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  Arch Rascal An - From their pens...

  Knut Hamsun

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  Knud Pedersen was born in Lom in the Gudbrandsdal valley of Norway on the 4th of August, 1859 in what was then the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway.  He was the fourth son of seven children born to poor parents who, when he was three, were invited to an uncle’s farm to work his land. 
  When he was nine he moved away from his family to help another uncle who ran a post office.  Whilst with him he was beaten and starved which manifested in a series of chronic nervous difficulties.  The treatment endured for six years until he managed to escape back to Lom. 
  For some time he now took any job that was available to him, including store clerk, peddler, shoemaker's apprentice, sheriff's assistant, elementary-school teacher and ropemaker's apprentice.  At about the same time, with the wealth of these gained experiences, he began to explore his literary talents. 
  In 1877 he published his first book ‘The Enigmatic Man: A Love Story from Northern Norway’, others soon followed but real success only came in 1890 with ‘Hunger’, an influential work for later novelists with its internal monologue and bizarre logic.  His work is often associated with Pantheism; where nature and mankind are unified in a strong and often mystical bond.   
  His work was so influential that in 1920 he was awarded the Novel Prize for Literature. 
  Shortly after this point his works became fewer and his interests darker.  During World War II he became a fervent admirer of the Nazi’s, even meeting Hitler, even though German armies had overrun Norway.  With the war’s end he was detained on charges of treason.  His old age was apparently the primary reason given for Hamsun receiving only a fine.  Other reasons also sought to excuse his abhorrent behaviour but it was clear that whilst he was loved for his literature he was detested for his politics and morals. 
  His literary canon includes more than 20 novels, a poetry collection, short stories, plays, a travelogue, other works of non-fiction and essays. 
  Knut Hamsun died on the 19th February 1952 in Grimstad. He was 92.

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  Pirate Queen - The Life of Grace...

  Judith Cook

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  In a life stranger than any fiction, Grace O'Malley, daughter of a clan chief in the far west of Ireland, went from marriage at fifteen to piracy on the high seas. She soon had a fleet of galleys under her commander, but her three decades of plundering, kidnapping, murder and mayhem came to a close in 1586, when she was captured and sentenced to hang. 
   
   
   
  Saved from the scaffold by none other than Queen Elizabeth herself—another powerful woman in a man's world—Grace's life took another extraordinary turn, when it was rumored she had become intelligencer for the queen's spymaster, Sir Francis Walsingham. Was this the price of her freedom? 
   
   
   
  Judith Cook explores this and other questions about the life and times of this remarkable woman in a fascinating, thrilling, and impeccably researched book.

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  Saint Patrick Retold - The...

  Roy Flechner

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  This audiobook narrated by Gerry O'Brien sheds provocative new light on the life of Saint Patrick
  
  Saint Patrick was, by his own admission, a controversial figure. Convicted in a trial by his elders in Britain and hounded by rumors that he settled in Ireland for financial gain, the man who was to become Ireland's patron saint battled against great odds before succeeding as a missionary. Saint Patrick Retold draws on recent research to offer a fresh assessment of Patrick's travails and achievements. This is the first biography in nearly fifty years to explore Patrick's career against the background of historical events in late antique Britain and Ireland.
  
  Roy Flechner examines the likelihood that Patrick, like his father before him, might have absconded from a career as an imperial official responsible for taxation, preferring instead to migrate to Ireland with his family's slaves, who were his source of wealth. Flechner leaves no stone unturned as he takes readers on a riveting journey through Romanized Britain and late Iron Age Ireland, and he considers how best to interpret the ambiguous literary and archaeological evidence from this period of great political and economic instability, a period that brought ruin for some and opportunity for others. Rather than a dismantling of Patrick's reputation, or an argument against his sainthood, Flechner's biography raises crucial questions about self-image and the making of a reputation.
  
  From boyhood deeds to the challenges of a missionary enterprise, Saint Patrick Retold steps beyond established narratives to reassess a notable figure's life and legacy.

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  African-American Collection

  Various

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  This collection recognizes Black History Month, February 2007. Two excellent resources for public domain African American writing are African American Writers (Bookshelf) and The Book of American Negro Poetry, edited by James Weldon Johnson. Johnson's collection inspired the Harlem Renaissance generation to establish a firm African-American literary tradition in the United States. (Summary by Alan)

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  The Irish in the Resistance -...

  John Morgan, Clodagh Finn

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  'You simply couldn't stand by with your arms folded.'
  These were the words of Samuel Beckett who famously returned to France from a holiday in Ireland when World War II broke out. His clandestine work against the Nazi occupation of Europe is well documented, but there were many other ordinary Irish people who joined the underground network.
  Some took up arms. Others gathered intelligence, sheltered fugitives, committed acts of sabotage or broke codes. This new history tells the stories of those forgotten Irish men and women.
  Discover Captain John Keany from Cork, who parachuted into occupied Italy to help the local Resistance; Margaret Kelly, the Dublin founder of the world-famous Bluebell Girls cabaret troupe in Paris, who hid her Jewish husband; and Catherine Crean, the Irish governess born on Moore Street, Dublin, who was sent to a concentration camp for helping Allied airmen in Belgium.
  These, and many more stories, span the course of World War II and remind us of the power of individuals to make a difference.
  'An eye-opening account of how ordinary people caught up in extraordinary situations helped to fight the Nazis' David McCullagh
  'A truly important and groundbreaking book' Mary Kenny

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  Sol's Texaco

  Anthony Nesci

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  Sol’s Texaco is  a moving memoir set in the Italian-American neighbourhood of Larchmont, an affluent New York City suburb, in the early 1960s. Through the eyes of Tony, a young boy growing up in a close-knit community, the story revolves around a local gas station, Sol’s Texaco, which becomes a central hub of life lessons, adventures, and the awakening of a young 
  boy to the realities of the world around him.
   
  Through vivid anecdotes, Tony shares his experiences of friendship, baseball, and the trials of youth under the mentorship of Sol, the gas station owner, and Linroy, who both set Tony right when it came to racism and made a man out of him. The memoir beautifully captures the essence of childhood, the struggles of fitting in, and the importance of tolerance and community spirit. Raised in shadow of Italian mobsters, this book delves into the ingrained racial prejudices of the time, showing how these are often imparted in early childhood by those closest to us, but 
  also offers a message of hope and responsibility: even those shaped by such a situation can rise above it and become mentors, helping to create a more just and understanding world.
   
  As Tony navigates the complexities of racial and cultural differences, he dreams of escape and self-discovery, his path intertwined with music and the allure of distant Australia. Sol’s Texaco is more than just a story about a boy and a gas station; it’s a heartfelt journey through the formative years of a young life, shaped by the people and places that leave an indelible mark on one's identity.

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