Focuses on the intricate skill of creating Japanese Netsuke. Including step- by-step instructions accompanied by many colour photographs, this title is suitable for carvers of various abilities, from the relative beginner to the experienced and dedicated carver to create their own miniature carvings reflecting Japanese tradition.
Orkney is a long way from London but when Bermondsey odd job man Ed and city banker Claire end up in Stromness they find anything is possible there in this compelling novel. Kind, funny, narrated by white van man Ed, Peter Benson's 'The Stromness Dinner' is the story of a very contemporary relationship in which two Londoners follow their dreams.
"Battling Siki 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 Pelger. 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 - the first ever of this controversial and misunderstood boxer, the first African to win a world championship - delves into the complex world of sports, race, colonialism, and the cult of personality in the early twentieth century." "Born Amadou Fall, Siki was taken from Senegal to France by an actress and assumed the name Louis M'barick Fall. After an inauspicious beginning as a boxer, he served in World War I with distinction then returned to boxing and complied a most impressive record (forty-three wins in forty-six bouts). Then, on September 24, 1922, at Paris's Buffalo Velodrome, before forty thousand stunned spectators (including a young Ernest Hemingway, who wrote about the fight). Battling Siki, employing his trademark "windmill" punch, fought and defeated the reigning world and European light-heavyweight champion, Georges Carpentier." "The colorful Siki spent a fortune partying and carousing, was arrested for firing pistols in the air, and was frequently seen on the streets of Paris, dressed in flashy clothes, walking his pet lion cubs on a leash. But he also provoked scandals by exposing the corruption of the fight game in France, speaking out boldly against racism, and being arrested for deliberately defying the code of racial segregation in the American South. Newsmen largely created Siki's flamboyant image. In fact, the real Siki, while he certainly did like to party, was also an intelligent and socially conscious person, who detested the media's image of him as a simple-minded drunken savage."--Jacket
Battling Siki (1887-1925) was once one of the four or five most recognizable black men in the world and was written about by a host of great writers, including George Bernard Shaw, Ring Lardner, Damon Runyon, Janet Flanner, and Ernest Hemingway. This is a biography Siki.
This delightful books guides users though the gentle art of whittling using step-by-step photography and fun projects including: letter opener, thumb stick, ring tree and egg cup.
A novel about a young boy whose first encounter with love both bruises and enlarges his vision of the world
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.
A compelling coming-of-age tale, in which Benson employs surfing as a metaphor, adding graceful comic details and a series of charming secondary characters, Riptide is an intense, even transcendent examination of a young man s struggle to establish his identity while facing the loss of both parents. On his nineteenth birthday in an English seaside town, Duncan Blaine gets a clue to the whereabouts of his mother, Diana, who, nine years earlier, left him to be raised by relatives when a tragic accident took the life of her husband. When he meets her Duncan is also introduced to the new man in her life, a cardiac surgeon with whom she intends to live in Canada. Distraught at the prospect of yet another separation, Duncan attempts to reconcile with his mother while conducting a passionate affair with an employee of the inn where he is staying."
This delightful book guides the reader through the basics starting with straightforward projects such as a garden dibber and a paper knife, then progresses to more complex and intricate items. The tools you'll need, plus the basic techniques and how to perform them safely are all covered in a clear and easy-to-follow way.
Peter Benson's new novel is a story of (almost) unrequited love and a meditation on the possibility of redemption. It's also a tour of southern Italy, and aims to prove that although some people say Never go back, some people don't know what they're talking about.