A Man for All Seasons dramatises the conflict between King Henry VIII and Sir Thomas More. It depicts the confrontation between church and state, theology and politics, absolute power and individual freedom. Throughout the play Sir Thomas More's eloquence and endurance, his purity, saintliness and tenacity in the face of ever-growing threats to his beliefs and family, earn him status as one of modern drama's greatest tragic heroes. The play was first staged in 1960 at the Globe Theatre in London and was voted New York's Best Foreign Play in 1962. In 1966 it was made into an Academy Award-winning film by Fred Zinneman starring Paul Scofield."A Man for All Seasons is a stark play, sparse in its narrative, sinewy in its writing, which confirms Mr Bolt as a genuine and solid playwright, a force in our awakening theatre." (Daily Mail)
"Scofield, however, is adamantly not a celebrity actor. As guardian of his craft and integrity, he has kept himself most carefully out of the limelight. This, in fact, is the first full biography of him. Garry O'Connor, highly respected for his theatrical biographies, presents a richly drawn, fully dimensional portrait of the great actor. O'Connor interviewed the intensely private Scofield himself, as well as many of the actors and directors he has worked with, including Simon Callow, Trevor Nunn, Richard Eyre, and Peter Hall. The result is a biography of one of the past century's most remarkable and enigmatic icons."--BOOK JACKET.
Douglas B. Rasmussen and Douglas J. Den Uyl maintain that a realist turn—namely, one in which the natural order is the basis for individual rights—is needed to bring about a proper understanding and defense of liberty. They argue that the critical character of individual rights results from their being tethered to metaphysical realism. After reprising their explanation and defense of natural rights, Rasmussen and Den Uyl explain metaphysical realism and defend it against neo-pragmatist objections. They show it to be a formidable and preferable alternative to epistemic constructivism and crucial for a suitable understanding of ideal theory.
The irresistible, candid diaries of Richard Burton, published in their entirety “Just great fun, and written out of an engaging, often comical bewilderment: How did a poor Welshman become not only a star, but a player on the world stage that was Elizabeth Taylor’s fame?”—Hilton Als, NewYorker.com “Of real interest is that Burton was almost as good a writer as an actor, read as many as three books a day, haunted bookstores in every city he set foot in, bought countless books on every conceivable subject and evaluated them rather shrewdly. . . . Apt writing abounds.”—John Simon, New York Times Book Review Irresistibly magnetic on stage, mesmerizing in movies, seven times an Academy Award nominee, Richard Burton rose from humble beginnings in Wales to become Hollywood's most highly paid actor and one of England's most admired Shakespearean performers. His epic romance with Elizabeth Taylor, his legendary drinking and story-telling, his dazzling purchases (enormous diamonds, a jet, homes on several continents), and his enormous talent kept him constantly in the public eye. Yet the man behind the celebrity façade carried a surprising burden of insecurity and struggled with the peculiar challenges of a life lived largely in the spotlight. This volume publishes Burton's extensive personal diaries in their entirety for the first time. His writings encompass many years—from 1939, when he was still a teenager, to 1983, the year before his death—and they reveal him in his most private moments, pondering his triumphs and demons, his loves and his heartbreaks. The diary entries appear in their original sequence, with annotations to clarify people, places, books, and events Burton mentions. From these hand-written pages emerges a multi-dimensional man, no mere flashy celebrity. While Burton touched shoulders with shining lights—among them Olivia de Havilland, John Gielgud, Claire Bloom, Laurence Olivier, John Huston, Dylan Thomas, and Edward Albee—he also played the real-life roles of supportive family man, father, husband, and highly intelligent observer. His diaries offer a rare and fresh perspective on his own life and career, and on the glamorous decades of the mid-twentieth century.
Part One: The History (What do we know?) This brief historical introduction to Thomas More explores the social, political and religious factors that formed the original context of his life and writings, and considers how those factors affected the way he was initially received. What was his impact on the world at the time and what were the key ideas and values connected with him? Part Two: The Legacy (Why does it matter?) This second part explores the intellectual and cultural ‘afterlife’ of Thomas More, and considers the ways in which his impact has lasted and been developed in different contexts by later generations. Why is he still considered important today? In what ways is his legacy contested or resisted? And what aspects of his legacy are likely to continue to influence the world in the future?
Fall in love with a Long, Tall Texan in Diana Palmer's classic tale, The Texas Ranger! When Texas Ranger Marc Brannon returns to the line of duty, a high‐profile murder mystery pits him against a vibrant—and vulnerable—junior investigator from his past. Years ago, Josette Langley made no secret of the fact that she was desperately in love with the rugged lawman, and despite their differences, the rough‐hewn loner became drawn to the innocent young woman. Yet Marc and Josette parted on explosive terms when she made a shocking accusation that shattered both their lives. Now they're back together again.... And this time, a lot more than just their hearts is at stake. The woman Marc once cherished is being targeted by a corrupt political figure who will stop at nothing to bury the truth. Can Marc and Josette set aside their stormy discord and see justice served—or will they both be caught in the crossfire?
Most previous biographers of Thomas More have sought to prove him a saint; in this, the first full-scale biography of More in half a century, Richard Marius, a leading Reformation historian, seeks to restore the man. More’s life spanned a tumultuous period in Western history. He was born in 1478 into a society still medieval in its customs and laws. But by the time of his death in 1535 England was already shaken to its depths by the powerful and unsettling ideas of the Renaissance. Marius draws upon important recent research and his profound knowledge of More’s own voluminous writing to make a coherent whole of the life and work of the immensely complex man who was both a product of the times and a singular figure in them. He gives us More the boy—his London childhood, he deep respect for his father, who rose from a tradesman’s background to become a judge of the highest court in the land (a “council of fathers” was to rule More’s kingdom of Utopia) . . . More the youth—sent at about age twelve to serve in the household of the powerful and political Bishop Morton, later struggling to choose between the priesthood and the lures of secular life: marriage and a career in the great world… More the Londoner, the city man—lawyer, graduate of the Inns of Court, member of the rising middle class with its drive for an achievement and position. We see More the humanist man of letter as Marius treats in full his friendship with Erasmus; his now controversial History of Richard III, from which Shakespeare’s Richard derives; and the originals and meanings of his most famous work, Utopia. More the family man is reveal in his relationship with his father, his two wives, and his children as far more complex than the sanctified image of legend. Marius explore More’s public career as Lord Chancellor, as champion of the Catholic church, and finally as martyr to the old faith. He shows us a man who, although he hated and feared tyrants, always believes that authority as a source of order was necessary to the public good—a man who as royal councilor and Lord Chancellor upheld his king until the very moment when, in response to Henry’s final tyranny, he chose “to die the King’s good servant, but God’s first.” Marius also demonstrates that it was the centuries-old authority of the Catholic Church that More revered; that he was as suspicious of paper supremacy as of any tyranny. The man Marius ultimately reveals is one more passionate and driven (in his family life, his convictions, his persecution of heretics) than the serene hero of A Man For All Seasons. But he is also a man possessed of such wit, integrity and charm that he was loved not only by his family but by almost everyone who knew him. It is the special triumph of this biography that with its rare combination of impeccable scholarship and narrative power, we are brought into the presence of a whole person with all his flaws and virtues, and that by the time More meets his death, he has become familiar and important to us not merely as a historical figure but also as a human being.
Like many founding fathers, Rida Saïd (1876-1946) lived a cosmopolitan life before taking on his monumental contribution to building the modern nation of Syria. Born in Damascus in 1876, Said trained as a medical doctor in Istanbul and Paris. As a young man, he served as a field doctor with the Ottoman Empire’s army in the Balkan Wars, but he soon became disillusioned about his homeland’s foreign rulers. Like other Syrians, he was opposed to the aggressive Turkish nationalism that alienated Arabs and dreamed of a more inclusive system for his people. After his medical work in Damascus during World War I, and following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, Said took on a critical role in establishing an independent Syria: he became a pioneering educator, advocating for the importance of providing institutions to educate the Arab people. He went on to become the first head of Damascus University, and then Minister of Education. He died in 1945, a few months before Syria finally achieved independence in 1946. Now available for the first time in English, Rida Saïd: A Man for All Seasons tells the story of this remarkable life at the heart of a nation in deep conflict. Indeed, Saïd’s story resonates profoundly today as the Syrian people struggle for a future of opportunity and respect.
Profiles the African American scientist George Washington Carver, who not only put the peanut on the map, but was also one of the first advocates of recycling.
