Simon Lewis

Katyn– the Soviet massacre of over 21,000 Polish prisoners in 1940 – has come to be remembered as Stalin’s emblematic mass murder, an event obscured by one of the most extensive cover-ups in history. Yet paradoxically, a majority of its victims perished far from the forest in western Russia that gives the tragedy its name. Their remains lie buried in killing fields throughout Russia, Ukraine and, most likely, Belarus. Today their ghosts haunt the cultural landscape of Eastern Europe. This book traces the legacy of Katyn through the interconnected memory cultures of seven countries: Belarus, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, and the Baltic States. It explores the meaning of Katyn as site and symbol, event and idea, fact and crypt. It shows how Katyn both incites nationalist sentiments in Eastern Europe and fosters an emerging cosmopolitan memory of Soviet terror. It also examines the strange impact of the 2010 plane crash that claimed the lives of Poland’s leaders en route to Katyn. Drawing on novels and films, debates and controversies, this book makes the case for a transnational study of cultural memory and navigates a contested past in a region that will define Europe’s future.

Katyn– the Soviet massacre of over 21,000 Polish prisoners in 1940 – has come to be remembered as Stalin’s emblematic mass murder, an event obscured by one of the most extensive cover-ups in history. Yet paradoxically, a majority of its victims perished far from the forest in western Russia that gives the tragedy its name. Their remains lie buried in killing fields throughout Russia, Ukraine and, most likely, Belarus. Today their ghosts haunt the cultural landscape of Eastern Europe. This book traces the legacy of Katyn through the interconnected memory cultures of seven countries: Belarus, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, and the Baltic States. It explores the meaning of Katyn as site and symbol, event and idea, fact and crypt. It shows how Katyn both incites nationalist sentiments in Eastern Europe and fosters an emerging cosmopolitan memory of Soviet terror. It also examines the strange impact of the 2010 plane crash that claimed the lives of Poland’s leaders en route to Katyn. Drawing on novels and films, debates and controversies, this book makes the case for a transnational study of cultural memory and navigates a contested past in a region that will define Europe’s future.

What happens when the worst happens?Both David Yelland and Simon Lewis have been in the room when they’ve had to deal with exactly that. They have seen it all – from Simon’s work in Downing Street during Gordon Brown’s resignation and the reinvention of the royals’ image, to David’s time at the heart of the media landscape running The Sun national newspaper during its peak readership.When It Hits the Fan is the first time that they’ve put all their knowledge into a playbook of golden rules for what to do when the worst happens, from lifetimes in the spin cycle. Packed with sage advice from their own experiences and behind-the-scenes stories from the messiest PR disasters they’ve been airlifted in to fix, they lift the bonnet on the PR engine that drives our media landscape today and dissect the most disastrous PR fails that the world has seen.This is the book for anyone who wants to really know what happens when PR disaster strikes, and how to thrive in an environment ready to pounce.

Inspector Jian and his daughter Weiwei just want to go back to their home in China: but Jian is facing a corruption charge in his absence and risks arrest. Instead he tries to scrape a living on London's meanest streets as an illegal immigrant, reduced to hustling Mah Jiang for cash. A bleak future looks to be growing bleaker still when a triad gang blackmail him into tracking down an unlikely young robber. In No Exit Jian and Weiwei scramble between London's grimiest bedsits and its swankiest penthouses as they penetrate the glittering world of 'princelings' - the rich children of the Chinese elite, who treat the city as their playground. Locked in a desperate struggle, with no way out in sight, It will take all their wiles, as well as some lucky gambles, to come out of this latest venture alive.

A Bridge Too Far, released in 1977, was the last epic WWII movie made in the Hollywood studio system. Its ambitious goal: to recreate the Allied plan Operation Market-Garden in September 1944. The plan was a disaster for the Allies, with the battle for the Arnhem bridge vicious as the British First Airborne held out against overwhelming odds. Producer Joseph E. Levine packed his cast with top stars Anthony Hopkins, Robert Redford, Sean Connery, James Caan, Michael Caine, Elliott Gould, Dirk Bogarde, and Laurence Olivier and shot on location in and around Arnhem. Making ' A Bridge Too Far' answers WWII buffs' questions about the production. Author Simon Lewis interviewed many in the cast and crew and uncovered a story about bringing WWII to life in 1976 Holland with vintage tanks and aircraft, legions of stunt men and paratroopers, all led by director Sir Richard Attenborough. Making ' A Bridge Too Far' will prove a delight for armchair generals and lovers of old Hollywood. Fun facts: Dutch survivors of the war had no patience for actors dressed as German soldiers; Dirk Bogarde was a British war veteran who had participated in Market-Garden and bore the mental scars to prove it.

John Wesley and George Whitefield are remembered as founders of Methodism, one of the most influential movements in the history of modern Christianity. Characterized by open-air and itinerant preaching, eighteenth-century Methodism was a divisive phenomenon, which attracted a torrent of printed opposition, especially from Anglican clergymen. Yet, most of these opponents have been virtually forgotten. Anti-Methodism and Theological Controversy in Eighteenth-Century England is the first large-scale examination of the theological ideas of early anti-Methodist authors. By illuminating a very different perspective on Methodism, Simon Lewis provides a fundamental reappraisal of the eighteenth-century Church of England and its doctrinal priorities. For anti-Methodist authors, attacking Wesley and Whitefield was part of a wider defence of 'true religion', which demonstrates the theological vitality of the much-derided Georgian Church. This book, therefore, places Methodism firmly in its contemporary theological context, as part of the Church of England's continuing struggle to define itself theologically.

History has thrown up few events as dramatic and decisive as the four-day campaign that culminated in the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. In 1970, Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis spent $25 million to re-stage Napoleon's tumultuous encounter with Wellington, portrayed by Rod Steiger and Christopher Plummer. It was directed by Sergei Bondarchuk who deployed almost 20,000 Soviet soldiers in a noble attempt to tell the story "faithfully." Author Simon Lewis celebrates the extraordinary effort taken to recreate the ghastly beauty of Napoleonic warfare for the cameras. His exhaustive account details almost every aspect of the immense production, which ranged from Rome to the vast battlefield set in Ukraine. The book also explores several of the movie's myths; including the existence of a four-hour version. Lavishly illustrated with over 200 photographs, most never-before-seen, Waterloo - Making An Epic will thrill fans of this much-loved, if flawed, movie giant.

History has thrown up few events as dramatic and decisive as the four-day campaign that culminated in the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. In 1970, Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis spent $25 million to re-stage Napoleon's tumultuous encounter with Wellington, portrayed by Rod Steiger and Christopher Plummer. It was directed by Sergei Bondarchuk who deployed almost 20,000 Soviet soldiers in a noble attempt to tell the story "faithfully." Author Simon Lewis celebrates the extraordinary effort taken to recreate the ghastly beauty of Napoleonic warfare for the cameras. His exhaustive account details almost every aspect of the immense production, which ranged from Rome to the vast battlefield set in Ukraine. The book also explores several of the movie's myths; including the existence of a four-hour version. Lavishly illustrated with over 200 photographs, most never-before-seen, Waterloo - Making An Epic will thrill fans of this much-loved, if flawed, movie giant.

Belarus is often regarded as "Europe’s last dictatorship", a sort-of fossilized leftover from the Soviet Union. However, a key factor in determining Belarus’s development, including its likely future development, is its own sense of identity. This book explores the complex debates and competing narratives surrounding Belarus’s identity, revealing a far more diverse picture than the widely accepted monolithic post-Soviet nation. It examines in a range of media including historiography, films and literature how visions of Belarus as a nation have been constructed from the nineteenth century to the present day. It outlines a complex picture of contested myths – the "peasant nation" of the nineteenth century, the devoted Soviet republic of the late twentieth century and the revisionist Belarusian nationalism of the present. The author shows that Belarus is characterized by immense cultural, linguistic and ethnic polyphony, both in its lived history and in its cultural imaginary. The book analyses important examples of writing in and about Belarus, in Belarusian, Polish and Russian, revealing how different modes of rooted cosmopolitanism have been articulated.

Belarus is often regarded as "Europe’s last dictatorship", a sort-of fossilized leftover from the Soviet Union. However, a key factor in determining Belarus’s development, including its likely future development, is its own sense of identity. This book explores the complex debates and competing narratives surrounding Belarus’s identity, revealing a far more diverse picture than the widely accepted monolithic post-Soviet nation. It examines in a range of media including historiography, films and literature how visions of Belarus as a nation have been constructed from the nineteenth century to the present day. It outlines a complex picture of contested myths – the "peasant nation" of the nineteenth century, the devoted Soviet republic of the late twentieth century and the revisionist Belarusian nationalism of the present. The author shows that Belarus is characterized by immense cultural, linguistic and ethnic polyphony, both in its lived history and in its cultural imaginary. The book analyses important examples of writing in and about Belarus, in Belarusian, Polish and Russian, revealing how different modes of rooted cosmopolitanism have been articulated.

'Brilliantly written and genuinely one of the most important books I have ever read' - Ellie Mae O'Hagan An engrossing exploration of the science, history and politics of the Anthropocene, one of the most important scientific ideas of our time, from two world-renowned expertsMeteorites, methane, mega-volcanoes and now human beings; the old forces of nature that transformed Earth many millions of years ago are joined by another: us. Our actions have driven Earth into a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene. For the first time in our home planet's 4.5-billion year history a single species is dictating Earth's future.To some the Anthropocene symbolises a future of superlative control of our environment. To others it is the height of hubris, the illusion of our mastery over nature. Whatever your view, just below the surface of this odd-sounding scientific word, the Anthropocene, is a heady mix of science, philosophy, religion and politics linked to our deepest fears and utopian visions. Tracing our environmental impact through time to reveal when humans began to dominate Earth, scientists Simon Lewis and Mark Maslin masterfully show what the new epoch means for all of us.

If you are good then you have nothing to worry about. But if you are bad, if you are down right horrible, then watch out, for the Knee Gobblers are watching you Naughty children receive a visit from the Knee Gobblers, mischievous elves who steal their knees or possibly worse. A book that parents will have fun reading almost as much as their children will enjoy listening to.

From the author of Bad Traffic (a Los Angeles Times Book Prize nominee), a fast-paced adventure novel about two young backpackers who find themselves in serious trouble in the jungle of Southeast Asia. On the Burmese border, two na ve backpackers, Will and Jake, follow a tour guide into the jungle, tantalized by the possibility of dalliances with the tribal women who live there. At an idyllic waterfall, they discover that nothing is as it seems and their guide has his own agenda. It is not long before the two young men slip into a nightmarish spiral of murder and moral decay, their chance of survival determined by a game of hide-and-seek played out with deadly crossbows. As the stakes get increasingly higher, the bonds of friendship are tested and lives are put on the line. Border Run is a gripping, amphetamine-paced novel about the hidden perils that can lurk in paradise, and the fine line that we draw for ourselves between what is "civilized" and what is not.

Bored of the 'mango smoothie' trail and keen to spice up their Facebook albums, and perhaps also their sex lives, Jake and Will take a tour into China's jungle borderland with Burma. Their guide, however, has his own agenda and gradually the two gap-year students slip into a nightmarish spiral of murder and moral decay; their chance of survival determined by a game of hide and seek played out with deadly crossbows. A fast paced, adrenaline ride of a novel: Deliverance meets Lord of the Flies.

"A highly original work, provocatively argued and presented. Not only does it offer fresh insights into African and British literature by reading them against the grain, it also provides new ways for cultural scholars in all geographical specialties to think about the ways in which empire and colony have impacted upon one another, historically, and how they continue to impact in the postimperial and postcolonial age."--Laura Chrisman, University of WashingtonAfrican identities have been written and rewritten in both British and African literature for decades. These revisions have opened up new formulations of what it really means to be British or African.By comparing texts by authors from African and British backgrounds across a wide variety of political orientations, Simon Lewis analyzes the deeper relationships between colonizer and colonized. He brings issues of race, gender, class, and sexuality into the analysis, providing new ways for cultural scholars to think about how empire and colony have impacted one another from the late eighteenth century through the decades following World War II.In his comparisons, Lewis focuses on commonalities rather than differences. By examining the work of writers including Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, T. S. Eliot, Abdulrazak Gurnah, Zoe Wicomb, Yvette Christianse, and Chris van Wyk, he demonstrates how Britain's former African colonies influence British culture just as much as African culture was influenced by British colonization.Lewis brings a uniquely informed perspective to the topic, having lived in South Africa, Tanzania, and Great Britain, and having taught African literature for over a decade. The book demonstrates his expert knowledge of local cultural history from 1945 to the present, in both Africa and Britain.Simon Lewis, professor of English at the College of Charleston, is author of White Women Writers and Their African Invention.