The Imperfect Gentleman: on an Unimagined Journey


Book Description

Imran Ahmad thought that life was clear and unambiguous, good-and-bad, Heaven-and-Hell - as long as you had a solid moral foundation and rational beliefs based on the application of reason to empirical observation. Apparently, this was an oversimplification. The Perfect Gentleman (originally published as Unimagined) has touched the hearts of readers all over the world and received an astonishing breadth of acclaim from all quarters. For years, readers have been impatient for this, the long-overdue sequel ... The Imperfect Gentleman. With searing clarity, breathtaking honesty and a unique structure which encompasses stunning story arcs that span decades, Imran Ahmad explores what it is to be human - imperfect, insecure, superficial, sometimes ignorant, perhaps arrogant - in a world of extremes and narrow-minded convictions. A beautiful, complex, multilayered, often surprising world in which there are many versions of humanity for him to discover ... and Time is merely a means of organising our understanding. The boy who grew up wanting to be the perfect gentleman learns that nothing is quite so black-and-white in reality, and that no life can be lived in only a single genre. Written in a unique 'multi-genre' style, this unimagined journey is guaranteed to provoke and fascinate, as it explores the possibility that nothing we hold as absolute truth may actually be so. And that those whom we hate may actually be worthy of our deepest love. His website is: www.unimagined.co.uk




The Perfect Gentleman


Book Description

Both deliciously funny and deeply insightful, THE PERFECT GENTLEMAN is a beguiling multi-layered memoir that has touched the hearts of readers all over the world. At the age of one, Imran Ahmad moved from Pakistan to London, growing up torn between his Islamic identity and his desire to embrace the West. Join Imran in his lifelong struggle against corruption and injustice, and as he grapples with some of Life's most profound questions. What does God do exactly? Do you automatically go to Hell for following the wrong religion? How do you persuade a beautiful woman to become your girlfriend (and would driving a Jaguar XJS help?) Can you maintain a James Bond persona without the vodka, cigarettes and women - even whilst your parents are trying to arrange your marriage? Imran's unimagined journey makes thoughtful, compelling, and downright delightful reading. With a unique style and unflinching honesty, THE PERFECT GENTLEMAN addresses serious issues in an extraordinarily light way, and will leave readers both thinking deeply and laughing out loud.




My Own Worst Enemy


Book Description

Helps Women Overcome the Limitations They Place on Themselves Women often find that the biggest obstacle to being all they were created to be is themselves. Though they long to succeed, they can't silence the voice inside whispering, "Just who do you think you are?" Through stories of modern and biblical women, My Own Worst Enemy explores both the calling of women to shine and the complex dynamic of self-sabotage that often keeps them from daring to obey. Janet Davis shows women how to break the cycle of shame and self-doubt to achieve their full potential. Perfect for individuals or small groups, My Own Worst Enemy will encourage any woman who wants to stop holding herself back and begin living out her purpose in the kingdom.




The Shadow out of Time (時光幽影)


Book Description

One of the feature stories of the Cthulhu Mythos, "The Shadow Out of Time" is the tale of a professor of political economics that is thrown into a mind-shattering journey through time and space, while his body is held hostage by an alien mind. Horrified and panic-stricken by the implications of his experiences, he hopes against all reason and evidence that he has merely lost his mind.




Unimagined


Book Description

Imran Ahmad remembers his childhood in a series of vivid snapshots: outrage as deserved victory is snatched away from him in the Karachi Bonnie Baby contest; being tricked out of his collection of Tarzan bubblegum cards by a junior con artist; the heady taste of success in the Metropolitan Police schools quiz; joy at passing the entrance exam to the local grammar school; and shock at experiencing racist abuse from pupils, neighbors, and strangers. After moving to London from Karachi at age two, Imran's response to his strange new surroundings is to engage in an eternal quest to become the quintessential English gentleman: tie perfectly knotted, shirt pristinely ironed, hair neatly combed. Like most boys, he also has a parallel obsession with cars and girls: he yearns to go driving off into the distance in a Jaguar XJS and encountering danger, adventure, and a vivacious brunette. This is a lighthearted and amusing look at the results of East meeting West inside the head of a precocious and headstrong boy.




Man and His Symbols


Book Description

The landmark text about the inner workings of the unconscious mind—from the symbolism that unlocks the meaning of our dreams to their effect on our waking lives and artistic impulses—featuring more than a hundred images that break down Carl Jung’s revolutionary ideas “What emerges with great clarity from the book is that Jung has done immense service both to psychology as a science and to our general understanding of man in society.”—The Guardian “Our psyche is part of nature, and its enigma is limitless.” Since our inception, humanity has looked to dreams for guidance. But what are they? How can we understand them? And how can we use them to shape our lives? There is perhaps no one more equipped to answer these questions than the legendary psychologist Carl G. Jung. It is in his life’s work that the unconscious mind comes to be understood as an expansive, rich world just as vital and true a part of the mind as the conscious, and it is in our dreams—those personal, integral expressions of our deepest selves—that it communicates itself to us. A seminal text written explicitly for the general reader, Man and His Symbolsis a guide to understanding the symbols in our dreams and using that knowledge to build fuller, more receptive lives. Full of fascinating case studies and examples pulled from philosophy, history, myth, fairy tales, and more, this groundbreaking work—profusely illustrated with hundreds of visual examples—offers invaluable insight into the symbols we dream that demand understanding, why we seek meaning at all, and how these very symbols affect our lives. By illuminating the means to examine our prejudices, interpret psychological meanings, break free of our influences, and recenter our individuality, Man and His Symbols proves to be—decades after its conception—a revelatory, absorbing, and relevant experience.




Are You Seeing Me?


Book Description

Twins Justine and Perry have left their home in Australia and embarked on the road trip of a lifetime in the Pacific Northwest. It's been a year since their dad lost his battle with cancer and Justine became the sole caregiver for her autistic brother, Perry. Now Perry has been accepted into an assisted-living residence in their hometown, Brisbane, Australia, but before he takes up residence, they're seeking to create the perfect memory. For Perry, the trip is a glorious celebration of some of his favorite things: Ogopogo, Jackie Chan movies and earthquakes. For Justine, it's an opportunity to learn how to let go—of Perry, of her boyfriend, Marc—and to offer their mother the chance to atone for past wrongs. But the instability that has shaped their lives will not subside, and the seismic event that Perry forewarned threatens to reduce their worlds to rubble...




It All Turns on Affection


Book Description

An impassioned and rigorous appeal for reconnection to the land and human feeling by one of America’s most heartfelt and humble writers. When he accepted the invitation to deliver The Jefferson Lecture—our nation’s highest honor for distinguished intellectual achievement—Wendell Berry decided to take on the obligation of thinking again about the problems that have engaged him throughout his long career. He wanted a fresh start, not only in looking at the groundwork of the problems facing our nation and the earth itself, but in gaining hope from some examples of repair and healing even in these times of Late Capitalism and its destructive contagions. As a poet and writer he understood already that much can be gleaned from looking at the vocabulary of these problems themselves and how we describe them. And he settled on “affection” as a method of engagement and solution. The result is the greatest speech he has delivered in his six decades of public life. It All Turns on Affection will take its place alongside The Unsettling of America and The Gift of Good Land as major testaments to the power and clarity of his contribution to American thought. Also included are a small handful of other recent essays and a wonderful conversation between Mr. Berry, his wife Tanya Berry, and the head of the National Endowment of the Humanities Jim Leech, which took place just after the award was announced. The result offers a wonderful continuation of the long conversation Berry has had with his readers over many years and as well as a fine introduction to his life and work. “These powerful, challenging essays show why Berry’s vision of a sustainable, human–scaled society has proven so influential.” —Publishers Weekly “Wendell Berry is one of those rare individuals who speaks to us always of responsibility, of the individual cultivation of an active and aware participation in the arts of life.” —The Bloomsbury Review




Pride of Carthage


Book Description

This epic retelling of the legendary Carthaginian military leader’s assault on the Roman empire begins in Ancient Spain, where Hannibal Barca sets out with tens of thousands of soldiers and 30 elephants. After conquering the Roman city of Saguntum, Hannibal wages his campaign through the outposts of the empire, shrewdly befriending peoples disillusioned by Rome and, with dazzling tactics, outwitting the opponents who believe the land route he has chosen is impossible. Yet Hannibal’s armies must take brutal losses as they pass through the Pyrenees mountains, forge the Rhone river, and make a winter crossing of the Alps before descending to the great tests at Cannae and Rome itself. David Anthony Durham draws a brilliant and complex Hannibal out of the scant historical record–sharp, sure-footed, as nimble among rivals as on the battlefield, yet one who misses his family and longs to see his son grow to manhood. Whether portraying the deliberations of a general or the calculations of a common soldier, vast multilayered scenes of battle or moments of introspection when loss seems imminent, Durham brings history alive.