'Intelligent and unpretentious Modern Poetry for intelligent, unpretentious and modern-minded people.'Barn Swallow.In groups: a mad woman'shyperactive Tourette'stearing at her hair;her flailing fists, and rapid arm-weaving, everywhere and nowhere;alone: a Tartar's arrow-bolt fletched with blue steel...This masterful collection brings exquisite high-art poetry to ordinarily educated readers. Each poem comes with a set of explanatory notes, written by the author himself; and this edition also includes an informative essay to explain what makes free-verse successful. The few technical terms that are employed in the essay are clearly explained in an informative glossary. Here is the poetry book for the 2020's. At over two-hundred pages - the collection is more than twice the length of other poetry books. It is a sister publication of 'Rhyming Poetry for Today', yet also entirely self-standing.This is the book that will gently coach you to understand and enjoy both modern poetry and the highest artistic literature
"This is the story of a knowing scoundrel, and of what became of him."A Coward in Modern China is a travel comedy, crime caper and adventure - based on the escapades of a willful rascal: bogus professor Robert Runworth. Set largely in contemporary Beijing, and partly in California, it is raunchy and mischievous in its plot and action. Yet the pages are also classically stylish; and historically detailed in their account of life in China today. The book is always entertaining, by its exotic setting and fascinating insights as much as its farcical humor.Here is a good old-fashioned yarn in the tradition of the Flashman series. Indeed, Runworth is of mixed American and British ancestry. The narrator's voice has both an up-to-date quality and the timeless feel of more classical literature. Its main character is a thoughtful villain, rather like Dexter.Therefore, like all truly entertaining but serious literature, and laugh-out-loud comedies, the 'A Coward in. . .' series is not for the politically correct. Written by British author, Jon Lee Junior, who has lived and taught in Asia for 12 years. Plot SummaryMain Plot: Runworth was originally a trainee police officer with LAPD. However, he was fired and had to turn to teaching English abroad because he was an "accidental and peripheral" figure in the Rodney King incident. This book sees him twenty years on, and in need of settling down and getting married. As an ex-pat in China, the laughable scoundrel hopes for a few more un-threatening years of 'living like a lord' amongst the local poor. Professor Runworth has two more secrets. One is that he continues to (fraudulently) claim a disability benefit from the State of California, for an alleged back injury. The second is that although Robert Runworth is a big man physically - he is also a born coward. His bad luck, then, is that he always seems to find himself in confrontations which he'd rather avoid. At one point, the hefty and rotund westerner is faced down by a Chinese peasant with restricted growth syndrome.Sub-plot: The college in which Runworth is teaching is involved in an illegal immigration scam for Chinese students entering the US. Of course, the rascally Professor Runworth would not hold any ethical issues with this. However, the campus mailman accidentally confuses some letters containing Runworth's disability checks from California with a package of forged US passports. Also, the Beijing Police and immigration authorities are suspicious that something is afoot in the college. When they look into Runworth's background, they realize that they can blackmail him with the threat of disclosing his past in America. Runworth has no choice but to help them, as a stoolie.The Plots Intertwine: The criminal gang which operate the illegal visa scheme decide to ice the bungling professor who has accidentally intercepted their mail. Runworth is caught three times by the gang of conmen. However, they underestimate his cowardliness and ability to run fast. The first time, he flees from an intended trap of a bar brawl. The second time, the gang capture Runworth and decide to feed him to a herd of racing pigs. But, to the shock of the slender Chinese, the overweight Westerner outruns both the pigs and his human pursuers. Indeed, one of the humorous themes of the book is how the (usually slim) Chinese see us (often overweight) westerners.Runworth's Women: The bogus Professor of English is an old-fashioned "licentious rake", and proud of the fact. However, because he is also a well-paid academic with US citizenship, the Chinese women he dates always intend to marry him - rather than only to sleep with him. Eventually, Runworth uses the on-going scam of illegal student visas at his college to marry two women: one for money & one for affection.
''Intelligent but unpretentious rhyming poetry for intelligent but unpretentious people'.' Queenly Kitten, Rosette of SnowsWhere few dirty mortals go;Why did God grant pretty graceTo a perfect killer's face?The time is right for - and the reading public craves - a return to rhyming poetry that is both understandable to all but also 'aristocratic' in its artistic standards. When you read this poetry, you will feel as empowered as a prince. The user-friendly edition also comes with poem-by-poem explanatory notes by the author himself, an essay which defines traditional rhyming poetry in today's context, and a glossary of technical terms.In keeping with its understanding of the reader's needs, this collection includes 51 sizeable poems in all - which is nearly double the length of a standard book of poetry. There is also a variety of poetry types: from descriptive poems about birds and animals, to humorous verse and political satires, and to up-lifting contemplative poetry that makes you think. All this is conveyed in cheekily brilliant rhymes and symmetrically neat rhythms.Here, current ideas, and up-to-date language, are placed in traditional poetic verse. At points in the book, you should read what you always wanted to say, and hear it said superbly.Seriousness made fun.
'The most controversial and sensational novel of the last twenty years.' This fictional conspiracy tale is about Japan's undercover operations to abduct young children of Japanese-Western marriages, in order to create a live gene-pool. These children are needed as potential scientists for Japan's future program in atomic weapons - and for the development of her military technology. The 'Kyoto Complex' is slightly similar to 'The Boys from Brazil'; though with the sub-plot that Tokyo is secretly developing a nuclear arsenal. Enigmatic Japan is dissected with a Dan-Brown interest. At the same time, though, the personal side of the story largely revolves around a single character and family. Thus, the events are believable, the plot has structural logic, and the tone is down-to-earth. With regard to its message for today, 'The Kyoto Complex' is prophetic in the way 'The Riddle of the Sands' was in predicting German rearmament, a hundred years ago. It argues that Japan could now be secretly developing nuclear weapons. The issues that are explored in 'The Kyoto Complex' are of great topical importance; and so this good old-fashioned tale has a universal appeal for now. Research was carried out in Kyoto for five years.
'One of the few books that is actually going to make a difference to your life'.As you read 'The Workplace Prince, you will feel empowered on the question of how to win back your sanity at work.What sets this book apart is that it goes way beyond the twee, 'positive thinking' basics of so many publications of self-improvement. It has a mischievous bite. The arguments are partly influenced by ideas of shrewd statecraft from Machiavelli's classic, 'The Prince'. Therefore, it enjoys both high literary standards and mental rigor. Yet the style of the writing is also accessibly humorous; and its down-to-earth examples from everyday life are straightforward. The book can be enjoyed by anyone.Here, the reader is not baffled by weak grammar and trendy psychobabble. Instead, the well-written pages often use gentle wit to draw out the deeper irony and ethical significance of routine events at work. When an argument is intellectual, it is delivered in a clear, stylish and articulate way - which keeps the book from from sounding too heavy.The topic of how to swim safely in the shark tank of the modern workplace is discussed realistically and with healthy - and very, very funny - cynicism. For Jon Lee Junior, the universe operates through morality: and to some degree every action is either wisely good or willfully bad. Therefore, this is a book for those people who want to be both morally decent and socially accepted on one hand, but also smart and successful on the other.
"The read that exposes 'political correctness' for the fraud we suspected it to be." 'England's Rise and Decline' first reminds us what it was that once made Britain's economy the world's super-leader. It then explains how England consolidated her position globally, in particular through her 'special relationship' with America.Her decline, meanwhile, is seen as a result of the 'Victorian hypocrisy' of the town-based, college-educated professional. That same middle-class sanctimony is the root of today's ultra-liberal 'p.c.' movements. Instructively detailed in its history, yet breathtakingly sweeping in its strategic scope, the book is always startling, original and interesting - even if you don't agree with its clearly explained viewpoints.A fun and readable - but gritty - work of history and political theory for the age of Trump and Brexit. Not a book for smug liberals or for fans of Tony Blair.
