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Maternal Megalomania: Julia Domna and the Imperial Politics of Motherhood
by Julie LangfordHow the maternal image of the empress Julia Domna helped the Roman empire rule.Ancient authors emphasize dramatic moments in the life of Julia Domna, wife of Roman emperor Septimius Severus (193–211). They accuse her of ambition unforgivable in a woman, of instigating civil war to place her sons on the throne, and of resorting to incest to maintain her hold on power. In imperial propaganda, however, Julia Domna was honored with unprecedented titles that celebrated her maternity, whether it was in the role of mother to her two sons (both future emperors) or as the metaphorical mother to the empire. Imperial propaganda even equated her to the great mother goddess, Cybele, endowing her with a public prominence well beyond that of earlier imperial women. Her visage could be found gracing everything from state-commissioned art to privately owned ivory dolls. In Maternal Megalomania, Julie Langford unmasks the maternal titles and honors of Julia Domna as a campaign on the part of the administration to garner support for Severus and his sons. Langford looks to numismatic, literary, and archaeological evidence to reconstruct the propaganda surrounding the empress. She explores how her image was tailored toward different populations, including the military, the Senate, and the people of Rome, and how these populations responded to propaganda about the empress. She employs Julia Domna as a case study to explore the creation of ideology between the emperor and its subjects.
Maternidad
by Sheila HetiCrees que lo has leído todo sobre la maternidad hasta que llega Sheila Heti Uno de los libros más esperados del año (The Millions), Uno de los 10 libros más excitantes del año (The Vulture), por una de las nuevas voces norteamericanas (The New York Times y The New Yorker). ¿Qué gana y qué pierde una mujer al convertirse en madre? ¿Puede una creación artística reemplazar a un hijo? Enfrentada al conflicto de toda mujer que se acerca a los cuarenta sin haber tenido hijos, mientras sus amigas se preguntan cuándo van a ser madres, la narradora de Maternidad se pregunta si realmente quiere serlo. La importancia de la creación en su vida, la relación fría que mantiene con su madre o la resolución tomada por su pareja de no intervenir en una decisión que considera que es ella quien debe tomar son algunos de los factores que Sheila Heti pone encima del tablero para llegar a la mejor conclusión posible. Aunque tal vez sea mejor que el azar resuelva las cosas: por eso arroja una moneda al aire cada vez que hace una pregunta esencial. Tras su aclamada novela ¿Cómo debe ser una persona?, lectura obligada para toda una generación, Heti aborda con franqueza, originalidad y humor la necesidad, o no, de ser madre. Un libro valiente, profundo y original que desencadenará animadas conversaciones sobre el feminismo, la paternidad y sobre cómo y para quién vivir. La crítica ha dicho...«La novela de Sheila Heti tiene todas las papeletas para convertirse en la obra literaria definitiva sobre la maternidad. [...] Se parece más a un tapiz que a un libro: puro arte, fino y delicado».Lara Feigel, The Guardian «Revelador, íntimo, conmovedor.»Alexandra Schwartz, The New Yorker «Heti es siempre original.»Library Journal «Una obra provocadora, creativa, victoriosa: ficción feminista filosófica. Heti escribe con coraje, curiosidad y una sinceridad poco común.»Booklist «Heti se enfrenta a este controvertido tema con una inteligencia asombrosa, planteando difíciles preguntas tanto sobre las responsabilidades y los deseos de las mujeres como sobre las expectativas de la sociedad.»Publishers Weekly «Impresionante. [...] Al escribir sobre maternidad,Heti también escribe sobre feminidad y vocación, personificación y mortalidad, historia y libertad... Una maravilla.»Adam Kirsch, The Atlantic «Al leer esta hermosa novela, sentí que estaba viendo una mente brillante inventar nuevas herramientas para pensar. Un libro emocionante, muy divertido y casi insoportablemente conmovedor.»Garth Greenwell, autor de Lo que te pertenece «Leí esta novela más rápido y con más ganas de lo que había leído enaños. [...]Su pensamiento es incisivo y totalmente original mientras lidia con el tipo de infelicidad que muchos, incluida yo misma, preferimos evadir en vez de mira rdirectamente.»Adelle Waldman, autora de Los amores fugaces de Nathaniel P.
Maternity Rolls: Pregnancy, Childbirth and Disability
by Heather KuttaiThe author, a paraplegic, tells about her own hunt for medical advice before getting pregnant--and then about the normal births of her two children--before widening the conversation to other disabled women and sympathetic members of the medical community.
Mathematicians Are People, Too: Stories From The Lives Of Great Mathematicians (Volume One)
by Luetta Reimer Wilbert ReimerVolume One focuses on moments of mathematical discovery experienced by Thales, Pythagoras, Hypatia, Galileo, Pascal, and others.
Mathematicians Fleeing from Nazi Germany: Individual Fates and Global Impact
by Reinhard Siegmund-SchultzeThe emigration of mathematicians from Europe during the Nazi era signaled an irrevocable and important historical shift for the international mathematics world. Mathematicians Fleeing from Nazi Germany is the first thoroughly documented account of this exodus. In this greatly expanded translation of the 1998 German edition, Reinhard Siegmund-Schultze describes the flight of more than 140 mathematicians, their reasons for leaving, the political and economic issues involved, the reception of these emigrants by various countries, and the emigrants' continuing contributions to mathematics. The influx of these brilliant thinkers to other nations profoundly reconfigured the mathematics world and vaulted the United States into a new leadership role in mathematics research. Based on archival sources that have never been examined before, the book discusses the preeminent emigrant mathematicians of the period, including Emmy Noether, John von Neumann, Hermann Weyl, and many others. The author explores the mechanisms of the expulsion of mathematicians from Germany, the emigrants' acculturation to their new host countries, and the fates of those mathematicians forced to stay behind. The book reveals the alienation and solidarity of the emigrants, and investigates the global development of mathematics as a consequence of their radical migration. An in-depth yet accessible look at mathematics both as a scientific enterprise and human endeavor, Mathematicians Fleeing from Nazi Germany provides a vivid picture of a critical chapter in the history of international science.
Mathematics without Apologies
by Michael HarrisWhat do pure mathematicians do, and why do they do it? Looking beyond the conventional answers--for the sake of truth, beauty, and practical applications--this book offers an eclectic panorama of the lives and values and hopes and fears of mathematicians in the twenty-first century, assembling material from a startlingly diverse assortment of scholarly, journalistic, and pop culture sources.Drawing on his personal experiences and obsessions as well as the thoughts and opinions of mathematicians from Archimedes and Omar Khayyám to such contemporary giants as Alexander Grothendieck and Robert Langlands, Michael Harris reveals the charisma and romance of mathematics as well as its darker side. In this portrait of mathematics as a community united around a set of common intellectual, ethical, and existential challenges, he touches on a wide variety of questions, such as: Are mathematicians to blame for the 2008 financial crisis? How can we talk about the ideas we were born too soon to understand? And how should you react if you are asked to explain number theory at a dinner party?Disarmingly candid, relentlessly intelligent, and richly entertaining, Mathematics without Apologies takes readers on an unapologetic guided tour of the mathematical life, from the philosophy and sociology of mathematics to its reflections in film and popular music, with detours through the mathematical and mystical traditions of Russia, India, medieval Islam, the Bronx, and beyond.
Mathematics without Apologies: Portrait of a Problematic Vocation
by Michael HarrisWhat do pure mathematicians do, and why do they do it? Looking beyond the conventional answers—for the sake of truth, beauty, and practical applications—this book offers an eclectic panorama of the lives and values and hopes and fears of mathematicians in the twenty-first century, assembling material from a startlingly diverse assortment of scholarly, journalistic, and pop culture sources.Drawing on his personal experiences and obsessions as well as the thoughts and opinions of mathematicians from Archimedes and Omar Khayyám to such contemporary giants as Alexander Grothendieck and Robert Langlands, Michael Harris reveals the charisma and romance of mathematics as well as its darker side. In this portrait of mathematics as a community united around a set of common intellectual, ethical, and existential challenges, he touches on a wide variety of questions, such as: Are mathematicians to blame for the 2008 financial crisis? How can we talk about the ideas we were born too soon to understand? And how should you react if you are asked to explain number theory at a dinner party?Disarmingly candid, relentlessly intelligent, and richly entertaining, Mathematics without Apologies takes readers on an unapologetic guided tour of the mathematical life, from the philosophy and sociology of mathematics to its reflections in film and popular music, with detours through the mathematical and mystical traditions of Russia, India, medieval Islam, the Bronx, and beyond.
Mathers: Three Generations of Puritan Intellectuals, 1596-1728
by Robert MiddlekauffA classic history of Puritanism in colonial New England, told through the lives and writings of three generations of intellectual ministers.
Matilda II: The Forgotten Queen
by Joanna Arman“By quoting contemporary letters and histories, Arman brings this woman and her world vividly to life. More than that, she shows how Matilda fits into medieval England and what gifts she left the kingdom she ruled so wisely and so well.” — New York Journal of Books The wife of King Henry I and the mother of the Empress Maud is a woman and a Queen forgotten to history. She is frequently conflated with her daughter or her mother-in-law. She was born the daughter of the King of Scotland and an Anglo-Saxon princess. Her name was Edith, but her name was changed to Matilda at the time of her marriage. The Queen who united the line of William the Conqueror with the House of Wessex lived during an age marked by transition and turbulence. She married Henry in the first year of the 12th century and for the eighteen years of her rule aided him in reforming the administrative and legal system due to her knowledge of languages and legal tradition. Together she and her husband founded a series of churches and arranged a marriage for their daughter to the Holy Roman Emperor. Matilda was a woman of letters to corresponded with Kings, Popes, and prelates, and was respected by them all. Matilda’s greatest legacy was continuity: she united two dynasties and gave the Angevin Kings the legitimacy they needed so much. It was through her that the Empress Matilda and Henry II were able to claim the throne. She was the progenitor of the Plantagenet Kings, but the war and conflict which followed the death of her son William led to a negative stereotyping by Medieval Chroniclers. Although they saw her as pious, they said she was a runaway nun and her marriage to Henry was cursed. This book provides a much-needed re-evaluation of Edith/Matilda’s role and place in the history of the Queens of England.
Matilda: Empress, Queen, Warrior
by Catherine HanleyA life of Matilda—empress, skilled military leader, and one of the greatest figures of the English Middle Ages Matilda was a daughter, wife, and mother. But she was also empress, heir to the English crown—the first woman ever to hold the position—and an able military general. This new biography explores Matilda’s achievements as military and political leader, and sets her life and career in full context. Catherine Hanley provides fresh insight into Matilda's campaign to claim the title of queen, her approach to allied kingdoms and rival rulers, and her role in the succession crisis. Hanley highlights how Matilda fought for the throne, and argues that although she never sat on it herself her reward was to see her son become king. Extraordinarily, her line has continued through every single monarch of England or Britain from that time to the present day.
Mating in Captivity: A Memoir
by Helen ZumanWhen recent Harvard grad Helen Zuman moved to Zendik Farm in 1999, she was thrilled to discover that the Zendiks used go-betweens to arrange sexual assignations, or &“dates,&” in cozy shacks just big enough for a double bed and a nightstand. Here, it seemed, she could learn an honest version of the mating dance—and form a union free of &“Deathculture&” lies. No one spoke the truth: Arol, the Farm&’s matriarch, crushed any love that threatened her hold on her followers&’ hearts. An intimate look at a transformative cult journey, Mating in Captivity shows how stories can trap us and free us, how miracles rise out of crisis, how coercion feeds on forsaken self-trust.
Matins And Lauds: A story of Colette Perron
by Yves Patrick Beaulieu----- CHEVEUX AU VENT DANS L'AUBE a biography of Colette Perron, my late mother. Born from her many little notes written over the years, the book tells about her childhood and her life in Nédélec, in Témiscamingue. From the beginning of colonization, in 1900, until her marriage in 1952, she said what she saw, in all simplicity Note: I have provided, as a watercolorist, the work shown on the cover page and my brother Yves Patrick meanwhile, gathered mother's notes and wrote her story, now titled Matins & Lauds. May you enjoy this reading! Christine Beaulieu Germain
Matisse in Morocco: A Journey of Light and Color
by Jeff KoehlerThe remarkable and little-known story of the two groundbreaking winters that Henri Matisse spent painting in Morocco, a fertile period that transformed his art and marked his work until the very end.In winter of 1912, Henri Matisse—forty-two, nearing mid-career, and yet to find lasting critical acceptance, public admiration, or financial security since exploding to the forefront of the avant-garde in 1905 with his iconoclastic Fauve paintings—was struggling. Once the vanguard leader, the Parisian avant-garde now considered him passé. His important early collectors, including Gertrude and Leo Stein, had stopped buying his work and were fully championing Picasso, and he had exhibited little in the last few years. In the face of Cubism that was now dominating the art scene, Matisse needed to get away from Paris in order to advance his distinctive artistic vision. Almost on a whim, he went to Tangier. Matisse had already been profoundly inspired by Islamic art, and was primed for his arrival in the Moroccan city where such art was integrated into everyday life. Despite the challenges of rain, insomnia, depression, and finding models, the sojourn was such a success he returned the following winter, which would lead to even greater artistic triumph. Matisse in Morocco tells the story of the artist's groundbreaking time in Tangier and how it altered Matisse&’s development as a painter and indelibly marked his work for the next four decades. Through Koehler's research and travel, we experience Matisse's time in Tangier, the paintings and their subjects, his relationships with his wife Amélie and his two important collectiors, and then come to understand the impact Morocco—its light, colors, culture, and artistic traditions—had on his art. From Landscape Viewed From a Window, to Zorah on the Terrace, from Kasbah Gate to the dream-like tableau Moroccan Café, these works from Morocco are now recognized as some of the most significant and dazzling of Matisse&’s illustrious career.
Matisse's War
by Peter EverettAt seventy, Henri Matisse is a trim, clean old gentleman with a passion for naked women. He is UN MONSTRE SACRE who depicts with passion and conviction only what he takes pleasure in, only what he chooses to see. He is art personified. If there were no Matisse there would be no art as such. . . . He has purged everything from his painting except anxieties concerning structure and colour; his struggle is with these alone! MATISSE'S WAR is a minutely researched yet fictional account of Matisse's life during the years 1939-1945. It is also a superb portrait of the lives of the major French artists and writers under the German occupation. Louis Aragon, Malraux, Picasso and Bonnard all appear prominently in the narrative.
Matrescence: On Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Motherhood
by Lucy JonesLONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION • From the acclaimed author of Losing Eden (&“Powerful, beautifully written&”—Anthony Doerr) an important, moving, passionate and passionately written inquiry—personal and scientific—into what happens—mentally, spiritually, physically, during the process of becoming a mother, from pregnancy and childbirth to early motherhood and what this profound process tells us about the way we live now.&“I read your book, or more accurately devoured it! Loved it . . . It will be the new classic text in Motherhood Studies.&” -Andrea O&’Reilly, founder, Motherhood Studies&“The best book I&’ve ever read about motherhood. Matrescence is essential reading, bloody and alive, roaring and ready to change conversations.&” –Jude Rogers, The Observer (UK) In this important and ground-breaking, deeply personal investigation, Jones writes of the emerging concept of &“matrescence&” – the wholeness of becoming a mother.Drawing on her own experiences of twice becoming a mother, as well as exploring the latest research in the fields of neuroscience and evolutionary biology; psychoanalysis and existential therapy; sociology, economics and ecology, Jones writes of the physical and emotional changes in the maternal mind, body, and spirit and shows us how these changes are far more profound, wild, and enduring than have been previously explored or written about.Part memoir, part scientific and health reporting, part social critique, ecological philosophy, eco-feminism and nature writing, Matrescence is a kind of whodunnit, ferreting out with the most nuanced, searing and honest observations, why mothers throughout this heightened transition are at a breaking point, and what the institution of intensive, isolated motherhood can tell us about our still-dominant social and cultural myths.&“Jones seems to come as close as it&’s possible to describing this indescribable moment in a woman&’s life.&” –Joanna Pocock, The Spectator (UK)
Matriarch: A Memoir
by Tina Knowles#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • OPRAH&’S BOOK CLUB PICK • A revealing personal life story like no other—enlightening, entertaining, surprising, empowering—and a testament to the world-making power of Black motherhood&“A fascinating memoir of Tina Knowles&’s journey to become the global figure she is today.&”—Oprah Winfrey&“You are Celestine,&” she said. She squatted to push the hair off my face and pull leaves off my pajama legs. &“Like my sister and my grandmother.&” And there, under the pecan tree, as she did countless times, that day my mother told me stories of the mothers and daughters that went before me.Tina Knowles, the mother of iconic singer-songwriters Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Solange Knowles, and bonus daughter Kelly Rowland, is known the world over as a Matriarch with a capital M: a determined, self-possessed, self-aware, and wise woman who raised and inspired some of the great artists of our time. But this story is about so much more than that.Matriarch begins with a precocious, if unruly, little girl growing up in 1950s Galveston, the youngest of seven. She is in love with her world, with extended family on every other porch and the sounds of Motown and the lapping beach always within earshot. But as the realities of race and the limitations of girlhood set in, she begins to dream of a more grandiose world. Her instincts and impulsive nature drive her far beyond the shores of Texas to discover the life awaiting her on the other side of childhood.That life&’s journey—through grief and tragedy, creative and romantic risks and turmoil, the nurturing of superstar offspring and of her own special gifts—is the remarkable story she shares with readers here. This is a page-turning chronicle of family love and heartbreak, of loss and perseverance, and of the kind of creativity, audacity, and will it takes for a girl from Galveston to change the world. It&’s one brilliant woman&’s intimate and revealing story, and a multigenerational family saga that carries within it the story of America—and the wisdom that women pass on to one another, mothers to daughters, across generations.
Matriarch: Beyoncé’s mother tells her story for the first time ever
by Tina KnowlesTo understand the icons Beyoncé, Solange and Kelly, you have to understand where they came from... A deeply personal and revelatory memoir by Ms Tina Knowles - as you've never seen her before.Tina Knowles, the mother of icons Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Solange Knowles and bonus daughter Kelly Rowland, is known the world over as a Matriarch with a capital M: the woman who raised and inspired some of the great artists of our time. But this story is about so much more than that.For the first time ever, Tina Knowles shares her remarkable story in Matriarch. A life of grief and tragedy, love and heartbreak, the nurturing of her superstar daughters - and the perseverance and audacity it takes for a girl from Galveston, Texas to change the world.This intimate and revealing memoir is a multigenerational family saga and a celebration of the wisdom that women, mothers and daughters pass on to each other across generations.A glorious chronicle of a life like none other and a testament to the world-changing power of Black motherhood.
Matriarch: Beyoncé’s mother tells her story for the first time ever
by Tina KnowlesTo understand the icons Beyoncé, Solange and Kelly, you have to understand where they came from... A deeply personal and revelatory memoir by Ms Tina Knowles - as you've never seen her before.Tina Knowles, the mother of icons Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Solange Knowles and bonus daughter Kelly Rowland, is known the world over as a Matriarch with a capital M: the woman who raised and inspired some of the great artists of our time. But this story is about so much more than that.For the first time ever, Tina Knowles shares her remarkable story in Matriarch. A life of grief and tragedy, love and heartbreak, the nurturing of her superstar daughters - and the perseverance and audacity it takes for a girl from Galveston, Texas to change the world.This intimate and revealing memoir is a multigenerational family saga and a celebration of the wisdom that women, mothers and daughters pass on to each other across generations.A glorious chronicle of a life like none other and a testament to the world-changing power of Black motherhood.
Matrix (Palabra En El Tiempo Ser.)
by Lauren Groff«El drama de monjas medievales que no sabías que necesitabas» (Vulture): un retrato de la indomable María de Francia, por la autora que deslumbró a Barack Obama y a la crítica mundial, ganadora de los premios Paul Bowles, PEN/O. Henry y Pushcart. Uno de los mejores libros del año según The Times Descendiente de una larga dinastía de guerreras y cruzadas, Marie es demasiado ruda y rebelde para la vida palaciega, por lo que acaba siendo expulsada de la corte y enviada a los lodazales de Inglaterra para que asuma el rol de priora de una abadía venida a menos. Al llegar, encuentra un panorama desolador donde reinan la inanición y el chismorreo. Marie añora la comodidad de la corte francesa, y también a su amante secreta, Cecily. Sin embargo, al poco tiempo se dará cuenta de que sus nuevas obligaciones le otorgan más poder del que jamás habría imaginado, un acceso a los conocimientos sobre plantas medicinales y su propio sello de lacre para la correspondencia, que le permitirá cartearse confidencialmente con quien quiera. Tras Florida, finalista del National Book Award, Lauren Groff vuelve a sorprendernos con el retrato de María de Francia, un personaje fascinante y poco conocido de la historia que se ha convertido en icono femenino. La crítica ha dicho...«Ambientar una historia feminista en el siglo XII no es tarea fácil, [...] pero Matrix es una novela inspiradora que demuestra el poder que han sabido ejercer las mujeres. [...] Un dominio de la palabra y un ritmo magistrales, [...] una narración altamente adictiva».NPR «Una celebración bellamente escrita del deseo y la creatividad femeninos, con una heroína formidable».The Guardian «Un libro inolvidable, extático, resplandeciente, herético».USA Today «Una recreación eléctrica, feminista, sensual y magistral de la mano de un personaje memorable».Oprah Magazine «Groff ha nacido para escribir historias y lo hace con maestría».Elena Méndez, La Voz de Galicia «Una escritora talentosa, capaz de una hábil pirotecnia a la altura de los desafíos que plantea».The New York Times Book Review «El trabajo más atrevido de la autora: [...] su suntuosa pero fresca narración se abre camino por una abadía medieval en busca de violencia, humor, empoderamiento y espiritualidad, y forja algo convincente, extraño y reconocible para el ojo moderno».Philadelphia Inquirer «Una obra audaz y emocionante que pone de manifiesto la imaginación salvaje y sin límites de Groff».Star Tribune «Una obra ingeniosa e inteligente que perdurará».The Boston Globe «De lectura obligada».The Washington Post «Páginas incandescentes. [...] Una obra brillante de imaginación y talento».Esquire
Matron Knows Best
by Joan WoodcockJoan Woodcock always dreamed of becoming a nurse. And in 1966 the dream came true. From her very first day as a naive 16 year old cadet, standing nervously outside the matron's office, this is Joan's story of an eventful career spanning over forty years in NHS nursing.Working on hospital wards, casualty units and out in the community, as well as stints in a prison and a police unit dealing with sexual assault, Joan has seen it all. In this moving memoir she gives an honest, revealing account of a challenging, unpredictable and ultimately rewarding life in nursing.From an early encounter with a horrific axe injury to the patient who swallowed their suppositories, to daily dealings with difficult patients and all kinds of bodily fluids, Joan shares memories of laughter and tragedy, and of the now defunct matron system that at one time instilled nurses with such high standards of professionalism and patient care.
Matron at Last
by Evelyn Prentis'When do you have a bath?' I asked Mrs Turgoose. 'I hope you're not suggesting that I don't look after meself properly,' she said crossly. 'There was a woman who used to use it, but that was because she was a bit stuck up. She soon went off the idea when it started to get cold.'After working as a nurse for thirty years, Evelyn left the hospital to become a full-time Matron at The Lodge - a home for elderly ladies of reduced circumstances. Evelyn was nothing like the matrons she had known and feared in the past. In spite of broken nights and hot dinners left to get cold, Mrs Peters with her temper and Mrs Harrison with her 24-hour piano playing, her new role offered a chance to make a difference to her ladies' lives. Even though it did mean she was on call twenty-four hours a day, this is Evelyn's funny and affectionate memoir of her years - at last! - as a Matron.
Matron in Charge
by Evelyn Prentis'She should never have kept the business going after her husband died. Running a betting shop is no job for a woman. Especially when she's got bad legs.'After a short stay at hospital herself, Evelyn Prentis wondered what was in store for her when she returned to work. From the door-slamming Miss Cromwell to Mrs Silver's shoplifting and Mrs May coming over all queer, being Matron in charge of the Lodge was rarely straightforward.So when her ladies became unusually united in their grumbling about newest resident Ivy, the woman who'd kept the betting shop on the High Street, Evelyn was ready for all hell to break loose.But instead, with openness and kindness, Ivy won people over and even started bringing them together. Suddenly, being in charge of the Lodge was no trouble at all ...
Matron on Call: More true stories of a 1960s NHS nurse
by Joan WoodcockJoan Woodcock always dreamed of becoming a nurse. And in 1966 the dream came true. From her very first day as a naive sixteen-year-old cadet, standing nervously outside the matron's office, this is Joan's story of an eventful career spanning over forty years in NHS nursing. Working on hospital wards, casualty units and out in the community, as well as stints in a prison and a police unit dealing with sexual assault, Joan has seen it all. In this moving memoir she gives an honest, revealing account of a challenging, unpredictable and ultimately rewarding life in nursing. From an early encounter with a horrific axe injury, to the patient who swallowed their suppositories, to daily dealings with difficult patients and all kinds of bodily fluids, Joan shares memories of laughter and tragedy, and of the now defunct matron system that at one time instilled nurses with such high standards of professionalism and patient care.
Matron on Call: More true stories of a 1960s NHS nurse
by Joan WoodcockJoan Woodcock always dreamed of becoming a nurse. And in 1966 the dream came true. From her very first day as a naive sixteen-year-old cadet, standing nervously outside the matron's office, this is Joan's story of an eventful career spanning over forty years in NHS nursing. Working on hospital wards, casualty units and out in the community, as well as stints in a prison and a police unit dealing with sexual assault, Joan has seen it all. In this moving memoir she gives an honest, revealing account of a challenging, unpredictable and ultimately rewarding life in nursing. From an early encounter with a horrific axe injury, to the patient who swallowed their suppositories, to daily dealings with difficult patients and all kinds of bodily fluids, Joan shares memories of laughter and tragedy, and of the now defunct matron system that at one time instilled nurses with such high standards of professionalism and patient care.
Matsushita Leadership
by John P. KotterHe was one of the most inspirational role models of all time. Thrown into poverty at age four, Konosuke Matsushita (Mat-SOSH-ta) struggled with the early deaths of family members, an apprenticeship which demanded sixteen-hour days at age nine, all the problems associated with starting a business with neither money nor connections, the death of his only son, the Great Depression, the horror of World War II in Japan, and more. Yet John P. Kotter shows in this fascinating and instructive book how, instead of being ground down by these hardships, Matsushita grew to be a fabulously successful entrepreneur and business leader, the founder of Japan's General Electric: the $65 billion a year Matsushita Electric Corporation. His accomplishments as a leader, author, educator, philanthropist, and management innovator are astonishing, and outshine even Soichiro Honda, J. C. Penney, Sam Walton, and Henry Ford. In this immensely readable book, Kotter relates how Matsushita created a large business, invented management practices that are increasingly being used today, helped lead his country's economic miracle after World War II wrote dozens of books in his latter years, founded a graduate school of leadership, created Japan's version of a Nobel Prize, and gave away hundreds of millions to good causes. The Matsushita story expands our notion of the possible, even for a sickly youngster who did not have the benefit of a privileged background, education, good looks, or a charismatic presence. It tells us much about leadership, entrepreneurship, a drive for lifelong learning, and their roots. It demonstrates the power of a longterm outlook, idealistic goals, and humility in the face of great success. Matsushita Leadershipis both a biography and a set of lessons for careers and corporations in the 21st century. An inspirational story and a business primer, the implications are powerful, for organizations and for living a meaningful life.