John McGahern (1934–2006) believed that fiction could act as a window on the world. Such windows, however, frame our fields of vision, alter and shape our perspectives. Far from being static, the artist’s perspective must continually evolve. This book provides a literary analysis of John McGahern’s artistic and poetic vision – his ‘ways of looking’, examining the shifting focus of this vision: how and why it develops, what effects such developments have on the work’s forms and how these fo...

Central banks are powerful but poorly understood organisations. In 1900 the Bank of Japan was the only central bank to exist outside Europe but over the past century central banking has proliferated. John Singleton here explains how central banks and the profession of central banking have evolved and spread across the globe during this period. He shows that the central banking world has experienced two revolutions in thinking and practice, the first after the depression of the early 1930s,...

This is a companion to The Creative Writing Handbook - now in its second edition. It is very much aimed at the individual writer, based on the idea that real writing comes from within and that writing is a craft, skill with determination, art with attitude. The book is filled with useful ideas and inspiring techniques for exploring and exploiting resources available, both within and without. It focuses on three major areas - the writer's roots (family, class and gender), the writer's resou...

A crisis is a period of uncertainty that may or may not lead to disaster, depending in part on the capacity of actors to make sense of what is happening and respond effectively. Disasters in different spheres occur and recur at different speeds and in idiosyncratic ways, but in essence they follow the same pattern. In the wake of the Global Financial Crisis and Eurozone upheavals this timely book argues that the disaster cycle - a framework normally used in the context of natural disasters...

This book analyzes the competitive forces which dominate this major sector, and traces how the nature of competition has evolved during the last two hundred years. Through an analysis of key factors, including demand, related and supporting industries, firm strategy, structure and national rivalry, chance and government policy, the author explains how and why the locus of competitive advantage in textiles and apparel has moved from country to country, particularly in the period since 1945....

This study of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand reveals why the Bank's presence in the national life is strong; illustrates how it is internationally renowned for its mandate to eliminate inflation, having been the first reserve or central bank in the world to adopt the "inflation targeting" approach to monetary policy; and looks at how the Bank maintains the integrity of the currency, preserves the stability of the financial system, and undertakes a range of activities on behalf of the peop...

This revised and updated edition of The Creative Writing Handbook now includes new chapters on writing for stage and radio and on writing screenplays for film and television. Written by professional writers and tutors, it covers all aspects of the writing process, from drafting first thoughts to shaping them into polished and publishable work. In a series of lively and stimulating chapters, all major areas of writing are explored, from screen-writing to short fiction, from autobio...

This collection of essays brings together historians examining social and economic crises from the thirteenth century to the twenty-first. Crisis is an almost ubiquitous concept for historians, applicable across (amongst others) the histories of agriculture, disease, finance and trade. Yet there has been little attempt to compare its use as an explanatory tool between these discrete fields of research. This volume breaks down the boundaries between traditional historical time periods and s...

20th Century Britain provides an authoritative and accessible survey of contemporary research on economic activity, society, political development and culture. Written by leading academics, it examines recent advances in scholarship and gives a grounding in established approaches and topics.The first part comprises thematic essays covering the whole of the twentieth century, including chapters on the economy, economic management, big business, parliamentary politics, leisu...

During the Civil War, John Singleton Mosby led the Forty-third Battalion, Virginia Cavalry, better known as Mosby's Rangers, in bold and daring operations behind Union lines. Throughout the course of the war, more than 2000 men were members of Mosby's command, some for only a short time. Mosby had few confidants (he was described by one acquaintance as "a disturbing companion") but became close friends with one of his finest officers, Samuel Forrer Chapman. Chapman served with Mosby for mo...

In April, 1861, I was attending court at Abingdon, Va., when I met a person who had just stepped out of the telegraph office, who informed me that tremendous tidings were passing over the wires. Going in, I inquired of the operator what it was, who told me that Lincoln had issued a proclamation calling out troops. Fort Sumter had fallen two days before. The public mind was already strained to a high pitch of excitement, and it required only a spark to produce an explosion. The indignation ...

"Mosby's War Reminiscences; Stuart's Cavalry Campaigns" is a compelling account by John Singleton Mosby, a Confederate cavalry officer known for his guerrilla tactics during the American Civil War. The book provides a firsthand perspective on the strategies and experiences of Mosby and his men as they engaged in daring raids and skirmishes against Union forces. Mosby's narrative is rich with detail, capturing the intensity of battle and the camaraderie among soldiers, while also reflecting...