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Clive Barker: The Dark Fantastic
by Douglas E. Winter"Clive Barker: a modern mythmaker, explorer of our darkest instincts and ultimate fears, the writer who--more than any other contemporary figure--has shaped our nightmares through diverse media. Novelist, playwright, scriptwriter, artist and director, he is a master at twisting the mundane to make it fantastic, frightening and ultimately meaningful." "Douglas E. Winter's biography, made possible by unprecedented access to Barker and his closest friends and family, offers readers insight into Barker's own story: his Liverpool childhood and adolescence; his forays into the world of theatre, mime and direction; his rise to fame as the author of the Books of Blood and Weaveworld, and the director of Hellraiser; his move to Hollywood to pursue a film career and his growth as an artist in many different media, which has taken him from theatre--the first form of human expression--into the digital age."--BOOK JACKET.
Clive: The Life and Death of a British Emperor
by Robert HarveyThe real-life story of Robert Clive would be judged as wildly implausible if it came from the pen of a novelist.Clive of India was one of the most extraordinary and colorful figures Britain ever produced. The founder of Britain's Indian empire, he was also Britain's first great guerrilla fighter by the age of twenty-seven, conqueror of Bengal at thirty-one, and avenging angel of righteousness against the greed of his own fellow-countrymen at forty-one. In his later life Parliament brought him under painful scrutiny and he ended up one of the most hated men in Britain. He died violently under still-mysterious circumstances just before his fiftieth birthday.The story of Clive can be viewed on several levels: as a spirited military adventure by a man who defied death many times, who withstood the greatest siege in British military history, and conspired to force one of the most absolute and cruellest monarchs on earth off his throne; as the morality tale of a penniless young man who became the sole ruler of a huge empire, ended up as one of the richest men in Britain and was then brought to account and driven to despair; or as the story of a plundering early poacher-turned-gamekeeper who sought to establish a moral and legal order amidst slaughter and greed.Clive today lies buried in an unknown grave in an obscure corner of rural Shropshire, a reflection of the controversy he aroused in his lifetime and that still surrounds his legacy and the manner of his death. In this lively and revealing study Robert Harvey illuminates Clive's life's journey from the green fields surrounding Market Drayton through his adventures in India, his drive to success and self-destruction, to his vicious and premature death, by suicide or murder.
Cloistered: My Years as a Nun
by Catherine Coldstream"A profoundly moving memoir which gripped me . . . It’s about spirituality and asceticism and silence and sisterhood, but also about how flawed human beings can abuse power and how hermetically sealed communities, which should care for and protect their members, can be dangerously vulnerable to threats from inside their walls.” - Mark Haddon, author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, The Porpoise and othersAn astonishing memoir of twelve years as a contemplative nun in a silent monastery.Cloistered takes the reader deep into the hidden world of a traditional Carmelite monastery as it approaches the third Millennium and tells the story of an intense personal journey into and out of an enclosed life of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Finding an apparently perfect world at Akenside Priory, in Northumberland, Catherine trusts herself to a group of twenty silent women, believing she is trusting herself to God. As the beauty and mystery of an ancient way of life enfold her, she surrenders herself wholly to its power, quite unaware of the complexity and dangers that lie ahead.Cut off from the wider world for decades, the community has managed to evade accountability to any authority beyond itself. When Sister Catherine realises that a mesmerising cult of the personality, with the distortions it entails, has replaced the ancient ideal of religious obedience, she is faced with a dilemma. Will she submit to this, or will she be forced to speak out?An exploration of the limits of trust, Cloistered shows us how far youthful idealism can take us along the road of self-surrender, and of how much harm is done when institutional flaws go unacknowledged. Catherine’s honest account of her time in the monastery – and her dramatic flight from it – is both a love song to a lost community and an exploration of what is most compelling, yet most potentially destructive when closed human groups become laws unto themselves.
Cloris: My Autobiography
by Cloris LeachmanShe received two Emmy Awards as the irrepressible Phyllis on The Mary Tyler Moor Show. . .she won an Oscar for her supporting role as a frustrated housewife in The Last Picture Show. . .she delighted audiences with her deliciously villainous turns as Frau Blucher in Young Frankenstein and Nurse Diesel in High Anxiety. . .and she earned even more award nominations playing a hard-drinking grandmother in Spanglish.Now, for the first time, the incomparable Cloris Leachman reflects on her amazing life and illustrious career. . .From her hometown in Des Moines, Iowa, (where she first saw Katharine Hepburn perform on stage, never imagining they would one day do Shakespeare together) to the bright lights of Broadway and the television studios of L.A., Cloris's journey has been filled with laughter and tears, marriage and motherhood, tragedy and triumph. Along the way, she shares wonderfully revealing anecdotes about Marlon Brando, Meryl Streep, Dianne Keaton, Sissy Spacek, Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, the Kennedy family, and many more. Funny, frank, brilliant, and altogether human, this is the real Cloris Leachman as you've never seen her before.Sparkling praise for Cloris!"Funny, gimlet-eyed and unpretentious--someone get this woman a talk show." --Kirkus Reviews"She lives what she preaches." --Library Journal
Close But No Cigar: A True Story of Prison Life in Castro's Cuba
by Stephen PurvisWINNER OF THE CRIME WRITERS' ASSOCIATION GOLD DAGGER FOR NON-FICTION 2017'In its tragic absurdity, Close But No Cigar reads like a Graham Greene story, with a cast of characters to make Hemingway proud' Daily TelegraphFor over a decade Stephen Purvis had been a pillar of Havana's expat community, one of many foreign businessmen investing in Cuba's crawl from Cold War communism towards modernity. But for reasons unknown to him he was also under State Security's microscope. One morning during the height of President Raúl Castro's purges in 2012, while his family slept, the unmarked Ladas of State Security arrived at his home and he was taken away into the absurd and brutal world of Cuban justice.In this engrossing memoir, Purvis recounts his fifteen-month ordeal. Accused at first of selling state secrets, he is taken to the notorious interrogation centre Villa Marista, where he endures brutal conditions designed by the KGB and Stasi to break the bodies and minds of spies and political prisoners, and resists the paranoia and incompetence of his jailers. Later, held in a maximum-security prison, he finds himself surrounded by a motley crew of convicts: people-smugglers and drug-runners together with a handful of confused businessmen also awaiting formal charges.From his arrest to his farcical secret trial and sudden release, Purvis exposes the madness of modern Cuba with wit, grit and a sharp eye for character. As tourists flock to Havana to marvel at a city frozen in time, he shows that despite reforms and international reconciliation the Castro regime remains a corrupt, dictatorial relic. Close But No Cigar is part thriller, part comedy and part morality tale, but most of all a true story that takes the reader into a dark side of a sunny place that remains an enigma.
Close But No Cigar: A True Story of Prison Life in Castro's Cuba
by Stephen Purvis'In its tragic absurdity, Close but No Cigar reads like a Graham Greene story, with a cast of characters to make Hemingway proud ... [This] tale should be read by anyone who wants to understand what lies beyond the beaches and Bacardi [of Cuba]' DAILY TELEGRAPHFor over a decade Stephen Purvis had been a pillar of Havana's expat community, one of many foreign businessmen investing in Cuba's crawl from Cold War communism towards modernity. But for reasons unknown to him he was also under State Security's microscope. One morning during the height of President Raúl Castro's purges in 2012, while his family slept the unmarked Ladas of State Security arrived at his home and he was taken away into the absurd and brutal world of Cuban justice.In this engrossing memoir, Purvis recounts his fifteen-month ordeal. Accused at first of selling state secrets, he is taken to the notorious interrogation centre Villa Marista, where he endures brutal conditions designed by the KGB and Stasi to break the bodies and minds of spies and political prisoners, and resists the paranoia and incompetence of his jailers. Later, held in a maximum-security prison, he finds himself surrounded by a motley crew of convicts: people-smugglers and drug-runners together with a handful of confused businessmen also awaiting formal charges.From his arrest to his farcical secret trial and sudden release, Purvis exposes the madness of modern Cuba with wit, grit and a sharp eye for character. As tourists flock to Havana to marvel at a city frozen in time, he shows that despite reforms and international reconciliation the Castro regime remains a corrupt, dictatorial relic. CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR is part thriller, part comedy and part morality tale, but most of all a true story that takes the reader into a dark side of a sunny place that remains an enigma.
Close Calls: Voices of Love and Fear
by Elisa BuschClose Calls: Voices of Love and Fear is a creative nonfiction memoir spanning the life of a blind woman from childhood to middle age. <P><P> Lisa, the main character, undergoes a shock when separated from her family at age five. Totally blind since her birth in 1954, well before mainstreaming in classrooms is accepted, only a special school in Pittsburgh, a hundred miles away from her rural hometown, is suitable for her education. This separation, along with her shyness at school and her mother's preoccupation with housework when Lisa is at home, creates in Lisa a feeling of sadness that comes to permeate her life. At age seven, her grandfather dies on Good Friday. When he isn't resurrected on Easter as she innocently expects, Lisa's disillusionment with God sets her on a course of mistrust that intensifies years later after a failed love affair. By the time she meets Jerry, who showers her with the attention she has always craved, Lisa cannot feel secure. <P><P> The book describes their marriage, Jerry's struggle with diabetes, the joys and challenges of being a wife and mother, and Lisa's spiritual highs and lows. Throughout the narrative, Lisa keeps asking the question: If God loves me, why does He allow me to suffer such loneliness and loss? This inquiry haunts many a heart and mind, but Close Calls delves into its depth in surprising ways. The author dares to imagine voices of those who travel with her on this journey as well as the voice of an unseen narrator. <P><P> This approach to the narrative seeks to widen the readers' perspectives as well.
Close Encounters of the Furred Kind: New Adventures With My Sad Cat And Other Feline Friends
by Tom CoxHave you ever moved house, over a distance of 350 miles, with four cats? If you haven't, and are thinking about it, I'll give you some advice: don't. If you really must move, try to get the cats to arrange their own transport. Focus on yourself instead. You'll have plenty to think about as it is, and the cats will only get in the way with their sarcasm and hairballs. I moved from Norfolk to Devon with four cats and it felt like such an impossible ordeal, part of me believes that I actually died somewhere along the way and am now living in some kind of afterlife: very much like real life, but a little slower moving, and with slightly clearer air. "That's just the West Country," I've been told, but I can't be 100% certain.
Close Encounters of the Third-Grade Kind: Thoughts on Teacherhood
by Phillip DoneA twenty-year veteran of the classroom, elementary school teacher Phillip Done takes readers through a lively and hilarious year in the classroom. Starting with the relative calm before the storm of buying school supplies and posting class lists, he shares the distinct personalities of grades K-4, what he learned from two professional trick or treating 8-year-old boys, the art of learning cursive and letter-writing, how kindergartners try to trap leprechauns, and what every child should experience before he or she grows up. These charming, sweet, and funny tales of Mr. Done's trials and triumphs as an award-winning schoolteacher will touch readers' hearts and remind them of the true joys of childhood. We all have that one special, favorite grade school teacher whom we fondly remember throughout our adult lives - and every teacher also has students whom they will never forget. This is the perfect book for teachers, parents, and anyone else who is looking for a lighthearted, nostalgic read.
Close to Home: A Novel
by Michael MageeWhile growing up in West Belfast, Sean does everything he's supposed to do. He works hard, he studies, and he - mostly - stays out of trouble. The thirty-year conflict is over, he's told, and his future is lit with promise. But when Sean returns home from university, he finds much of the same-the same friends doing the same gear in the same clubs; the same lost brothers and mad fathers; the same closed doors; the same silences. There are no jobs, Sean's degree isn't worth the paper it's written on, and no one will give him the time of day. One night, he assaults a stranger at a party, and everything begins to come undone. Close to Home begins with this sudden act of violence and expands into a startling portrait of working-class Ireland under the long shadow of the Troubles. It's a first novel drawn from life, written with the immediacy of thought. It's about what happens when men get desperate, about the cycles of loss and trauma and secrecy that keep them trapped, and about the struggle to get free.
Close to the Bone: A Memoir
by Lisa Ray&“A thrilling journey. . . . A must-read.&” Freida Pinto &“How fortunate a thing it is, when life alters you without warning.&” Lisa Ray is one of India&’s first supermodels. She&’s also an acclaimed actor, a cancer survivor, a mother of twins born through surrogacy, a lifelong student, and a person of no fixed address. She is a woman who has lived many lives. And this is her story.Unflinching and deeply moving, Close to the Bone traces Lisa Ray&’s serendipitous life, from her childhood in Canada as the biracial daughter of an Indian man and Polish woman, to her rise as a Bollywood star; from her battle with a rare and incurable cancer, to her journey to find identity and belonging, both in the world and in her own body. Transporting and atmospheric, it takes readers across the globe: Toronto in the 1970s, when Lisa was searching for place and purpose; the intense, frenetic streets of Bombay, where, young and unmoored, she became a peer of some of the biggest names in the Bollywood industry; the lush sensuality of Colombo and a film role that changed the course of her career; and in London, where she simultaneously found her footing in drama school and lost herself in an abusive relationship. It is a storied life, and one whose adventures teach Lisa that in the brightest and darkest moments, no matter where she travels to, she can always find her way back home—to herself. At once charming and wise, intimate and gut-wrenchingly honest, Close to the Bone is a revealing travelogue of the soul—a brave and inspiring story of a life lived on one&’s own terms.
Close to the Edge: The Story of Yes
by Chris WelchChris Welch's definitive biography of Yes is once again updated to include the historic return of Rick Wakeman to the classic Yes line up during 2002 and their subsequent highly successful tour of America.
Close to the Ground
by Geri LarkinThe truth is that after all the bliss, emptiness, and generalized euphoria we might be lucky enough to experience at some point along our spiritual path, what's left are the karmic knots of conditioning that still need unraveling if we are going to be of any genuine help to anybody. Untying them is the work of spiritual warriors, that is, all of us. The seven factors of enlightenment are a grease to loosen them, all the while keeping us upright in our efforts. These factors are: mindfulness the investigation of phenomena energetic effort ease joy concentration equanimity In Close to the Ground, longtime Buddhist teacher Geri Larkin uses stories from her own life to share some of the gifts that these factors bring. Because she refuses to be anything special, her stories are all of our stories, her humor, all of our humor, her heartbreaks, all of our heartbreaks. In reading the book, you may discover (or rediscover) that you have many more tools available to help with this work of "life and death" than you may have thought.
Close to the Ground
by Geri LarkinThe truth is that after all the bliss, emptiness, and generalized euphoria we might be lucky enough to experience at some point along our spiritual path, what's left are the karmic knots of conditioning that still need unraveling if we are going to be of any genuine help to anybody. Untying them is the work of spiritual warriors, that is, all of us. The seven factors of enlightenment are a grease to loosen them, all the while keeping us upright in our efforts. These factors are: mindfulness the investigation of phenomena energetic effort ease joy concentration equanimity In Close to the Ground, longtime Buddhist teacher Geri Larkin uses stories from her own life to share some of the gifts that these factors bring. Because she refuses to be anything special, her stories are all of our stories, her humor, all of our humor, her heartbreaks, all of our heartbreaks. In reading the book, you may discover (or rediscover) that you have many more tools available to help with this work of "life and death" than you may have thought.
Close to the Knives: A Memoir of Disintegration (Canons Ser. #58)
by David WojnarowiczThe &“fierce, erotic, haunting, truthful&” memoirs of an extraordinary artist, activist, and iconoclast who lit up late-twentieth-century New York (Dennis Cooper).One of the New York Times&’ &“50 Best Memoirs of the Past 50 Years&” David Wojnarowicz&’s brief but eventful life was not easy. From a suburban adolescence marked by neglect, drugs, prostitution, and abuse to a squalid life on the streets of New York City, to fame—and infamy—as an activist and controversial visual artist whose work was lambasted in the halls of Congress, all before his early death from AIDS at age thirty-seven, Wojnarowicz seemed to be at war with a homophobic &“establishment&” and the world itself. Yet what emerged from the darkness was a truly extraordinary artist and human being—an angry young man of remarkable poetic sensibilities who was inordinately sympathetic to those who, like him, lived and struggled outside society&’s boundaries.Close to the Knives is his searing yet strangely beautiful account told in a collection of powerful essays. An author whom reviewers have compared to Kerouac and Genet, David Wojnarowicz mesmerizes, horrifies, and delights in equal measure with his unabashed honesty. At once savage and funny, poignant and sexy, compassionate and unforgiving, his words and stories cut like knives, leaving indelible marks on all who read them.
Close to the Machine: Technophilia and Its Discontents
by Ellen UllmanWith a New Introduction by Jaron Lanier A Salon Best Book of the Year In 1997, the computer was still a relatively new tool---a sleek and unforgiving machine that was beyond the grasp of most users. With intimate and unflinching detail, software engineer Ellen Ullman examines the strange ecstasy of being at the forefront of the predominantly male technological revolution, and the difficulty of translating the inherent messiness of human life into artful and efficient code. Close to the Machine is an elegant and revelatory mediation on the dawn of the digital era.
Close to the Sun: The Journey of a Pioneer Heart Surgeon
by Stuart Jamieson&“A surgeon internationally recognized for his expertise in heart and lung transplants . . . writes with assurance and aplomb about his achievements.&” —Kirkus Reviews Stuart Jamieson has lived two lives. One began in heat and dust. Born to British ex-pats in colonial Africa, Jamieson was sent at the age of eight to a local boarding school, where heartless instructors bullied and tormented their students. In the summers he escaped to fish on crocodile-infested rivers and explore the African bush. As a teenager, an apprenticeship with one of Africa&’s most fabled trackers taught Jamieson how to deal with dangerous game and even more dangerous poachers, lessons that would later serve him well in the high-stakes career he chose. Jamieson&’s second life unfolded when he went to London to study medicine during the turbulent 1960s, leaving behind the only home he knew as it descended into revolution. Brilliant and self-assured, Jamieson advanced quickly in the still-new field of open-heart surgery. It was a fraught time. For patients with terminal heart disease, heart transplants were the new hope. But poor outcomes had all but ended the procedure. In 1978 Jamieson came to America and to Stanford—the only cardiac center in the world doing heart transplants successfully. Here, Jamieson&’s pioneering work on the anti-rejection drug cyclosporin would help to make heart transplantation a routine life-saving operation, that is still in practice today as he continues to train the next generation of heart surgeons. Stuart Jamieson&’s story is the story of four decades of advances in heart surgery. &“Every reader interested in the history behind one of medicine&’s riskiest procedures will find it fascinating.&” —Booklist
Close to the Wind: An Extraordinary Story of Triumph Over Adversity
by Pete GossPete Goss became a national and international hero when he rescued French yachtsman Raphael Dinelli as his boat sank beneath him in the round-the-world single-handed sailing race, the Vendee Globe, on Christmas Day 1996. In doing so Pete scuppered his own chances in the race but was awarded theLegion d'Honneur by France's president and made a friend for life in Dinelli.Close to the Wind is his own story of the race and its dramas, his revolutionary boat,Aqua Quorum, his thoughts and emotions during four months of solitude at sea, the extraordinary surgery that he had to perform on his own elbow and the aftermath of the rescue in the Southern Ocean.
Close to the Wind: An Extraordinary Story of Triumph Over Adversity
by Pete GossPete Goss became a national and international hero when he rescued French yachtsman Raphael Dinelli as his boat sank beneath him in the round-the-world single-handed sailing race, the Vendee Globe, on Christmas Day 1996. In doing so Pete scuppered his own chances in the race but was awarded theLegion d'Honneur by France's president and made a friend for life in Dinelli.Close to the Wind is his own story of the race and its dramas, his revolutionary boat,Aqua Quorum, his thoughts and emotions during four months of solitude at sea, the extraordinary surgery that he had to perform on his own elbow and the aftermath of the rescue in the Southern Ocean.
Close-up on Sunset Boulevard: Billy Wilder, Norma Desmond, and the Dark Hollywood Dream
by Sam StaggsBilly Wilder's Sunset Boulevard, a classic film noir and also a damning dissection of the Hollywood dream factory, evokes the glamour and ruin of the stars who subsist on that dream. It's also one long in-joke about the movie industry and those who made it great-and who were, in turn, destroyed by it. One of the most critically admired films of the twentieth century, Sunset Boulevard is also famous as silent star Gloria Swanson's comeback picture.Sam Staggs's Close-Up On Sunset Boulevard tells the story of this extravagant work, from the writing, casting and filming to the disastrous previews that made Paramount consider shelving it. It's about the writing team of Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett-sardonically called "the happiest couple in Hollywood"-and their raucous professional relationship. It's about the art direction and the sets, the costumes, the props, the lights and the cameras, and the personalities who used those tools to create a cinematic work of art.Staggs goes behind the scenes to reveal: William Holden, endlessly attacked by his bitter wife and already drinking too much; Nancy Olson, the cheerful ingenue who had never heard of the great Gloria Swanson; the dark genius Erich von Stroheim; the once famous but long-forgotten "Waxworks"; and of course Swanson herself, who-just like Norma Desmond-had once been "the greatest star of them all."But the story of Sunset Boulevard doesn't end with the movie's success and acclaim at its release in 1950. There's much more, and Staggs layers this stylish book with fascinating detail, following the actors and Wilder into their post-Sunset careers and revealing Gloria Swanson's never-ending struggle to free herself from the clutches of Norma Desmond.Close-Up On Sunset Boulevard also chronicles the making of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical production of Sunset Boulevard and the explosive diva controversies that dogged it. The book ends with a shocking example of Hollywood life imitating Hollywood art. By the last page of this rich narrative, readers will conclude: We are those "wonderful people out there in the dark."
Closer Together: Knowing Ourselves, Loving Each Other
by Sophie Grégoire TrudeauSophie Grégoire Trudeau invites readers on a deeply personal journey toward self-knowledge, acceptance, and empowerment, drawing on the expertise of top psychologists, psychiatrists, scientists, and thought leaders.As a passionate advocate for mental health, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau believes that in order to know and accept ourselves fully, we need to understand why we think and feel the way we do, and recognize the experiences, attitudes, and patterns that may be holding us back. And yet, all of us are capable of growth and positive change, if we're willing to stay open and curious throughout our lives.In Closer Together, Sophie shares moments from her own journey: from her childhood, through her struggles with an eating disorder in her teens and early adulthood; from a career as a speaker and television host to de facto "first lady" and mother of three. Above all, Sophie is a warm and empathetic connector, and her book is enriched by exclusive interviews with experts such as Gabor Maté, Liz Plank, Terrence Real, Catherine Price, Harville Hendrix, and Helen LaKelly Hunt—to name just a few—as she delves into the science behind brain health and our unique emotional signatures. She explores the questions that matter the most for our individual and collective growth, and in how we interact with others:How does the way we were raised contribute to our sense of self?How can we better prepare ourselves to deal with big emotions?What do we need from our relationships, and what can we contribute to them?What role do physical activity and creative pursuits play in mental health?How can we let go of what doesn&’t serve us and nurture what does?Drawing on her own mindfulness and yoga practices, Sophie also offers journalling prompts and other tools that will guide readers as they explore these questions in their own lives. In creating a space for openness, playfulness, and creativity, Sophie inspires us to see that there are more things that bring us together than separate us, allowing us to stand in the light of our true potential.
Closer You Are: The Story of Robert Pollard and Guided By Voices
by Matthew CutterThe authorized biography of Robert Pollard, indie rock icon and founder of the music group Guided By VoicesRobert Pollard has been a staple of the indie rock scene since the early '80s, along with his band Guided By Voices. Pollard was a longtime grade school teacher who toiled endlessly on his music, finding success only after adopting a do-it-yourself approach, relying on lo-fi home recordings for much of his and his band's career. A prolific artist, Pollard continues to churn out album after album, much to the acclaim of critics and his obsessive and devoted fans. But his story has never been faithfully told in its entirety. Until now.Author Matthew Cutter is a longtime friend of Pollard and, with Pollard's blessing, he's set out to tell the whole, true story of Guided By Voices. Closer You Are is the first book to take an in-depth look at the man behind it all, with interviews conducted by the author with Pollard's friends, family, and bandmates, along with unfettered access to Pollard himself and his extensive archives.Robert Pollard has had an amazing and seemingly endless career in rock music, but he's also established himself as a consummate artist who works on his own terms. Now fans can at long last learn the full story behind one of America's greatest living songwriters.
Closer to the Edge: Climbing to the Ends of the Earth
by Leo HouldingOne of Great Britain's finest climbers and adventurers, Leo Houlding started out climbing at ten years of age in the Lake District literally learning the ropes tackling the many historic peaks and crags in the area. Honing his skills as he grew, at eighteen Leo became one of the very first to free climb the mighty El Capitan in the Yosemite Valley, California widely regarded as the most impressive rock face on the planet cementing his reputation as a world class climber. He has since gone on to not only summit the world's tallest walls and toughest peaks, but has become a twenty-first Century explorer, crossing continents to take extreme sports to the most remote corners of Earth - from the frozen mountains of Antarctica to the sweltering jungles of South America How did a working class lad from the north of England scale such heights and avoid the pitfalls and fatal accidents that have struck down so many of his colleagues and friends? Honest, raw and exhilarating, Closer to the Edge is Leo's 'warts-and-all' insight into the extreme life of one of Britain's best climbers who is active today and still planning epic adventures. In a page-turning narrative, Leo describes his childhood inspirations to climb, his mentors who guided him, and the exhilaration of those teenage years when he broke into the public consciousness - such as his infamous race against Jeremy Clarkson on Top Gear. He will reveal to the reader what drives him, how he assesses risk and judges how close to the edge he can go and return safely, and how he balances this with teaching his own children the lessons he has learnt in some of the world's most dangerous and extreme places. Closer to the Edge is the story of a remarkable climber and free spirit who has been at the top of his game for over thirty years, with still more mountains to explore.
Closer to the Edge: Climbing to the Ends of the Earth
by Leo HouldingLeo Houlding started climbing at ten years of age in the Lake District and was the youngest person (and first Briton) to free climb El Capitan in Yosemite National Park in the United States at eighteen years, which cemented his reputation. He has since gone on to summit the world's toughest peaks and explore the most extreme places on our planet. During such explorations he has had to deal with tragedy when close friends and colleagues have been killed or badly injured, and he will discuss how you deal with such loss and carry on. Honest, raw and exhilarating, Closer to the Edge will be a 'warts-and-all' insight into the extreme life of one of Britain's best mountaineer adventurers. What drives him? How does he assess risk and judge what level he'll take himself to be successful, and how does he balance this with teaching his own children the lessons he has learnt in some of the world's most dangerous and extreme places.(P) 2022 Headline Publishing Group Ltd
Closer to the Ground
by Thomas Mcguane Nikki Mcclure Dylan TomineCloser to the Ground is the deeply personal story of a father learning to share his love of nature with his children, not through the indoor lens of words or pictures, but directly, palpably, by exploring the natural world as they forage, cook and eat from the woods and sea. With illustrations by Nikki McClure.This compelling, masterfully written tale follows Dylan Tomine and his family through four seasons as they hunt chanterelles, fish for salmon, dig clams and gather at the kitchen table, mouths watering, to enjoy the fruits of their labor. Closer to the Ground captures the beauty and surprise of the natural world-and the ways it teaches us how to live-with humor, gratitude and a nose for adventure as keen as a child's. It is a book filled with weather, natural history and many delicious meals.