David Ellis

"We are always reluctant to think about our own death but one way of being able to do so is through the experience of eloquent others. David Ellis's fascinating account of the last days of D.H. Lawrence, and of the sometimes bizarre events which followed his death, makes for compelling reading." "The book includes thoughtful and often grimly humorous reflections on what it is like to have a disease for which there is no cure, the appeal of alternative medicine, the temptation of suicide for the terminally ill, the diminishing role of religion in modern life, the institution of famous last words, and the consequences of dying interstate." "Lawrence is the main focus throughout but there are extended references to Keats, Katherine Mansfield, Kafka, Chekhov and George Orwell and other famous literary consumptives."--Jacket.

1 v. (unpaged) : 18 cm

"Christopher Keen, once a master spy, is murdered in cold blood. His sons Mark and Benjamin, though they hadn't seen their father for over twenty years, are now drawn into the legacy of his life as a spy as they set out to discover the truth and avenge their father's death. But as their search proceeds, more questions arise--is Christopher's death connected to his past life in MI6? Was his eldest son involved in a conspiracy that links him to Moscow, Afghanistan, and the Russian mafia? [The] author ... delivers a thriller that delves into the complicated double lives of spies, and what happens when their half-told secrets die with them"--

"A high school drop-out who served in the American army and then managed to slip into Oxford on the G.I. bill, Frank Cioffi gained a considerable public reputation in Freudian and Wittgensteinian circles. Frank Cioffi: The Philosopher in Context is an account of his conversation is written in a Boswellian spirit, capturing the sharp intelligence, boisterous sense of humour and wealth of illustration Cioffi was able to bring to bear on life's biggest problems when he was, as if were, off-duty. Tackling subjects such as the unruly body, the challenge of art, dealing with failure, the lure of science, the meaning of life, our understanding of others, depression, the case for suicide, and death, David Ellis describes how a philosopher who was profoundly influenced by Wittgenstein dealt with general issues and creates a vivid impression of an unusual and gifted individual. This portrait is followed by a post-script in which Nicholas Bunnin, who worked in the philosophy department at Essex when Cioffi was a professor there, situates him in a more strictly academic context and discusses his less well-known essays on literary criticism and the behavioural sciences, arguing for Cioffi's potential to inspire those seeking a role for analytic philosophy within the broader scope of humanistic philosophy. A mixture of personal portrait and academic introduction, Frank Cioffi: The Philosopher in Context provides an elegant and enjoyable tribute to Cioffi as both man and philosopher."--Bloomsbury Publishing.