St. Matthews, once a prominent neighborhood of Louisville, is now a fourth-class city within metro Louisville. The first settlers came to the area in the 1780s, and for more than a century St. Matthews was largely an agricultural area where farmers specialized in growing potatoes. By 1900, a commercial district had grown at the intersection of several roads, known locally as the Point, and the land devoted to farming was gradually taken over by new commercial and residential development. A...

This is Glasgow journalist Cliff Hanley’s sparkling, unsentimental and uproariously funny account of growing up in the Gallowgate and then Shettleston in the 1920s and 1930s and his working life as a radio broadcaster and journalist in the 1940s and 1950s. A natural-born raconteur with a marvellous ear for dialect, Hanley has an extraordinary ability to bring alive the people and places to give a vibrant snapshot of Scotland’s largest city.These razor-sharp observations of times lo...

The classic Glasgow Memoir with a new introduction by Tom MortonThis is Clifford Hanley's vibrant, unsentimental and hilarious account of growing up in the 1920s and '30s, and his later working life as a radio broadcaster and journalist.His razor-sharp observations and anecdotes cover many topics, from family life, art and showbiz to politics, sex, TB and what it was like to be a conscientious objector during the Second World War. But even the most bittersweet stories are...

1939: fascism spreads across Europe, Franco marches on Barcelona and two German chemists discover the processes of atomic fission. In Berkeley, California, theoretical physicists recognise the horrendous potential of this new science: a weapon that draws its power from the very building blocks of the universe.Struggling to cast off his radical past and thrust into a position of power and authority, the charismatic J Robert Oppenheimer races to win the 'battle of the laboratories' a...

A funeral celebrant's story about how celebrating death, and creating personalized space for grief, can enrich lives and give meaning to death.After a close encounter with death, Tom Morton realised he needed a change of pace and perspective. He decided to become the only independent funeral celebrant on the remote Shetland Islands, an unusual new profession that would lead him on an extraordinary journey into the world of the dead.In a vivid narrative that...

Tom Morton-Smith is an Olivier Award-winning playwright whose works for the stage span intimate theatrical biopics to scientific explorations and broad epics. In this, his first play collection, his major stage works are brought together for the first time in a definitive edition showcasing his extensive range as a dramatist, and introduced by the author himself.In Doggerland*: “Morton-Smith's script is both poetic and philosophical, a thoughtful meditation on the ...

The current shift to renewable energy is dominated by globalised energy companies building large-scale wind and solar plants. This book discusses the consequences and possibilities of this shift in India, Germany, and Australia, focusing on regions which have now largely decarbonised electricity generation. The authors show how centralised models of energy provision are maintained, and chart their impacts in terms of energy geography, social stratification, and socio-ecological appropriati...

What are the democratic requirements for effective climate action? how can ‘climate democracy’ be conceptualised?Liberal democracies emerged on the back of fossil fuels, creating what Tim Mitchell called ‘carbon democracy’. Three decades of climate policy have affirmed the controlling influence of fossil fuel interests. Runaway climate change now threatens the very foundations of social life. Today we face a very clear democratic question, of whether the fossil fuel sector has the ...

Tom Morton, keen motorcyclist, funeral celebrant and whisky aficionado, takes us on a journey around the globe, exploring the links between famous alcoholic spirits and spirituality.Winner Best Drink Book at the Fortnum & Mason Food and Drink Awards 2023Waters of life. Distilled spirits of all kinds have borne that name, in various tongues, since time immemorial. Aqua vita. Eau de vie. Uisge Beatha.Tom Morton has travelled the world...

Dylan Singer needs to leave London. With his alcoholic ex-fiancée he heads to Central Asia, to research the book he's always dreamt of writing. But it's 2002, the height of the War on Terror, and Uzbekistan isn't the belly-dancing opium den they have been led to believe.From 11th Century Samarkand, through the Great Fire of London, to a disused weapons facility in the remotest place on earth, Salt Meets Wound is an epic odyssey spanning a thousand years.Tom Morton-Smith's de...

Reykjavik, 1972. All eyes are on Iceland ahead of 'the Match of the Century': Boris Spassky vs. Bobby Fischer. For the two contenders, the stakes have never been higher – the world title, unprecedented prize money, and stratospheric fame are all on the table.

"A wonderful slice of home, food and family from one of the most beautiful places on earth: this book is heaven." – Jenny ColganShetland is where Scotland meets Scandinavia and the North Sea hits the Atlantic Ocean. Isolated, unspoilt and rich in history and tradition, Shetland is a truly singular place. And for James and Tom Morton, it’s home.Shetland: Cooking on the Edge of the World explores life on an island with food...