John Higgs

The first biography of the infamous Time Lord, written by one of the most well respected cultural critics at work in the UK today

Much like the loss of David Bowie, David Lynch's death produced an extraordinary outpouring of love and grief that revealed how deeply he mattered to us. But the strength and size of this reaction came as a surprise to many. In life, Lynch was a wilfully obtuse cult filmmaker who had not been able to get a film financed for the last two decades of his life. In death, he is now in the pantheon of the all-time greats - both his work, and the man himself.He leaves behind an adjective, 'Lynchian', a term used to describe work that echoes his. And yet, only Lynch could be truly Lynchian. Those who copy him fail to have an impact, and no one else can make the sort of films that he did. So why does his work affect people so deeply? Why do some find it haunting and unforgettable while others dismiss it as meaningless? Answering that question takes us into the strange realms of psychology, art and theology. We will discover which personality types are more comfortable with ambiguity, how Lynch's creative and meditation practices overlap, and why a director whose work contains so much abuse of women has such a female-skewing fanbase.Through a personal, first-person lens, Lynchian unpacks the mystery but refuses to solve the enigma of an artist who reshaped cinema from the inside out - where story gives way to dreams, and meaning lies not in answers, but in experience.

'The best non-fiction book I've ever read. It's magical. Stunning' Dan Schreiber, No Such Thing As a Fish'A pop biography for people who don't read pop biographies' Dorian Lynskey, Guardian'Brilliant, discursive and wise' Ben Goldacre'Utterly irresistible and totally brilliant' The Quietus'A thing of endlessly fascinating, utterly demented genius' Alexis PetridisThey were the bestselling singles band in the world. They had awards, credibility, commercial success and creative freedom. Then they deleted their records, erased themselves from musical history and burnt their last million pounds in a boathouse on the Isle of Jura. And they couldn't say why.This is not just the story of The KLF. It is a book about Carl Jung, Alan Moore, Robert Anton Wilson, Ken Campbell, Dada, Situationism, Discordianism, magic, chaos, punk, rave, the alchemical symbolism of Doctor Who and the special power of the number twenty-three. Wildly unauthorised and unlike any other music biography, THE KLF is a trawl through chaos on the trail of a beautiful, accidental mythology.10th ANNIVERSARY EDITION UPDATED WITH NEW MATERIAL

'A TARDIS of a book. On the outside it's about a TV show, but open it up and the whole space-time continuum is inside' FRANK COTTRELL-BOYCE'Wonderful' ROBIN INCE'The book I've been waiting to read since I was ten years old' JEREMY DYSONFrom the author of cult classics THE KLF and WILLIAM BLAKE VS THE WORLD, this is the stranger than fiction story of TV's favourite time travellerOn screen, Doctor Who is a story of monsters, imagination and mind-expanding adventure. But the off-screen story is equally extraordinary - a tale of failed monks, war heroes, 1960s polyamory and self-sabotaging broadcasting executives. From the politics of fandom to the inner struggles of the BBC, thousands of people have given part of themselves - and sometimes, too much of themselves - to bring this unlikeliest of folk heroes to life.This is a story of change, mystery and the importance of imaginary characters in our lives. Able to evolve and adapt more radically than any other fiction, Doctor Who has acted as a mirror to more than six decades of social, technological and cultural change while always remaining a central fixture of the British imagination. In Exterminate / Regenerate, John Higgs invites us into his TARDIS on a journey to discover how ideas emerge and survive despite the odds, why we are so addicted to fiction, and why this wonderful wandering time traveller means so much to so many.

The 1960s and ’70s wouldn’t have been the same without Timothy Leary, the renowned psychologist turned psychedelic drug guru. Always challenging authority, Leary rose to prominence through groundbreaking experiments, achieving mystical states and visions using magic mushrooms and LSD. A counterculture hero, his exploits inspired President Richard Nixon to call him “the most dangerous man in America”.In I Have America Surrounded, cultural historian John Higgs delivers an account of Leary’s wild and controversial life—from his inglorious time at West Point and his successful career in academia at Harvard, to the establishment of a psychedelic “summer camp” in Mexico, to his imprisonment, escape, and life as a fugitive in Algiers and Switzerland. Leary and his spiritual revolution were joined by such luminaries as Aldous Huxley, Allen Ginsberg, and Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters. He was kidnapped by Black Panthers, became an FBI narc, and ran for governor of California.

Reedel, 5. oktoobril 1962 ilmus biitlite esimene plaat "Love Me Do" ja linastus esimene Bondi-film "Dr. No". The Beatles on suurim bänd popmuusika ajaloos ja James Bond on kõigi aegade edukaim filmitegelane. Nad mõlemad muutsid muusika ja filmitööstust täielikult. "Armasta ja lase surra" on ainulaadne sissevaade kahe Briti kultuuri titaani - The Beatlesi muusika ning Bondi filmide seostele. Raamat on lugu seksuaalrevolutsiooni ja kehtinud ühiskondlike hoiakute kokkupõrkest ning sellest, kuidas see plahvatas globaalses mastaabis. Raamat selgitab, miks James Bond vihkas biitleid, miks Paul McCartney tahtis olla Bond ja miks just Ringo võitis lõpuks Bondi-tüdrukut mänginud Barbara Bachi südame. Mõte, et ühel tegelasel põhinev filmisari võiks jätkuda katkematult üle 60 aasta, kusjuures kõik selle 25 järge on menukad ja tulusad, ei tundu usutav. Samamoodi on uskumatu, et üks bänd võiks üksnes pisut enam kui kaheksa aastaga jätta endast maha nii võimsa ja originaalse loomingu nagu The Beatles. Raamatus elustuvad sajad üle maailma tuntud inimesed ning selgemaks saavad nende omavahelised suhted ja seosed. Tekstile lisab väärtust väga põhjalik 20leheküljeline nimeregister. . Armasta (nagu oma muusika ja lauludega panid südamele biitlid) ja lase surra (milleni paraku jõudis alati agent 007) on suurepärane kvintessents ja kuldlõige meid kõiki puudutava elu eri tahkudest.

XX vek bezvozvratno pomenjal predstavlenija ljudej o znanii, prostranstve, vremeni, kosmose, psikhike, sotsiume, progresse i iskusstve. A esche eto byla gluboko strannaja epokha, v kotoroj otlichit providtsa ot bezumtsa ne tak-to prosto, no bez ee ponimanija nam vrjad li udastsja osmyslit i proiskhodjaschee sejchas. Istorik i zhurnalist Dzhon Khiggs predlagaet posmotret na proshloe stoletie s tochki zrenija istorii idej i postepennogo proniknovenija ponjatija otnositelnosti vo vse sfery zhizni. Pochemu vek razdora i razobschennosti zakonchilsja vseobschej setevizatsiej? Chto nauchnaja fantastika i pop-kultura mogut rasskazat nam o ego filosofii i psikhologii? Kak uchenye i khudozhniki, ne sgovarivajas, prikhodili k odinakovym obrazam? I nakonets - chego nam zhdat ot XXI veka, esli predyduschij byl polon vojn i tragedij? Perevodchik: Mezin Nikolaj Vladimirovich

'Smart, analytical and enormously good fun' Stuart Maconie, Mail on Sunday'Ingenious . . . conjures a whole cultural history of the past six decades' The Spectator'Strikingly insightful . . . page after page of glorious anecdotes' The i Newspaper'A book to leave you shaken and stirred' Independent'Poignant and entertaining' Observer'If you take popular culture seriously, this is the book for you' Jeremy DellerDr No, the first Bond film, and 'Love Me Do', the first Beatles record, were released on the same day. Most countries can only dream of creating a phenomenon on this scale; Britain produced two on one windy October afternoon. Told over sixty dramatic years, Love and Let Die is the story of two culture touchstones that continue to define our aspirations and fantasies; of opposing values, visions of Britain and ideas about male identity; and of how a clash between working class liberation and establishment control exploded on the global stage.

The strange tale of the death, life and legacy of the hugely successful band - updated with new material for the 10th anniversary of publication

A deep-dive into the unique connections between the two titans of the British cultural psyche--the Beatles and the Bond films--and what they tell us about class, sexuality, and our aspirations over sixty dramatic years. The Beatles are the biggest band in the history of pop music. James Bond is the single most successful movie character of all time. They are also twins. Dr No, the first Bond film, and Love Me Do, the first Beatles record, were both released on the same day: Friday 5 October 1962. Most countries can only dream of a cultural export becoming a worldwide phenomenon on this scale. For Britain to produce two iconic successes on this level, on the same windy October afternoon, is unprecedented. Bond and the Beatles present us with opposing values, visions of the British culture, and ideas about sexual identity. Love and Let Die is the story of a clash between working class liberation and establishment control, and how it exploded on the global stage. It explains why James Bond hated the Beatles, why Paul McCartney wanted to be Bond, and why it was Ringo who won the heart of a Bond Girl in the end. Told over a period of sixty dramatic years, this is an account of how two outsized cultural phenomena continue to define American aspirations, fantasies, and our ideas about ourselves. Looking at these two touchstones in this new context will forever change how you see the Beatles, the James Bond films, and six decades of cross-Atlantic popular culture.

A singular work of narrative non-fiction that explores the unexpected connections between two titans of the British cultural psyche - the Beatles and the Bond films - and what they can tell us about class, male identity and our aspirations over sixty dramatic years

'Fascinating' The Times'Blakeian in its singularity' New Statesman'A wonderful adventure' Irish Times'Rich, complex and original' Tom Holland'A crisp, ambitious and thoroughly contemporary introduction' Times Literary SupplementPoet, artist, visionary and author of the unofficial English national anthem 'Jerusalem', William Blake is an archetypal misunderstood genius. In this radical new biography, we return to a world of riots, revolutions and radicals, discuss movements from the Levellers of the sixteenth century to the psychedelic counterculture of the 1960s, and explore the latest discoveries in neurobiology, quantum physics and comparative religion to look afresh at Blake's life and work - and, crucially, his mind. Taking the reader on wild detours into unfamiliar territory, John Higgs places the bewildering eccentricities of a most singular artist into context and shows us how Blake can help us better understand ourselves.

A wild and unexpected journey through culture, science, philosophy, and religion to better understand the mercurial genius of William Blake. Poet, artist, and visionary, William Blake is an archetypal misunderstood genius. His life passed without recognition and he worked without reward, often mocked, dismissed and misinterpreted. Yet from his ignoble end in a pauper's grave, Blake now occupies a unique position as an artist who unites and attracts people from all corners of society--a rare inclusive symbol of human identity. Blake famously experienced visions, and it is these that shaped his attitude toward politics, sex, religion, society, and art. Thanks to the work of neuroscientists and psychologists, we are now in a better position to understand what was happening inside that remarkable mind and gain a deeper appreciation of his brilliance. His timeless work, we will find, has never been more relevant. In William Blake vs the World we return to a world of riots, revolutions, and radicals; discuss movements from the Levellers of the sixteenth century to the psychedelic counterculture of the 1960s; and explore the latest discoveries in neurobiology, quantum physics, and comparative religion. Taking the reader on a wild adventure into unfamiliar territory, John Higgs places the bewildering eccentricities of a most singular artist into fascinating context. And although the journey begins with us trying to understand him, we will ultimately discover that it is Blake who helps us to understand ourselves.

Do you find it difficult to start the Keto journey on your own?Do you want to enjoy tasty food without feeling hungry or unmotivated?The Keto Diet is great for "one size fits all" approach and allows you an easy adaptation to your specific needs. This keto cookbook provides the means to empower everyone to develop a customizable approach plan, offering many options while dealing with the limitations of the standard ketogenic diet. And all that without sacrificing on Taste or Quality In this cookbook you will learn: What is keto - what you are allowed to eat and what not.What are the pros and consBullet proof strategies to get the most out of the keto diet.550 amazingly easy recipes, yes 550 All of these 550 recipes are made with simple, basic ingredients and taste amazing. The recipes in this book are designed to be simple and nutritions so you can spend less time in the kitchen, while cooking great meals.Get Your Copy Today

When we look into the future, we imagine economic collapse, environmental disaster and the zombie apocalypse. But what if we are wrong? John Higgs takes us on a journey past the technological hype and headlines to discover why we shouldn't trust the predictions of science fiction, why nature is not as helpless as we assume and why purpose can never be automated. In the process, we will come to a better understanding of what lies ahead and how, despite everything we can build a better future.

'If a thing loves, it is infinite' William BlakeA short, impassioned argument for why the visionary artist William Blake is important in the twenty-first centuryThe visionary poet and painter William Blake is a constant presence throughout contemporary culture - from videogames to novels, from sporting events to political rallies and from horror films to designer fashion. Although he died nearly 200 years ago, something about his work continues to haunt the twenty-first century. What is it about Blake that has so endured? In this illuminating essay, John Higgs takes us on a whirlwind tour to prove that far from being the mere New Age counterculture figure that many assume him to be, Blake is now more relevant than ever.

A journey along one of Britain's oldest roads, from Dover to Anglesey, in search of the hidden history that makes us who we are today.

An alternative exploration of history's most challenging century, from the author of THE KLF, 'a thing of endlessly fascinating, utterly demented genius' GUARDIAN

The brilliant first biography of the man President Nixon called 'the most dangerous man in America'.