Brendan O'Neill

Vi har kommit långt från de religioner, myter och grundarberättelser som lade grunden till människans tidiga förståelse av världen och allting i den, och våra kunskaper har på senare tid ökat exponentiellt. I den här boken diskuterar ledande forskare inom konst och vetenskap hur kunskap och information har bevarats och förmedlats i historien, vilket leder oss fram till dagens digitala tidsålder och de många utmaningar som den ställer oss inför, inte minst beträffande våra persondata. Kommer vårt informationssamhälle, under växande spänning mellan en kunskapselit och dem som känner sig utestängda från offentlig diskussion och beslutsfattande, liksom under ökad friktion om tolkningsfrihet och yttrandefrihet i den akademiska världen, att bli en upplysningstid eller går vi in i en ny mörk tid för kunskapen? Texterna i den här illustrerade antologin härrör från det internationellt välrenommerade Engelsbergsseminariet 2018. Huvudredaktörer är Kurt Almqvist och Mattias Hessérus.

Can a woman have a penis? Is the West forever stained by racism? Are we all going to die from climate change? To the liberal establishment of London, New York or Sydney, the answer to all of these questions is 'Yes'. And anyone who disagrees is a racist, climate-denying transphobe. Our elites have become convinced of some very strange and extreme ideas. And yet there is precious little pushback against them. Critics are cowed by the threat of shaming, cancellation, even arrest. The new orthodoxies of our age are risible, and yet the space for dissent is shrinking. We need more heretics. Throughout history, it has been those brave enough to puncture the prevailing groupthink who have propelled society forward. But they are in shockingly short supply today. In this collection of original essays, Brendan O'Neill remakes the case for heresy - and commits a few heresies of his own along the way.

'Meet Mr Sticks' is an authentic memoir of Brendan O'Neill's journey from the Ardoyne area of North Belfast to keeping the beat behind one of the world's greatest rock guitarists, Rory Gallagher, at the biggest arenas around the world. It captures the personal struggle between Brendan's measured but increasingly palpable ambition and his innate commitment to providing for his young family. It charts the hard road towards eventual success marked by waves of struggle, failure and disappointment tempered by humour, humility and a commendable frankness. Brendan was born in 1951 into a poor working class Catholic family in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Aged just 14, he formed his own band with his schoolmates, including long time collaborator, Rory's bassist, Gerry McAvoy. He risked life and limb during the notorious 'Troubles', ultimately moved to London. A few years on with an unhappy wife, two kids and about to give up and go home, he got the call to audition for Rory Gallagher. The rest is rock history. "Even though I first became aware of Brendan when he joined Rory's band, it came as no surprise to find out that he's a jazzer at heart. His playing shares too much in common with Charlie Watts for him to be otherwise. Subtle, always interesting and a powerhouse when needed. I look forward to learning more about the man in Meet Mr Sticks." Jake Burns, Stiff Little Fingers"Vivid writing, entertaining...would make an excellent TV drama."-Trevor HodgettRnR/The Afterword "A musician's long and winding path to success during a richly evocative time in British and Irish musical history. A great read."-Jim ClarkeAiken Promotions, Dublin "A brilliant human interest documentation of Brendan's interesting life and career and an insight into the world of hard working musicians. I couldn't put it down."-Bob HewittProducer, Fender(R)films"Really engrossing and a tour de force account of the Athens gig with Rory." -Peter Guttridge, Novelist, film and book criticFormer Director, Brighton Literature Festival