity. It's also about benevolence and generosity and hope. Love is actually powerful m edicine. We all know that--Harry Harlow told us that half a centu ry ago--but we don't study it enough. In 1951 the psychologist H arry Harlow had offered an extraordinary presidential address to the American Psychological Association. Harlow was one of the fir st scientists to bring love into the lab. His controversial studi es of baby monkeys clinging to cloth-and-wire moms are unforgetta ble--they showed us how deep and hardwired the need for affection and warmth is. Love, Harlow said, is a wondrous state, deep, ten der and regarding . . . [and yet] psychologists tend to give prog ressively less attention to a motive which pervades our entire li ves. He challenged the entire audience of his peers, asking why w e study hatred, violence, fear, pornography, but not positive emo tions. Nate got my point. Visionaries like Nate Berger and Sir J ohn Templeton are rare. And so, in 2001, with a generous start-up grant from the John Templeton Foundation, the Institute for Rese arch on Unlimited Love was founded as an independent entity locat ed at Case Medical School. Many colleagues of mine, even good fr iends, have been amused by the name of the Institute. When you ac cept a challenge like Sir John's, you've got to shore up a lot of nerve to push it forward. And so I embrace the skepticism I enco unter. It's one of the delightful challenges of this kind of work , and increasingly, people have come to take the Institute seriou sly. When people ask me what the Institute does, I have three an swers. The first: we fund pioneering, high-level, empirical resea rch on unselfish love in every aspect from human development and genetics to positive psychology and sociology. The second: Rememb er what Mr. Rogers said after the September 11, 2001, terrorist a ttacks? He was asked on television what parents should tell their children about the terrorist attacks and his simple answer was: Keep your eye on the helpers. That is what this institute does: i t, Broadway Books, 2008, 3, Wiley. Very Good. 6.4 x 1.24 x 9.7 inches. Hardcover. 2005. 368 pages. <br>iCon takes a look at the most astounding figure in a business era noted for its mavericks, oddballs, and iconoclast s. Drawing on a wide range of sources, Jeffrey Young and William Simon provide new perspectives on the legendary creation of Apple , detail Jobs's meteoric rise, and the devastating plunge that le ft him not only out of Apple, but out of the computer-making busi ness entirely. This unflinching and completely unauthorized portr ait reveals both sides of Jobs's role in the remarkable rise of t he Pixar animation studio, also re-creates the acrimony between J obs and Disney's Michael Eisner, and examines Jobs's dramatic his rise from the ashes with his recapture of Apple. The authors exa mine the takeover and Jobs's reinvention of the company with the popular iMac and his transformation of the industry with the revo lutionary iPod. iCon is must reading for anyone who wants to unde rstand how the modern digital age has been formed, shaped, and re fined by the most influential figure of the age-a master of three industries: movies, music, and computers. Editorial Reviews Re view ...getAbstract com...recommends it highly to all business re aders... (Financial Times, 16^th January 2006) ...the writing is savvy and lively...even readers with a scant interest in computers, technology or animated movies will find the tale e ntertaining... (www.getabstract com, 29 Aug. 2005) ...a story of the personalities behind the facts and figures...includes some i nteresting personal touches... (Liverpool Daily Post, 22<sup>nd</ sup> June 2005) ...rich in anecdotes and retellings of turning p oints in the lives of Jobs, Apple and Pixar... (Information Age, 1^st August 2005) ...the authors paint a vivid picture of Jobs as an occasional genius and a regular jerk. All of which makes for gripping reading for any Mac fan... (icreate, July-Dec ember 2005) ...Young and Simon are particularly good at telling the inside story... (Belfast Sunday Life, 3 July 2005) ...new pe rspectives on the creation of Apple...details Jobs's meteoric ris e, fall and rise again... (Moneywise, June 2005) ...a well-balan ced look at an incredible life. The achievements are all catalogu ed in full, as are the personal idiosyncrasies and shortcomings.. . (Glasgow Sunday Herald, June 19 2005) Provides insight into in ner businer business strategies and power plays between larger-th an-life personalities such as Disney boss Michael Eisner. (USA To day) Apparently, this book hit a nerve. Or several. According to media reports, Apple Computer removed all of the titles publishe d by John Wiley & Sons from its retail stores to protest this boo k. Included were the successful Dummies series, as well as comput er-related volumes from popular authors Andy Ihnatko and Bob LeVi tus. So what's the fuss? This biography of Apple's co-founder is fairly well balanced. The authors keenly admire Jobs despite the many personal shortcomings they catalog, gleefully referring to s undry over-the-top idiosyncrasies as examples of Jobs' ''Stevian' ' hubris. But there's much to admire about Jobs. An adopted child of a northern California working class couple, he parlayed rabid curiosity about electronics, preternatural entrepreneurial zeal and a fierce sense of self into a partnership with the brilliant Steve Wozniak and created the revolutionary Apple II, the first p opular personal computer. The pair became multimillionaires, thou gh Wozniak eventually left the company to pursue other interests -- including flying small airplanes -- after nearly dying in a pl ane crash. Jobs subsequently latched onto and took over a wayward project at Apple to develop the next generation machine, and the resulting Macintosh became the computer of choice for artists an d other creative folks. Jobs' prickly personality and immense amb ition may have helped drive his success but also fueled clashes w ith executives, board members and others, and led to his forced d eparture from the company he co-founded. That was Jobs' wild firs t act. But authors Jeffrey Young and William Simon also chronicle what came next. After leaving Apple, Jobs' new computer company, NeXT, was a near-disaster. Though technologically advanced, the box was expensive and ill suited for its intended market, univers ities. Still, the operating system held great promise and the pos sibility for Jobs' return to the spotlight. When divorce forced S tar Wars auteur George Lucas to sell off his nascent computer ani mation company, Pixar, Jobs scooped it up at a fraction of the as king price. Soon, the production company allied with Disney and b ecame a creative powerhouse in its own right, with smash films, T oy Story and Finding Nemo. When Pixar went public, Jobs became a billionaire. At the same time, Apple was having a rough time with its latest CEO, Gil Amelio, who slashed costs, consolidated prod uct lines and seemed to be on the verge of turning the company ar ound despite a lack of ''Stevian'' political prowess. His search for an appropriate operating system for a new, more powerful Maci ntosh attracted Jobs' attention. His NeXT software was the ticket back to Apple. After some deft machinations, Amelio was sent pac king and Jobs became ''interim'' CEO. Soon, some new, very cool c omputers were introduced by Apple and the company was again deeme d successful and sexy, though Young and Simon suggest that Jobs w as the beneficiary of the departed Amelio's cost-cutting and new product development initiatives. Regardless, Jobs struck gold aga in with the introduction of the iPod music player, and the ''inte rim'' was removed from his title. The biography includes many per sonal details that surely embarrass Jobs, such as his early aband onment of a daughter born to an unmarried girlfriend (both of who m he later reconciled with and supported), along with endless exa mples of pride, egotism, venality, ruthlessness and conceit. But it's still an interesting and engaging tale. Warts and all, for b etter or worse, Steve Jobs is undisputedly an American business i con. (Miami Herald, June 6, 2005) One of the most captivating bu siness biographies of recent years. Young and Simon have done a m asterful job. (Ft. Worth Star-Telegram) A fascinating tale of an imaginative genius. (BookPage) Review My books are about the s ecret lives of hackers. This book is about the secret life of may be the most influential person in technology. Who else can you th ink of that has put his stamp on three industries - computers, mu sic, and movie animation? Once you start reading, you won't want to put it down.-- Kevin Mitnick, security consultant, www.mitnick security com, author of The Art of Deception and The Art of Intru sion Assembling the artifacts and stories to showcase the achiev ements of man is the work of museums like ours. But history also relies on authors like Young and Simon, who have done a memorable job compiling the biography of Steven Jobs from conversations wi th the people who have been players with this extraordinary techn ology pioneer. And this book is a fascinating read as well.-- Joh n Toole, executive director and CEO, Computer History Museum, Mou ntain View, California During the high-tech boom years when Stev e Jobs gained global recognition, I was on the Silicon Valley sce ne to witness his rise to fame. We all admired his genius and bec ame aware of his flaws, as well. You won't want to miss this abso rbing behind-the-scenes story. -- Steve Westly, controller of the state of California, former senior vice president, If tech nology was a competitive sport, Steve Jobs would be a combination of an NBA misbehaving superstar and an NHL player who high-stick s opponents whenever he thinks they've treated him badly. But he' d also be MVP. Fascinating and unforgettable. -- Carol Mitch, Bes t Damn Sports Show Period From the Inside Flap According to F. Scott Fitzgerald, there are no second acts in American life. Appa rently he forgot to tell Steve Jobs. Jobs rose from an outcast high school electronics nerd to become the driving force behind A pple and avatar of the computer revolution, only to be driven fro m the company in failure and disgrace. Then, having endured repea ted personal and professional disasters, he went on to make an in delible mark on the entertainment industry, reclaim the throne at Apple, and, with the extraordinary success of the iPod, regain h is reputation as arguably the greatest innovator of the digital a ge. iCon takes a look at the most astounding figure in a busines s era noted for its mavericks, oddballs, and iconoclasts. Drawing on a wide range of sources in Silicon Valley and Hollywood, Jeff rey Young, author of the first-ever Jobs biography, and coauthor William Simon provide new perspectives on the legendary creation of Apple in a Silicon Valley garage and detail Jobs's meteoric ri se as the prototypical digital wunderkind and the devastating plu nge that left him not only out of Apple, but out of the computer- making business entirely. Act two begins with Jobs displaying hi s talent for bedeviling business associates and making enemies al ong the way. Still stinging with embarrassment after his crash fr om the heights, he waged a tough negotiation with George Lucas fo r the purchase of the legendary filmmaker's computer animation bu siness-at one-third of the asking price-and pressured his partner s into settling for a modest percentage of what would become Pixa r, keeping the remainder for himself. This unflinching and compl etely unauthorized portrait reveals both sides of Jobs's role in the remarkable rise of the Pixar animation studio, from Toy Story and the string of hit movies that delighted audiences around the world to his rocky alliance with Disney. It also re-creates the acrimony between Jobs and Disney's Michael Eisner, which ended th e once-close relationship between the two companies. The most dr amatic, and, no doubt, most satisfying of Jobs's achievements dur ing his rise from the ashes was his recapture of Apple, ten years after being booted out of the company, in a coup that only he co uld have orchestrated. The authors examine the takeover and Jobs' s reinvention of the company with the very popular iMac and his t ransformation of the industry, and again the culture, with the re volutionary iPod. Complete with a preview of Jobs's third act, i Con is must reading for anyone who wants to understand how the mo dern digital age has been formed, shaped, and refined by the most influential figure of the age-a master of three industries: movi es, music, and computers. It is about understanding the future by understanding the past and present of the Digital King, Steve Jo bs. From the Back Cover An unauthorized and unflinching portrai t of the phenomenon behind Apple My books are about the secret l ives of hackers. This book is about the secret life of maybe the most influential person in technology. Who else can you think of that has put his stamp on three industries-computers, music, and movie animation? Once you start reading, you won't want to put it down. -Kevin Mitnick, security consultant, www.mitnicksecurity.c om author of The Art of Deception and The Art of Intrusion Assem bling the artifacts and stories to showcase the achievements of m an is the work of museums like ours. But history also relies on a uthors like Young and Simon, who have done a memorable job compil ing the biography of Steven Jobs from conversations with the peop le who have been players with this extraordinary technology pione er. And this book is a fascinating read as well. -John Toole, Exe cutive Director and CEO Computer History Museum, Mountain View, C alifornia During the high-tech boom years when Steve Jobs gained global recognition, I was on the Silicon Valley scene to witness his rise to fame. We all admired his genius and became aware of his flaws, as well. You won't want to miss this absorbing behind- the-scenes story. -Steve Westly, California State Controller form er senior vice president, If technology was a competitive s port, Steve Jobs would be a combination of an NBA misbehaving sup erstar and an NHL player who high-sticks opponents whenever he th inks they've treated him badly. But he'd also be MVP. Fascinating and unforgettable. -Carol Mitch, Best Damned Sports Show Period About the Author JEFFREY S. YOUNG, one of the founding editors of MacWorld magazine, first met Steve Jobs in 1983. He is the aut hor of the classic unauthorized biography Steve Jobs: The Journey Is the Reward. Young began his career as a reporter with the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, and, after MacWorld, wrote for The Holl ywood Reporter and worked for Forbes in the 1990s as its contribu ting editor from Silicon Valley, writing profiles and business pi eces, including a very influential profile of Microsoft's Steve B almer. In 1997, he cofounded Forbes com. Young is¿also the author of¿Forbes Greatest Technology Stories (Wiley). He lives in north ern California. WILLIAM L. SIMON is coauthor of Kevin Mitnick's The Art of Deception and The Art of Intrusion, both published by Wiley, as well as the award-winning author of more than twenty o ther books.¿He lives in Rancho Santa Fe, California. </div Revie w My books are about the secret lives of hackers. This book is ab out the secret life of maybe the most influential person in techn ology. Who else can you think of that has put his stamp on three industries - computers, music, and movie animation? Once you star t reading, you won't want to put it down.-- Kevin Mitnick, securi ty consultant, www.mitnicksecurity com, author of The Art of Dece ption and The Art of Intrusion Assembling the artifacts and stor ies to showcase the achievements of man is the work of museums li ke ours. But history also relies on authors like Young and Simon, who have done a memorable job compiling the biography of Steven Jobs from conversations with the people who have been players wit h this extraordinary technology pioneer. And this book is a fasci nating read as well.-- John Toole, executive director and CEO, Co mputer History Museum, Mountain View, California During the high -tech boom years when Steve Jobs gained global recognition, I was on the Silicon Valley scene to witness his rise to fame. We all admired his genius and became aware of his flaws, as well. You wo n't want to miss this absorbing behind-the-scenes story. -- Steve Westly, controller of the state of Cali, Wiley, 2005, 3, New York: Random House. Good. 6.75 x 1.25 x 9.75 inches. Hardcover. 1999. First US edition. 373 pages. Name crossed out on ffep.<br>Present-day Russia is the setting for this stunning new novel from Robert Harris, author o f the bestsellers Fatherland and Enigma. Archangel tells the sto ry of four days in the life of Fluke Kelso, a dissipated, middle- aged former Oxford historian, who is in Moscow to attend a confer ence on the newly opened Soviet archives. One night, Kelso is vi sited in his hotel room by an old NKVD officer, a former bodyguar d of the secret police chief Lavrenty Beria. The old man claims t o have been at Stalin's dacha on the night Stalin had his fatal s troke, and to have helped Beria steal the dictator's private pape rs, among them a notebook. Kelso decides to use his last morning in Moscow to check out the old man's story. But what starts as a n idle inquiry in the Lenin Library soon turns into a murderous c hase across nighttime Moscow and up to northern Russia--to the va st forests near the White Sea port of Archangel, where the final secret of Josef Stalin has been hidden for almost half a century. Archangel combines the imaginative sweep and dark suspense of F atherland with the meticulous historical detail of Enigma. The re sult is Robert Harris's most compelling novel yet. Editorial Rev iews Archangel is a remarkably literate novel--and simultaneous ly a gripping thriller--that explores the lingering presence of S talin amidst the corruption of modern-day Russia. Robert Harris ( whose previous works include Enigma and Fatherland) elevates his tale by choosing a narrator with an outsider's perspective but an insider's knowledge of Soviet history: Fluke Kelso, a middle-age d scholar of Soviet Communism with a special interest in the dark secrets of Joseph Stalin. For years, rumors have circulated abou t a notebook that the aging dictator kept in his final years. In a chance encounter in Moscow, Kelso meets Papu Rapava, a former N KVD guard who claims that he was at Stalin's deathbed and says th at he assisted Politburo member Beria in hiding the black oilskin notebook just as Stalin was passing. Before Kelso can get more d etails, Rapava disappears, but the scholar is energized by the ev idence Rapava has provided. As Kelso begins to pursue his histori cal prize, however, his investigation ensnares him in a living we b of Stalinist terror and murder. It soon becomes clear that the notebook is the key to a doorway hiding many secrets, old and new . Harris's understanding of Soviet and modern Russian is impres sive. The novel rests on a seamless blend of fact and fiction tha t places real figures from Soviet history alongside Kelso and his fictional colleagues. Especially disturbing are the transcripts from interrogations and the excerpt from Kelso's lectures on Stal in; the documents provide chilling evidence to support Kelso's cl aim: There can now be no doubt that it is Stalin rather than Hitl er who is the most alarming figure of the twentieth century. --Pa trick O'Kelley From Publishers Weekly As in his first thriller, Fatherland, Harris again plunders the past to tell an icy-slick s tory set mostly in the present. Readers are plunged into mystery, danger and the affairs of great men at once, as, outside Moscow in 1953, Stalin suffers a fatal stroke, and the notorious Beria, head of Stalin's secret police, orders a young guard to swipe a k ey from the dictator's body, to stand watch as Beria uses it to s teal a notebook from Stalin's safe and then to help bury the note book deep in the ground. These events unfold not in flashback pro per but as told to American Sovietologist C.R.A. Fluke Kelso by t he guard, now an old drunk. Following a lead from the old man's s tory as well as other clues, Kelso, soon accompanied by an Americ an satellite-TV journalist, goes in pursuit of the notebook and, later, the explosive secret it contains; others, including those who cherish the days of Stalin's might, are on the chase as well. With this hunt as backbone, the plot fleshes out in muscular fas hion, fed by assorted conspiratorial interests and a welter of co lorful, if sometimes too obvious (Stalin as madman; Beria as sadi st), characters. The crumbling ruin that is today's Moscow comes alive in the details, which continue as Kelso's search moves nort h into the frozen desolation of the White Sea port of Archangel. Sex, violence and violent sex all play a part in Harris's enterta ining, well-constructed, intelligently lurid tale, which, along w ith his first two novels, places him squarely in the footsteps no t of Conrad, Green and le Carre, as the publisher would have it, but of Frederick Forsyth. And, like Forsyth, Harris has yet to wr ite a novel without bestseller stamped on it?including this one. Simultaneous audio book; optioned for film by Mel Gibson. Copyri ght 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library Journal Ha rris's first novel, Fatherland (LJ 4/1/92), an international best seller, supposed that Hitler had won World War II. His second, E nigma (LJ 10/1/95), another success, hinged on code-breaking in t he same war. In Archangel, Harris switches to modern, unstable Ru ssia and raises another what-if?suppose a very real pro-Stalinist cult wanted to bring back to power one of Stalin's sons. A discr edited Oxford historian and an American TV journalist stumble ove r papers suggesting such a possibility. They stay barely one jump ahead of sinister competing forces in pursuing a twisting tale t hat keeps the reader turning pages almost past the bizarre surpri ses at the end. A former journalist and author of several nonfict ion works, Harris skillfully mixes historical detail and fiction. This is likely to be as big a hit as the earlier two suspense ta les, and libraries everywhere should be prepared. -?Roland C. Per son, Southern Illinois Univ. Lib., Carbondale Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Booklist A possible Communist ( or Facsist) restoration in Russia furnishes promising material fo r fictional espionage (witness Frederick Forsyth's Icon, 1996). H arris posits the existence of hitherto-unknown papers belonging t o Stalin, which vanished into the hands of the notorious secret p olice chief, Beria. This intriguing curtain-raiser is confided to historian Fluke Kelso by Beria's bodyguard. Sensing a historical coup, Kelso finds confirmation of the missing papers in Dmitri V olkogonov's biography of Stalin (Triumph and Tragedy, 1991) and i nterviews one of Volkogonov's sources, a cagey ex-KGB operative. Kelso also tries to recontact Beria's bodyguard, who had held bac k on the location of the papers, by looking for his daughter. He finds both: the father has been butchered, but the daughter is al ive, and she leads Kelso to the papers. They are curiously innocu ous, alluding only to a young girl from Archangel. Kelso's diggin g has by now attracted heavy surveillance from Russian intelligen ce, as well as an unwanted partner in the form of nosy, obnoxious TV reporter R. J. O'Brian, who's itching to break the story of S talin's nubile paramour. So, everyone's off to Archangel, whose d ilapidated state Harris evokes as well as the increasing tension of Kelso's search for the now-elderly girl. Instead of the girl, they turn up her mother, whose story of a baby--the son of Stalin --raised in the surrounding taiga diverts everyone, tailing off i nto the forest for the blazing conclusion and revelation of Joe J unior's political significance. Building on his accurate historic al sense, Harris inveigles readers with intricate plotting and co ncrete descriptions of Russia's contemporary look, rewarding them with a thoroughly thrilling tale. Gilbert Taylor From Kirkus Re views Lg. Prt. 0-375-70412-4 Top-flight thriller, something of a variation on le Carr's The Russia House, as an American historian tracks down a MacGuffin of far greater value than the Maltese fa lcon. Fluke Kelso, having published two books about the fall of t he Soviet empire, finds himself invited to a symposium in Moscow that will supposedly focus on newly released archival material. S ome think Kelso will reveal yet another bombshell. And that might be true, since he has secretly interviewed elderly Papu Rapava, bodyguard of KGB chief Lavrenty Beria, about the night that Stali n died. Rapava observed all as Beria took a key from Stalin's nec k and stole from a safe an oilskin pouch holding the dictators me moirs (an improvisation on the theme of Harris's first book, 1986 's Selling Hitler, about the faking of the Hitler diaries). Later , the pouch was buried in Beria's backyard. The ever-avid Kelso g oes ferreting through some recently declassified papers in the Le nin Library, then hunts up Vladimir Mamantov, a Stalinist fanatic he'd interviewed years ago for his big book about the Soviet col lapse, a book sneered at by Mamantov because it painted Stalin bl ack. Mamantov concedes that in Western terms the man was a monste r, but avers that by Soviet standards he lifted the USSR from the tractor to the atomic bomb. And Mamantov opines to Kelso that St alinism will return: some 20 million Russians still believe Stali n was the greatest figure of the centurya rather large bloc shoul d some other charismatic figure rise anew to lead it once again. After Kelso makes a secret trip to Beria's house and discovers fr eshly turned earth, he falls in with an American TV reporter whil e being tracked by the RT Directorate's chief. Deaths ensue as th e trail leads to the White Sea port of Archangel, where Kelso doe s indeed make a momentous discovery. No personal demons here to s oothe, but Harriss (Enigma, 1995, etc.) knack for re-creating his torical events puts him in very select company. -- Copyright 1998 , Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. Review Praise for ENIGMA Elegant, atmospheric . . . a tense and thoughtful thrill er. --San Francisco Chronicle Literate and savvy . . . It's alw ays a pleasure to encounter a historical thriller this subtle and detailed. . . . [ ] brims with wartime intrigue and paranoia. -- The Washington Post Book World FATHERLAND A stunning debut. --B oston Globe An elegant thriller, a thoughtful, frightening stor y of complicity. --San Francisco Chronicle An absorbing, expert ly written novel. --The New York Times From the Inside Flap Rus sia is the setting for this stunning new novel from Robert Harris , author of the bestsellers Fatherland and Enigma. Archangel tel ls the story of four days in the life of Fluke Kelso, a dissipate d, middle-aged former Oxford historian, who is in Moscow to atten d a conference on the newly opened Soviet archives. One night, K elso is visited in his hotel room by an old NKVD officer, a forme r bodyguard of the secret police chief Lavrenty Beria. The old ma n claims to have been at Stalin's dacha on the night Stalin had h is fatal stroke, and to have helped Beria steal the dictator's pr ivate papers, among them a notebook. Kelso decides to use his la st morning in Moscow to check out the old man's story. But what s tarts as an idle inquiry in the Lenin Library soon turns into a m urderous chase From the Back Cover Praise for ENIGMA Elegant, atmospheric . . . a tense and thoughtful thriller. --San Francis co Chronicle Literate and savvy . . . It's always a pleasure to encounter a historical thriller this subtle and detailed. . . . [ ] brims with wartime intrigue and paranoia. --The Washington P ost Book World FATHERLAND A stunning debut. --Boston Globe An elegant thriller, a thoughtful, frightening story of complicity. --San Francisco Chronicle An absorbing, expertly written novel . --The New York Times About the Author Robert Harris has been a television correspondent with the BBC and a newspaper columnis t for the London Sunday Times. His novels have sold more than six million copies and been translated into thirty languages. He liv es in Berkshire, England, with his wife and three young children. Excerpt. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. To choo se one's victims, to prepare one's plans minutely, to slake an im placable vengeance, and then to go to bed . . . there is nothing sweeter in the world. --J. V. Stalin, in conversation with Kamene v and Dzerzhinsky Olga Komarova of the Russian Archive Service, Rosarkhiv, wielding a collapsible pink umbrella, prodded and shoo ed her distinguished charges across the Ukraina's lobby toward th e revolving door. It was an old door, of heavy wood and glass, to o narrow to cope with more than one body at a time, so the schola rs formed a line in the dim light, like parachutists over a targe t zone, and as they passed her, Olga touched each one lightly on the shoulder with her umbrella, counting them off one by one as t hey were propelled into the freezing Moscow air. Franklin Adelma n of Yale went first, as befitted his age and status, then Molden hauer of the Bundesarchiv in Koblenz, with his absurd double doct orate--Dr. Dr. Karl-bloody-Moldenhauer--then the neo-Marxists, En rico Banfi of Milan and Eric Chambers of the LSE, then the great cold warrior Phil Duberstein, of NYU, then Ivo Godelier of the Ec ole Normale Suprieure, followed by glum Dave Richards of St. Anto ny's, Oxford--another Sovietologist whose world was rubble--then Velma Byrd of the U.S. National Archive, then Alastair Findlay of Edinburgh's Department of War Studies, who still thought the sun shone out of Comrade Stalin's ass, then Arthur Saunders of Stanf ord, and finally--the man whose lateness had kept them waiting in the lobby for an extra five minutes--Dr. C.R.A. Kelso, commonly known as Fluke. The door banged hard against his heels. Outside, the weather had worsened. It was trying to snow. Tiny flakes, as hard as grit, came whipping across the wide gray concourse and s pattered his face and hair. At the bottom of the flight of steps, shuddering in a cloud of its own white fumes, was a dilapidated bus, waiting to take them to the symposium. Kelso stopped to ligh t a cigarette. Jesus, Fluke, called Adelman, cheerfully. You loo k just awful. Kelso raised a fragile hand in acknowledgment. He c ould see a huddle of taxi drivers in quilted jackets stamping the ir feet against the cold. Workmen were struggling to lift a roll of tin off the back of a truck. One Korean businessman in a fur h at was photographing a group of twenty others, similarly dressed. But of Papu Rapava, no sign. Dr. Kelso, please, we are waiting a gain. The umbrella wagged at him in reproof. He transferred the c igarette to the corner of his mouth, hitched his bag up onto his shoulder, and m, Random House, 1999, 2.75, Frances Lincoln, 1998-09-03. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good Jacket. 17 to 19 cm tall (12mo). Posted within 1 working day. Robust recyclable packaging. 1st class post to the UK, Airmail worldwide, Frances Lincoln, 1998-09-03, 3<

2011, ISBN: 0711212597

[EAN: 9780711212596], Gebraucht, sehr guter Zustand, [PU: Frances Lincoln], FILM, KUNST & KULTUR / BIBEL BIBELKUNDE NACHSCHLAGEWERKE, Jacket, 80 Seiten; Englische Aufl. 1998. Hardcover mi… Mehr…

[EAN: 9780711212596], Gebraucht, sehr guter Zustand, [PU: Frances Lincoln], FILM, KUNST & KULTUR / BIBEL BIBELKUNDE NACHSCHLAGEWERKE, Jacket, 80 Seiten; Englische Aufl. 1998. Hardcover mit Schutzumschlag. Keinerlei Einträge, sehr guter Zustand. Auslandsversand auf Anfrage. Kein Versand an Packstationen. 12502 Sprache: Deutsch Gewicht in Gramm: 550, Books<

2009, ISBN: 9780711212596

Hardcover, Dispatched, from the UK, within 48 hours of ordering. Though second-hand, the book is still in very good shape. Minimal signs of usage may include very minor creasing on the co… Mehr…

Hardcover, Dispatched, from the UK, within 48 hours of ordering. Though second-hand, the book is still in very good shape. Minimal signs of usage may include very minor creasing on the cover or on the spine., [PU: Frances Lincoln]<

ISBN: 9780711212596

Hardback. Very Good., 3