The struggles of a professional writer and aspiring author, with book reviews and observations on the art of writing.
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Greed, Rich & Riots
Published on 2011-08-12 09:08:00
Greed is the sine non qua of our society. Back in the openly greedy days of the power-shouldered eighties, when lunch was for wimps and greed was a healthy appetite, through the caring nineties, and the naughty noughties, the avarice for more has never declined. The gap between the haves, and, in Bush's words, the have-mores, and the have-nothings has increased exponentially; within countries, between countries.Do we need to look at examples of greed from those who believe themselves so privileg
The Most Unlikely Agent ZigZag
Published on 2011-07-26 07:06:00
Eddie Chapman was the most extraordinary WWII spy you will never have heard of. Were he a fictional character, you would not find him credible.I met him while browsing a second-hand book shop where my attention was drawn to his existence by a book entitled Agent Zigzag by Ben Macintyre. Implausible title, improbable character, I thought. A wannabe blockbuster, I thought, till I read the blurb where I discovered it was reprint for World Book Night 2011; to quote: 'one of 40,000 copies printed of
Bastard
Published on 2011-07-13 02:11:00
I have known of Rupert Murdoch and his methods since he took over The Times in 1981.I was a new group head in Leo Burnett, the advertising agency, and the paper was one of my accounts. I wrote the line ' Have you ever wished you were better informed?' Sounds clunky now, but we didn't have Wikipedia in those days. (And schoolboys called William ran round in ragged flannel shorts with a catapult stuffed in their pockets.)Brian Todd (if I remember correctly) was the marketing manager. A chain-smoki