Böcker utgivna av Independent

Embracing Life On Our Own TermsAn illustrated collection of life stories. Life for these individuals, is an insightful continuous adventure.

"The only thing needed to set the world ablaze is a spark..."Godspeaker. Elfman. Wightman. Corpse-Whisperer. These are some of the names folk give Edward, one of a small number of unique individuals blessed - or perhaps cursed - with a powerful connection to the Otherworld and its many mystical inhabitants. The Gifted, they are called. Edward earns his living as his predecessors did, by selling his gift to both noble and peasant alike, interpreting their dreams and omens, calming their dead, and ensuring Otherworldly beings remain where they belong.He does not expect that something as ordinary as a midwinter snowstorm will toss him into the drama of the Kingdom of Ardonn. Fate leads him on a journey that will change his life, as she sends him on a quest for revenge, binds him to the aspirations of a day-dreaming romantic, and sees him embroiled in a plot to release an ancient, immortal king from his tomb.War is brewing in Ardonn - and Edward must struggle against the rising tide.

'A stunningly original study of Stalinist society... Essential reading for anyone interested in how human beings navigate a path through times of extraordinary upheaval, privation and danger' - Daniel BeerIn the shadow of the Gulag, Soviet citizens were still cracking jokes. They had to.Drawing on diaries, interviews, memoirs and hundreds of previously secret documents, It's Only a Joke, Comrade! uncovers how they joked, coped, and struggled to adapt in Stalin's brave new world. It asks what it really means to live under a dictatorship: How do people make sense of their lives? How do they talk about it? And whom can they trust to do so?Moving beyond ideas of 'resistance', 'doublethink', 'speaking Bolshevik', or Stalin's Cult of Personality to explain Soviet life, it reveals how ordinary people found their way and even found themselves in a life lived along the fault-lines between rhetoric and reality.'An extraordinary achievement' - Ronald Grigor Suny'Re-vitalizes our understanding of Soviet society' - Lynne Viola'Fascinating ... lively, engaging, and at times very funny' - Catriona Kelly'The best book on Stalinism I've read in a long time' - S.A. Smith'One of those rare books that not only has to be read by scholars in the field, but is also accessible to a wide readership. Indeed it is an essential read for anybody who wants to get beyond standard views of the "communist joke" and understand what humour really tells us about life under this extraordinary regime' - David Priestland