This book is composed of individual essays that I have written over the last 15 years. They address a variety of topics ranging from the 1944 Normandy invasion to other combat areas that I have had significant personal experience with, beginning with Vietnam through the birth of today
Shortlisted for the James Tait Black Prize for Fiction and The Goldsmiths PrizeA Guardian, New York Times, Spectator, Hot Press and White Review Book of the Year'A Shock inhabits the secret life of a city, its hidden energies. It dramatizes how patterns form and then disperse, how stories are made and relationships created . . . remarkable' - Colm Tóibín, author of Brooklyn In A Shock, a clutch of more or less loosely connected characters appear, disappear and reappear. They are all of them on the fringes of London life, often clinging on – to sanity or solvency or a story – by their fingertips.Keith Ridgway, author of the acclaimed Hawthorn & Child, writes about people whose understanding of their own situation is only ever partial and fuzzy, who are consumed by emotions and anxieties and narratives, or the lack thereof, that they cannot master. He focuses on peripheral figures who mean well and to whom things happen, and happen confusingly, and his fictional strategies reflect this focus. In a deftly conjured high-wire act, Ridgway achieves the fine balance between the imperatives of drama and fidelity to his characters. The result is pin-sharp and often breathtaking.'Political, pertinent, spunky and funny, A Shock is a grand sweep of modern storytelling' - June Caldwell, author of Room Little Darker'A Shock is a perfect, living circle of beauty and mystery, clearsighted and compassionate, and, at times, wonderfully funny’ - David Hayden, author of Darker With the Lights On
The inspirational memoir from the star of OUR WELSH CHAPEL DREAM and THE GREAT POTTERY THROWDOWN Readers LOVE Boy In A China Shop: 'What a brilliant book. Keith is so charming and funny and my goodness what a hard worker. I loved it. Get it and read it - enjoy.' ?????'This book was enlightening and entertaining, full of laughs and heart. And of course with Keith, there's always going to be tears.' ????? 'Really inspiring and relatable. A great read.' ?????'During downtime on the pottery throwdown Keith made my hair curl with some of his tales - he's a great raconteur and recounts his story in this book as he does in real life - with joy, charm & mischief.' - Sara CoxBallet dancer. Front man in an almost famous band. Judge on The Great Pottery Throw Down. How did all that happen?'By accident mostly. But I always say we make our own luck. What if an art teacher hadn't given me a lump of clay? What if my band had properly taken off? What if I hadn't taken a photograph of a bowl to the buyer at Heals in London? What if she'd hated it? Or hadn't seen it... Every chapter of my book is based around an object (usually a pot) that's been significant in my life. It's just a trigger to let me go off in a lot of different directions and tell a few stories. A lot of stories. Dyslexia. The art teacher who changed my life. My Mother. My Father. A life-changing job interview with a man who lay under his car throughout. *That* video. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, a quick search of 'Keith Brymer Jones Adele' should do it.)'The end product? A warming, clever memoir of Keith's pottery life with some very loud music, some pretty good dancing, and a lot of throwing, fettling and firing. Oh ... and a good dose of anxiety.
A PREHISTORIC ADVENTURE After sleeping for what felt like just a few seconds, Collin was awoken to something wet rubbing up against his face. He opened his eyes, and standing before him was a giant, smiling Brontosaurus. Before Collin could move, the Brontosaurus licked his face again. Collin jumped up and ran behind a giant rock to hide. He stayed behind the rock and tried not to breathe loudly, but, the fear he was feeling had his heart racing and all he could do was breathe loudly. Collin jumped up and started running, as fast as he could, until he reached a pond. He was so tired from running that he dropped down to his knees. He crawled over to the edge of the pond to get a drink, but, paused when he looked at the water. The reflection staring back at him in the water wasn't what he was used to seeing, instead of his normal face he saw a dirty, hairy caveman with his face attached... Grab your crayons and join Collin on a prehistoric "Color-With-Me" Adventure
It's a hard life for a cat alone in the big city A crazy, half blind old woman had adopted me. Thinking I was a dog she'd named me Fido But spelt in the French manner, P-H-Y-D-E-A-U-X After she suffered an unfortunate accident I found myself once more alone. That's when I met Rupert Woebegone. He was some sort of private detective, but no one would hire a private dick with a name like Rupert Woebegone so he goes by the name of Sherlock Holmes When I met Woebegone he changed my name to Watson. He says I'm his sidecat He thinks that's really funny. I ignore him Times have been tough lately. The crime rate is down, and after our last case, where Woebegone almost killed the good guy's mother there haven't been too many calls. Things were so bad he tried switching me to No-Name Kibble So I threw up a furball on his "detective hat", a deerstalker in case you were wondering After a twenty dollar cleaning bill, he soon realized the error of his ways... I'm back to the good stuff He's eating No-Name mac & cheese You've probably read a book or seen a movie depicting Sherlock Holmes as a great detective. Well as you will discover in the following pages that is not quite the case. Woebegone, or Sherlock Holmes, as he calls himself is not a very good detective... OK he's crap But with a lot of help from me he usually solves the case in the end and everybody is, if not exactly happy, at least mostly satisfied. Anyway I have decided to put our adventures down on paper. In this, the first book in the series you will learn how we first met, and ride along with me, and the idiot Woebegone, as we face excitement and danger on the mean streets of Toronto
A real-life adventurer. Three epic thru-hikes covering 5840 miles.Box-set - The first three books from Keith Foskett - Over 800 pages of adventure Book #1 - The Journey in BetweenA man at a crossroads. A thousand-mile hike. A life forever changed.Keith Foskett was the definition of restless. Drifting aimlessly, he knew a piece was missing from his life. But when a stranger in a Greek bar tells him about a world-famous pilgrim's trail, the chance encounter sets Foskett's life in a new 1,000-mile direction. On El Camino de Santiago, the hiker copes with extreme temperatures, fake faith healers, and kleptomaniacs. Threatened with arrest for 'not sleeping' and suffering with excruciating blisters, Foskett pushes himself to new limits. Can he find what he's looking for and reach the finish in Santiago de Compostela? Awash with vivid descriptions and a cast of engaging real-life characters, the author delivers an amusing and enthralling tale of adventure and metamorphosis. If you like indulging your inner adventurer, taking the less popular fork in the road, and visiting other countries, then you'll love this transformative tale.Book # 2 - The Last EnglishmanA real-life adventurer. A demanding pan-American trek. Will one Englishman dare to face his fears? Born wanderer Keith Foskett had thousands of miles of thru-hiking experience when he prepared for his toughest challenge yet: a punishing 2,640-mile hike from Mexico to Canada. In a six-month journey along America's Pacific Crest Trail, he battled the arid expanses of California's deserts, the towering peaks of Oregon's volcanic landscape, and the dense forests of Washington. Battling phobias of bears, snakes, critters and camping in the woods after dark, can Foskett find new ways to achieve his ultimate goal when the worst winter in years bears down? This veteran storyteller invites you for a trek across the greatest long-distance hiking trail on Earth. With astute observations, wit, and a delightful cast of characters, you'll discover a compelling narrative that turns the travelogue formula on its head. The Last Englishman is an extraordinary travel memoir by an experienced long-distance hiker. If you believe there's more to life than work, yearn for new horizons and challenges, and believe in overcoming adversity, then you'll love Keith Foskett's tale of exploration. Discover The Last Englishman and embark on your adventure.Book # 3 - Balancing on BlueOne man's remarkable challenge. 2,200 miles of unforgiving wilderness. Can he escape the mundane to become a thru-hiker?Keith Foskett's dream of escape started with a single step. Thru-hiking all 2200 miles of the Appalachian Trail, he left ordinary life behind for five months. Enduring an incredible test of physical and psychological strength, Foskett was pushed to his limits...Accompanied by an array of eclectic characters - including a drug dealer, a world-champion juggler and a sex-starved Minnesotan - he weaves a route through some of America's wildest landscapes and history, and writes with insight, honesty and reflection. Attempting to keep his English wit alive amidst the bumps and bruises, can Foskett survive his journey of self-discovery to emerge victorious?Foskett's novel-like tale is as entertaining as it is insightful. Venture beyond the journal-style of many outdoor books and join Foskett's adventure of a lifetime.Balancing on Blue is a superb standalone travel memoir. If you like living outside the box, escaping into the wild, and journeying deep into the unknown, then you'll love Keith Foskett's courageous trek.Discover how this wilderness escape can change you too.
BRANE FEVER: FIVE STORIES IN ONE An unlikely quartet meet and entangle in the outer Solar System. How did it happen? Why? And what will happen next? Brane Fever - somewhere between Serenity and Solaris Brane Fever is a heist caper in space, a romp among the moons of Jupiter a couple of centuries from now, character-driven, swift and light and just a little salacious, gaining momentum - and relevance - with every page turn. In 2250 Earth is governed by the Anti-Knowledge party and failing fast. Many of the moons in the outer solar system, once colonized and exploited by Earth, have been abandoned. Europa is rapidly gaining ascendancy over the populated realms of the Solar System. A pair of bickering space pirates transporting dangerous stolen cargo back to Earth through the moons of Jupiter encounter a woman of unearthly beauty - who is being pursued by a centuries-old, vision-wielding tyrant, also irresistible. The four: -MAVOURNEEN, navigator: a woman without a world. -PIR, pilot: a man loyal to nothing who takes pleasure in only two things; one is flying. -TIRESIAS VENN: odious, ageless, unbalanced genius on a campaign to subdue the populated solar system, moon by moon, planet by planet. Ending with Earth. -JUNA, irresistible, inscrutable and impossible to ignore, her appetites are evident but her motives are mysterious. Who is she, where is she from and what does she really want? Four people, four lives, four stories come together in outer space - and a fifth begins. Allegiances rearrange, illusions grow ever more seductive and the cargo is increasingly unstable. Brane Fever transports you: -from Earth to the four Gallilean moons of Jupiter to the Himalian Swarm -from a top-secret, two-person heist on an asteroid to a deadly battle between armadas in the vast emptiness of outer space -from the intimate hot house of a space probe to the infinite variety of parallel universes -and into the deeps of Mind. All cannot end well for everybody - but even in outer space, where no rules apply and more is unknown than understood, the hope prevails that there will always be somewhere to call Home.
This book will put a smile on your face if you grew up in a farm in the 1930s to 1960s. You will follow my ancestors as they lose the family farm during the Great Depression. You will watch them go from failure to success on many levels. I share my parents struggles as they moved away from my grandpas established 320-acre farm to start-up on a new 80-acre farm of their own. One section of the book shares five boys growing up in rural Southwest Iowa. Early on, I share some of my insecurities related to being around a controlling father and going to a small-town school in Fontanelle, Iowa. I share about being way out of my league in college. My parents knew nothing of higher education. In fact, I was being rebellious in just insisting on trying college. I skipped freshman orientation at UNI out of ignorance of what college life involved. I was drafted into the army one year after college. I knew very little of the politics at the time. I somehow ignored the countrys division over being in Vietnam. In the army, I learned how to obey orders quickly and that I wanted to be a civilian again as soon as possible. Following the war, I experienced many changes in my life. I found out about being committed to my wife, my family, and my newfound faith. I came a long way from my roots that started on that 80-acre family farm.
