Kirjahaku

Tom had always drunk. Initially it was to escape the drudge of school and the distress of his rapidly disintegrating family, but as his career in journalism took off, so his alcohol consumption turned into a full-blown obsession. Having first run amok in London, it was landing the seemingly plum job of nightlife columnist at the New York Post that saw his life spiral completely out of control. Tom treated Manhattan as his Martini, until one day - hungover and alone - he realised he was totally out of his depth and, what's more, he didn't even care. What Did I Do Last Night? is the sad, funny and brutally honest tale of his descent into uncontrollable excess.

The city of Manila is uniquely significant to Philippine, Southeast Asian and world history. It played a key role in the rise of Western colonial mercantilism in Asia, the extinction of the Spanish Empire and the ascendancy of the USA to global imperial hegemony, amongst other events. This book examines British and American writing on the city, situating these representations within scholarship on empire, orientalism and US, Asian and European political history. Through analysis of novels, memoirs, travelogues and journalism written about Manila by Westerners since the early eighteenth century, Tom Sykes builds a picture of Western attitudes towards the city and the wider Philippines, and the mechanics by which these came to dominate the discourse. This study uncovers to what extent Western literary tropes and representational models have informed understandings of the Philippines, in the West and elsewhere, and the types of counter-narrative which have emerged in the Philippines in response to them.

This new, thoroughly updated second edition of Bradt's Ivory Coast remains the only English-language guidebook to focus solely on this culturally rich West African country, a place of crimson savannas, sublime mountains and cream-hued beaches that is becoming increasingly popular for ecotourism and wildlife, surfing and off-the-beaten track travel. Written in easy-to-navigate geographical structure, chapters on background and practical information are followed by dedicated sections on Abidjan and the surrounding area; the southeast, including Grand-Bassam and Assinie; the southwest, including Sassandra, San-Pe´dro and the Parc National de Tai¨; and the centre: Yamoussoukro, Bouake´, Daloa and Abengourou. Moving up the country, the Dix-Huit Montagnes area is covered, including Man and Touba, followed by a chapter on the North, including Odienne´, Korhogo, Kong, Parc National de la Comoe´ and Bondoukou. From wildlife and birdwatching to hiking, trekking, chocolate and twerking, Bradt's Ivory Coast lifts the lid on what gives this country its unique flavour. Tribal arts, vibrant reggae, Afrobeat and traditional folk-music scenes, and delicious Ivorian food are all covered, as are hotels, the extraordinary mud mosques of Kong and the far north, Drummologie and 'talking drums', football (the 2023 Africa Nations Cup will be held here), and unprecedented pricing and timetabling information for the full range of transport options. Having only recently re-opened for tourism, Ivory Coast is West Africa's hidden treasure. Packed with vivid descriptions, detailed maps and essential practical advice, Bradt's Ivory Coast is the ideal companion for a perfect trip, whatever your interest.

The city of Manila is uniquely significant to Philippine, Southeast Asian and world history. It played a key role in the rise of Western colonial mercantilism in Asia, the extinction of the Spanish Empire and the ascendancy of the USA to global imperial hegemony, amongst other events. This book examines British and American writing on the city, situating these representations within scholarship on empire, orientalism and US, Asian and European political history. Through analysis of novels, memoirs, travelogues and journalism written about Manila by Westerners since the early eighteenth century, Tom Sykes builds a picture of Western attitudes towards the city and the wider Philippines, and the mechanics by which these came to dominate the discourse. This study uncovers to what extent Western literary tropes and representational models have informed understandings of the Philippines, in the West and elsewhere, and the types of counter-narrative which have emerged in the Philippines in response to them.

Meet Kirk Decker, abusive 1980s B-movie actor. He?s self-destructing from drink and drugs, and some people want him dead. While shooting an action film in the Philippines, he has unearthly visions and weird encounters. Meet Dayang, the dutiful queen of a matriarchal tribe in 16th-century Luzon. Why are her people suffering from mysterious diseases? How can they call on the spirit world to save them? And what connects them through time, space and magic to Kirk and other violent white men in need of redemption?

If you've ever been interested in the rich culture and unique history of Ancient Egypt, dive into this whirlwind tour and discover the highlights of this exceptional civilizationUnlock the secrets of one of history's most fascinating civilizations with The Little Book of Ancient Egypt. This introductory guide takes you on a journey through a land where pyramids rise against the desert sky, pharaohs rule with divine authority and gods and goddesses walk among mortals. Within these pages you will find:- A whistle-stop tour of the Ancient Egyptian timeline, from the beginnings of the Dynastic Period to the construction of the Great Pyramid of Giza- Profiles of some of the most influential figures in politics, art and culture, from Narmer to Hatshepsut to Cleopatra- An insight into the daily life of an Ancient Egyptian citizen- The influence of Ancient Egypt on the modern day, from medicine to writing systems to mathematicsAnd so much more.In this pocket-sized window into the past, discover the key events, people and trivia you need to know to understand this remarkable period of history.

The English seaside has long been seductive. For 200 years, punters have sought out its quirky thrills from bingo to Wurlitzer organ dances, glamorous granny parades to child-jockeyed donkey races, lewdly shaped rock candy to harrowingly bad karaoke. But recently, many seaside towns have been pummelled by poverty, unemployment, underinvestment, addiction, Brexit, Covid-19 and the climate emergency. Writer Tom Sykes and illustrator Louis Netter take you on a Gonzo tour of 21 English coastal communities in an age of anxiety and absurdity. Their encounters are comical, sad, weird and beguiling - sometimes all at once. A post-lockdown beach party turns violent in Bournemouth. The Hampshire shores pile up with plastic waste and sewage dumped by a water company. St Osyth and Jaywick's trailer parks and makeshift homes have come to resemble a Global Southern shanty town. Covid disinformation is daubed on walls and benches across the Dorset coast. A pub in Scarborough celebrates Ulster paramilitarism. Portsmouthians come to terms with the imperial past. A Blackpudlian musician confesses an intimate connection to the serial killer Harold Shipman. But there's good news too. Combers and mudlarkers are cleaning our beaches. Art projects are drawing attention to coastal erosion and other ecological menaces. In an increasingly uniform England of red-brick estates and retail parks, seaside towns might just be our last outposts of eccentricity and individuality.

In June 2016, Rodrigo Duterte won the Philippine presidential election by a landslide. Infamous for his bombastic temper and un-PC wisecracks, he is waging a brutal drug war that has killed more than 12,000 people so far. Over the last nine years, British writer Tom Sykes has travelled extensively in the Philippines in order to understand the Duterte phenomenon, interviewing friends and enemies of 'The Punisher' -- as he is known -- in politics, the media, the arts and civil society. Sykes witnesses anti-government demonstrations in the capital Manila and visits the provincial city of Davao, where Duterte began his crusade against crime using police and vigilante death squads. By delving into Duterte's troubled childhood of violent rebellion, Sykes discovers what motivates the man today in his pursuit of a merciless 'war on the poor' -- as Amnesty has described it -- that has no end in sight. The Realm of the Punisher also examines oppressed and marginalized groups in the modern Philippines through encounters with a transgender rights campaigner, an 86-year-old former sex slave to the Japanese in the Second World War, a public artist who must work while under attack from Maoist rebels, and slum-dwellers resisting violent eviction by a real estate company. The past is never far away from these present-day problems and Sykes' travels to festivals, cemeteries, war memorials and a tomb housing an embalmed corpse reveal the ways in which key figures in Philippine history -- from Jose Rizal to Ferdinand Marcos -- have influenced current affairs. Funny, tragic, enlightening and uncompromising -- and infused with the author's strong sense of social justice -- The Realm of the Punisher is the first major travel book by a Westerner to explore Duterte's Philippines.

Welcome to the topsy-turvy world of the anxious traveller, where panic strikes in the most serene situations, where each time you're convinced that the symptoms are in fact physical and your lungs or heart will stop working, and the only relief is a paramedic telling you that you won't die despite being stuck with them in an ambulance in a smoky Global Southern gridlock. Over the last twenty years, writer and academic Tom Sykes has been lucky enough to travel all over the world. But his trips have often been marred - if not ruined - by anxiety. Part travelogue, part wellbeing memoir, The Years of Travelling Anxiously recounts jittery visits to Nigeria to get married and undergo IVF treatment, stressful encounters with bigots and bureaucrats in France, the Philippines and the USA, and what can be learned about mental health on the road from a baby with an inspiringly calm attitude to travel. The Years of Travelling Anxiously tries to solve a lifelong conundrum about the causes and consequences of panic and distress, and in so doing help other anxious travellers, or indeed anyone who gets anxious about anything, wherever they go.