162 pages

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Celebrities' Favourite Books , livre ebook

Andrews UK - Jeff Thorburn

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162 pages

English

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Dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, characterised by mental deterioration and degeneration of the brain, is distressing for both sufferers and those who care for them, and Celebrities' Favourite Books is dedicated to those affected.Containing around 100 letters from well-known people nominating their all-time favourite reads and explaining their choice, this book is designed both to stimulate an interest in reading novels and also to raise awareness of Alzheimer's disease.With a fitting foreword by Princess Alexandra, the aim of the book is to highlight the plight of sufferers and raise awareness of, and funds for, the valuable work carried out by the Alzheimer's Society.

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Publié par	Andrews UK
Date de parution	22 juin 2011
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781907792182
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0300€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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Contents

Title Page Publisher Information Dedication Acknowledgements Foreword Introduction

Celebrities' Favourite Books

Also Available

3 4 5 6 7 8

157

CELEBRITIES’ FAVOURITE BOOKS

Compiled by Jeff Thorburn

Foreword by Princess Alexandra

APEX PUBLISHING LTD

First published in 2009 by Apex Publishing Ltd PO Box 7086 Clacton on Sea Essex CO15 5WN www.apexpublishing.co.uk

Digital Edition converted and published by Andrews UK Limited 2010 www.andrewsuk.com

The author has asserted his moral rights

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

All rights reserved. This book is sold subject to the condition that no part of this book is to be reproduced, in any shape or form. Or by way of trade, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition, including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser, without prior permission of the copyright holder.

Production Manager: Chris Cowlin

Cover Design: Siobhan Smith

This book is dedicated with love to Evelyn Doughty and in loving memory of Bert Doughty who sacrificed his own health caring for her.

This book is also for all those who suffer from dementia and all those who are dedicated to their care.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank all those who were generous and sympathetic enough to share their private thoughts and contribute to this book. Without them this fundraising effort would not be possible.

I would also like to thank Chris Cowlin at Apex Publishing Ltd for agreeing to take on this project with such enthusiasm.

Thanks also to John Morris for suggesting the idea for the project.

Finally I would like to thank you, the reader, for buying this book and thus contributing to the work of the Alzheimer's Society. I hope you get as much enjoyment from these pages as I did when I received the letters and prepared the manuscript.

Jeff Thorburn

OREWORD

This book is dedicated to Evelyn Doughty, who has been living with vascular dementia for several years.

Her son-in-law Jeff Thorburn, hopes the book will raise much needed funds for the Alzheimer’s Society.

This book is destined to achieve enduring appeal and I hope you will enjoy reading it.

Princess Alexandra

vii

INTRODUCTION

After watching my mother-in-law, Evelyn, suffer from dementia for several years and seeing the effect this has had on both her as a person and the family, I felt compelled to try to raise funds for the Alzheimer’s Society in the hope that further research can help to understand this terrible affliction and maybe even find a cure.

The Alzheimer’s Society does great work in raising awareness of the issues surrounding dementia in all its forms, and helps both sufferers and carers with advice and information and provides practical support. It also researches the causes, nature and treatment of dementia.

In order to raise funds, I decided to write to famous people, asking them to explain what their favourite book is and why. I felt that by asking people to express their appreciation of their favourite book this would hopefully encourage others to read novels they may never have considered. At the same time, it would be a good way of raising funds for the Alzheimer’s Society and raising awareness of the work it does and the plight of those who suffer from dementia.

The responses I received are contained within this book. Many who contributed confided that dementia had also affected their family in some way and hoped the book would succeed in raising funds for such a worthy cause.

viii

BRIAN ALDISS WRITER/CRITIC

It is difficult to choose an entirely favourite book. Over the space of a long lifetime there are several I would once have named. For instance, as a young boy, I would probably have namedTHE WORLD IN DARKNESS by Murray Roberts, an adventure featuring Captain Justice, my boyhood hero!

Later on, there are several of Thomas Hardy’s novels, most notablyTHE MAYOR OF CASTERBRIDGE, but also his beautiful smaller novels, such asTHE WOODLANDERS, the inescapable choice of Jane Austen’sPRIDE AND PREJUDICEand some of Charles Dickens’ novels -GREAT EXPECTATIONSin particular. Rather less obviously, I would nameTHE LOST STEPSby the Cuban-born writer Alejo Carpentier, which my wife and I have read time and time again.

But my favourite novel of later years is not one of these illustrious titles. For me, the most cherished novel is Leo Tolstoy’s most neglected novelRESURRECTION. I have three translations of this novel on my shelves, of which the one I most prefer is the translation made by Rosemary Edmonds, published by Penguin Books.

This is the novel the mighty Tolstoy wrote in 1899, in his old age. He died in 1910, at a time when a camera was present to record the masses who attended his passing and to pay him homage.

RESURRECTIONprovides us with a panorama not only of Russia, but of humanity in general; it depicts something of the aristocratic life as rendered inANNA KARENINA, while also giving a vivid picture of the underworld.

The chief character in the book is Count Nekhlyudov. Nekhlyudov in his aristocratic youth has wronged a woman, by name Maslova, who was in his employ. Many years later he finds himself acting as judge over a small number of criminals, among whom Maslova is a defendant. Maslova, although still beautiful, has been hardened by her experiences among the lower orders of society into whose company she has been plunged. It is Nekhlyudov’s decision to make up for the wrong he did the young woman. When he asks her to forgive him, that is something she cannot and will not do. So this great story continues with the Count eventually deciding that he must marry Maslova. He follows Maslova into exile in Siberia.

Among the many difficult questions Tolstoy asks is this one in Chapter 30: “Why and by what right does one class of people lock up, torture, exile, flog and kill other people, when they themselves are no better than those whom they torture, flog and kill?”

The whole theme of the book concerns the importance of repentance and forgiveness. I find it profound and salutary for us today, when so many films from Hollywood - to take an instance - seem to glorify Revenge, the destructive opposite of Forgiveness. The more I re-read this, Tolstoy’s last novel, the more I am struck by its grandeur and by the many characters who inhabit it. Also, I have deep sympathy for the concluding paragraph of the novel, which runs as follows:

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