The Herald Diary 2022/23


Book Description

It was a year that careered out of control, with the natives of Scotland feeling like passengers in a souped-up dodgem car being driven by a crackpot clown without a valid driving licence. Luckily The Herald's Diary column was able to cover the toppling of Boris Johnson, the triumphs of Liz Truss, a huge green-hued shindig and a bat-like creature fighting crime on the streets of Glasgow. All before the outpouring of Royal grief in September when we said goodbye to the Queen and came to terms with "God Save the King". Away from the monarchy, there was the surreal story of a woolly mammoth who might one day play for Scotland, a knight in armour visiting an Edinburgh pub, a cow patiently waiting for a train, Santa climbing a statue and an emu loose in Livingston. And the year also saw a mysterious entity called . . . the Platty Jubes? This cockamamie compilation presents all sorts of shenanigans to round off a year like no other. All with that patented Diary twist.




The Green & White House


Book Description

'Carefully researched and excellently written . . . a wonderful account of the special relationship between Ireland and the USA.' BERTIE AHERN 'Anybody with an interest in Irish-American politics and personalities will want to read The Green and White House.' DICK SPRING Intimate, complex, long-lasting: the links between Ireland and US presidents extend much further and deeper than JFK. From Andrew Jackson in 1829 to Woodrow Wilson in 1913 and Joe Biden in 2021, Ireland's sway in the White House is hugely significant. Handwritten letters, weatherworn tombstones, shipping records and even an old desk unlock the ancestral secrets of 23 presidents. Spanning the centuries from covered wagons to the American Revolution, the birth of the Irish Republic to JFK's heady glamour, The Green and White House takes in political machinations and the firebrands who pushed for freedom, justice and peace for Ireland. For centuries, Irish emigrants crossed the Atlantic by boat, but an intense diplomatic bromance has seen American commanders-in-chief returning to remote Irish villages via Air Force One and armoured limousines. Incredible stories spring from these presidential visits. High-tech phones are installed in an ancient cemetery while an Aran cardigan is treated like a hostile device. Anti-personnel nets produce a bumper catch of salmon, but a Secret Service gun is lost then found amid a jubilant crowd. Each homecoming - always conducted with a twinkle in the eye - turns local people into international media darlings. But this transatlantic courtship, forged over the unearthed mysteries of sprawling family trees, has secured Ireland an annual invite to the White House - something no other nation can rival. THE GREEN AND WHITE HOUSE takes a wry look at the special relationship one tiny nation shares with the world's greatest superpower.




The Herald Diary: Owling with Laughter


Book Description

You can have a lot of laughs in ten years, which is why we have collected the very best of the amusing stories encountered by the readers of The Herald Diary column over the past decade. There was even a Scottish Labour Prime Minister all those years ago, Celtic fans could only dream that their team would begin its quest for 10 titles in a row, and the word Covid was simply a typing error for David or cove. So as everyone could really do with a smile just now, we have combed well over two thousand Diary columns to bring the best of what made Scots laugh over the last ten years, whether it is the sharpest humour from pubs, the daft things children say or the humour from all sides of Scottish courts, the very best are here.




In My Mind's Eye: A Thought Diary


Book Description

A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice Selection Riffing on cats and Brexit, the Royals and the annoyances of aging, the nonagenarian Jan Morris delights with her wickedly hilarious first-ever diary collection. Celebrated as the “greatest descriptive writer of her time” (Rebecca West), Jan Morris has been dazzling readers since she burst on the scene with her on-the-spot reportage of the first ascent of Everest in 1953. Now, the beloved ninety-two-year-old, author of classics such as Venice and Trieste, embarks on an entirely new literary enterprise—a collection of daily diaries, penned over the course of a single year. Ranging widely from the idyllic confines of her North Wales home, Morris offers diverse sallies on her preferred form of exercises (walking briskly), her frustration at not recognizing a certain melody humming in her head (Beethoven’s Pathétique, incidentally), her nostalgia for small-town America, as well as intimate glimpses into her home life. With insightful quips on world issues, including Britain’s “special relationship” with the United States and the #MeToo movement, In My Mind’s Eye will charm old and new Jan Morris fans alike.




The Herald Diary 2010


Book Description

In uncertain times we all need a good laugh, and this brand new collection from THE HERALD DIARY is sure to help. In Purrsuit of Happiness has hundreds of strange, amusing and hilarious tales that will bring a smie to even the most grim-faced banker, politician or traffic warden. So go on, crack a smile and enjoy!




Why Race Still Matters


Book Description

'Why are you making this about race?' This question is repeated daily in public and in the media. Calling someone racist in these times of mounting white supremacy seems to be a worse insult than racism itself. In our supposedly post-racial society, surely it’s time to stop talking about race? This powerful refutation is a call to notice not just when and how race still matters but when, how and why it is said not to matter. Race critical scholar Alana Lentin argues that society is in urgent need of developing the skills of racial literacy, by jettisoning the idea that race is something and unveiling what race does as a key technology of modern rule, hidden in plain sight. Weaving together international examples, she eviscerates misconceptions such as reverse racism and the newfound acceptability of 'race realism', bursts the 'I’m not racist, but' justification, complicates the common criticisms of identity politics and warns against using concerns about antisemitism as a proxy for antiracism. Dominant voices in society suggest we are talking too much about race. Lentin shows why we actually need to talk about it more and how in doing so we can act to make it matter less.




The Herald Diary 2022/23


Book Description

It was a year that careered out of control, with the natives of Scotland feeling like passengers in a souped-up dodgem car being driven by a crackpot clown without a valid driving licence. Luckily The Herald's Diary column was able to cover the toppling of Boris Johnson, the triumphs of Liz Truss, a huge green-hued shindig and a bat-like creature fighting crime on the streets of Glasgow. All before the outpouring of Royal grief in September when we said goodbye to the Queen and came to terms with "God Save the King". Away from the monarchy, there was the surreal story of a woolly mammoth who might one day play for Scotland, a knight in armour visiting an Edinburgh pub, a cow patiently waiting for a train, Santa climbing a statue and an emu loose in Livingston. And the year also saw a mysterious entity called . . . the Platty Jubes? This cockamamie compilation presents all sorts of shenanigans to round off a year like no other. All with that patented Diary twist.




It's a Book!


Book Description

A wry exchange between an IT-savvy donkey, a book-loving ape and a mouse forms this very funny picture book that's perfect for both digital natives and book lovers. With a subversive and signature Lane Smith twist, this satisfying and perfectly executed picture book has something to say to children and adults alike about the importance and joy of reading.It's a Book is another bold and funny story from the creator of the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal-winning There Is a Tribe of Kids, Lane Smith.




Alberta's Cornerstone


Book Description

The fascinating exploration of a vanished settlement in Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park, told within the framework of an archaeologist’s memoir. While excavating Alberta’s most important historic sandstone quarry, archaeologist and oral historian Shari Peyerl uncovers fascinating clues about the province’s past. From metal fragments and dusty artifacts, she pieces together a story about a settlement situated in today’s picturesque Glenbow Provincial Park. Chronicling the development of ranching, village life, industry, and the Canadian Pacific Railway, Alberta’s Cornerstone is an engaging and authoritative history that reads like an archaeological detective story. As Peyerl dispels archaeological myths, explains scientific techniques, and shares the excitement of unearthing lost histories, she introduces readers to a colourful array of characters who once lived at Glenbow, including a local embezzler, Alberta’s first graduate nurse, a Canadian soccer champion, an acclaimed mathematician, and a member of an international spy agency. Written for the general public, the detective-like attention to detail of this carefully annotated book will also appeal to historical scholars. Beautifully illustrated with modern colour photographs and many historic photographs (including fifteen previously unpublished), Alberta’s Cornerstone brings the ghosts of Glenbow to life.




Left in the Center


Book Description

Daniel Soyer's history of the Liberal Party of New York State, Left in the Center, shows the surprising relationship between Democratic Socialism and mainstream American politics. Beginning in 1944 and lasting until 2002, the Liberal Party offered voters an ideological seal of approval and played the role of strategic kingmaker in the electoral politics of New York State. The party helped elect presidents, governors, senators, and mayors, and its platform reflected its founders' social democratic principles. In practical politics, the Liberal Party's power resided in its capacity to steer votes to preferred Democrats or Republicans with a reasonable chance of victory. This uneasy balance between principle and pragmatism, which ultimately proved impossible to maintain, is at the heart of the dramatic political story presented in Left in the Center. The Liberal Party, the longest-lived of New York's small parties, began as a means for anti-Communist social democrats to have an impact on the politics and policy of New York City, Albany, and Washington, DC. It provided a political voice for labor activists, independent liberals, and pragmatic social democrats. Although the party devolved into what some saw as a cynical patronage machine, it remained a model for third-party power and for New York's influential Conservative and, later, the Working Families parties. With an active period ranging from the successful senatorial career of Jacob Javits to the mayoralties of John Lindsay and Rudy Giuliani, the Liberal Party effectively shaped the politics and policy of New York. The practical gains and political cost of that complicated trade-off is at the heart of Left in the Center.