Matthew Baxter was almost there. Almost a writer, almost a lover, almost a traveller. He wrote for the Tread Lightly range of travel guides, he loved his boss and he was about to catch a plane to the south. His job was to give an out-of-season slant to the Italian guide, and he was ready. Almost. For everything wasn't exactly as it should have been. In fact, nothing was exactly as it should have been. Especially Matthew Baxter. Peter Benson's new novel is a tour of southern Italy, and aims...

Ed Beech is one half of Beech Building Services. He's based in Bermondsey but no job's too small, no distance too great. So when he's asked to do some work on a house in Orkney, he loads the van with paint, tools and sandwiches, and takes off. He gets nervous around farm animals and large ships, and he's never been so far north, but when he's joined by Claire, his client's city banker sister, he discovers that in Stromness, anything is possible.Peter Benson's compelling new novel continues...

Battling Siki (1887–1925) was once one of the four or five most recognizable black men in the world, and was written about in detail by such figures as Ring Lardner and his son John, Damon Runyon, and Westbrook Pegler. One can find his legacy in the name of a popular rock group, one of Che Guevara’s lieutenants, a character on Xena, Warrior Princess, and the Battling Siki Hotel in the fighter’s homeland, Senegal. Peter Benson’s biography of the first African to win a world championshipin b...

The literal translation of the Latin vade mecum is "go with me", a small reference book that you carry with you. Managing Blind is a small, easy to read guide to the real life challenges of data quality and data governance. With over thirty years of experience working in six of the seven continents (he has not made it to Antarctica yet) and across a wide range of industries from agriculture, mining, manufacturing, processing, transportation, banking, finance, insurance, and healthcare, Pet...

A refreshed edition of a practical and charming introduction to the time-honored craft of whittling—now with brand-new step-by-step illustrations.Whittling can help you relax even as you create useful and beautiful art with just a knife and some timber. The Whittling Handbook helps beginners explore this time-honored craft and learn foundational skills, from gathering the basic tools to choosing the right wood to keeping your knife sharp. Begin with straig...

“One of the most important contributions to the field of contract theory—if not the most important—in the past 25 years.” —Stephen A. Smith, McGill UniversityCan we account for contract law on a moral basis that is acceptable from the standpoint of liberal justice? To answer this question, Peter Benson develops a theory of contract that is completely independent of—and arguably superior to—long-dominant views, which take contract law to be justified on the basis of...

"Engaging and entertaining, it's the perfect read to provide a bit of escapism." – Rhianon Holley; Buzz Magazine. Fargo Hawkins is 20, he's Harry Swaine's gardener. One day, after he sees a fight between Harry and his wife Anne, Fargo steals a car and he, Anne and a dog called Radar go on the run. They are chased across England by Harry, a firm of detectives and their emotions. Eventually, at a caravan site in Wales, the climax between Fargo and Harry unfolds.

Tobacco Capitalism tells the story of the people who live and work on U.S. tobacco farms at a time when the global tobacco industry is undergoing profound changes. Against the backdrop of the antitobacco movement, the globalization and industrialization of agriculture, and intense debates over immigration, Peter Benson draws on years of field research to examine the moral and financial struggles of growers, the difficult conditions that affect Mexican migrant workers, and the comp...

This one-of-a-kind literary and conceptual experiment does anthropology differently—in all the wrong ways. No field trips. No other cultures. This is a personal journey within anthropology itself, and a kind of love story. A critical, candid, hilarious take on the culture of academia and, ultimately, contemporary society.Stuck Moving follows a professor affected by bipolar disorder, drug addiction, and a stalled career who searches for meaning and purpose within a sanctimo...

Privatization and the New Medical Pluralism is the first collection of its kind to explore the contemporary terrain of healthcare in Guatemala through reflective ethnography. This volume offers a nuanced portrait of the effects of healthcare privatization for indigenous Maya people, who have historically endured numerous disparities in health and healthcare access. The collection provides an updated understanding of medical pluralism, which concerns not only the tensions and exchanges betw...

Drawing on unpublished archival sources, this book reconstitutes the experiences of a wide range of American artists, critics, and writers working in Rome in a charged environment of “Cold War cosmopolitanism.”After the Second World War, American artists flocked to Rome in record numbers, even as the United States shored up Italy as a bulwark against the spread of Communism. While the market for modern art in Rome was less vigorous as those in Paris and New York, n...

E. F. Benson's "Peter" is a masterful exploration of human relationships, identity, and societal expectations, set against the backdrop of early 20th-century England. The novel intricately weaves a narrative that unfolds through the life of its eponymous character, Peter, who navigates his complex emotions and interactions in a world marked by both rigid hierarchies and the emerging modern sensibilities. Benson's prose is characterized by its sharp wit and rich, evocative descriptions, ech...