Upon its publication in Germany in 1983, this author's book stirred both critical acclaim and consternation, attracting a wide readership. He finds cynicism the dominant mode in contemporary culture, in personal and institutional settings; his book is both a history of the impulse and an investigation of its role today, among those whose earlier hopes for social change have crumbled and faded away.
Ann Holmes seems an unlikely candidate for revelation. A 16-year-old runaway, she is an itinerant mushroom picker who lives in a tent. Then one November afternoon, in the foggy woods of North Fork, the Virgin comes to her, clear as day.
"L'île à moitié oubliée de Céphalonie s'élève imprudemment de la mer Ionienne. Elle est tellement chargée d'antiquité que les pierres elles-mêmes exhalent la nostalgie et que la terre rouge reste hébétée non seulement par le soleil mais aussi par le poids insupportable de la mémoire." Sur cette île en apparence bénie des dieux, des ouragans vont pourtant se déchaîner dès 1939; à l'occupation italienne va succéder l'invasion allemande et son cortège d'exactions. Puis, à partir de 1945, les maquis rouges feront régner leur terrible loi. Et quand enfin la paix semble revenue, le meurtrier tremblement de terre de 1953 dévaste Céphalonie à son tour. Que deviennent les destins individuels au cœur de tant de drames ? Un amour aussi fragile que celui de Pélagia, la jolie petite Grecque, et du séduisant capitaine Corelli peut-il leur résister ? Car comment résiste-t-on à la haine, la peur, la faim, la folie, la mort ? Est-il possible de continuer à vivre quand il ne reste plus que le souvenir, la tendresse, la musique - ah, la musique d'une certaine mandoline... à leur opposer ?
Shrouding themselves & their aims in secrecy, the leaders of the Taliban movement control Afghanistan with an inflexible, crushing fundamentalism. The most extreme & radical of all Islamic organizations, the Taliban inspires fascination, controversy & fear in both the Muslim world & the West. Correspondent Ahmed Rashid brings the shadowy world of the Taliban into focus in this enormously interesting & revealing book. It's the only authoritative account of the Taliban & modern day Afghanistan available to English language readers. Based on his experiences as a journalist covering the civil war in Afghanistan for 20 years, traveling & living with the Taliban, & interviewing most of the Taliban leaders since their emergence to power in 1994, Rashid offers unparalleled 1sthand information. He explains how the growth of Taliban power has already created severe instability in Russia, Iran, Pakistan & five Central Asian republics. He describes the Taliban's role as a major player in a new Great Game: a competition among Western countries & companies to build oil & gas pipelines from Central Asia to Western & Asian markets. The author also discusses the controversial changes in American attitudes toward the Taliban--from early support to recent bombings of Osama Bin Laden's hideaway & other Taliban-protected terrorist bases--& how they've influenced the stability of the region.
Dionisio Vivo, a young South American lecturer in philosophy, is puzzled by the hideously mutilated corpses that keep turning up outside his front door. To his friend, Ramon, one of the few honest policemen in town, the message is all too clear: Dionisio's letters to the press, exposing the drug barons, must stop; and although Dionisio manages to escape the hit-men sent to get him, he soon realizes that others are more vulnerable, and his love for them leads him to take a colossal revenge. "Senor Vivo and the Coca Lord is the second novel in a trilogy set in South America. It won a Commonwealth Writers Prize in 1992.