United Kingdom Books

There are plenty of stories about the boy who ran away to join the circus,
but few such actual boys. Gerry Cottle is one. He had had a British middle class upbringing, and was sent to a fine grammar school, where "I had done as little work as possible, bluffed my way through every test and bunked a day's school wherever I could in order to work on my circus skills." And so in 1961 at age fifteen he ran away, leaving a message to his parents, "Please do not under any circumstances try to find me. I have gone forever. I have joined the circus. You do not understand me... I have gone." He had at age eight formed his ultimate ambition, to own the biggest circus Britain had ever seen, and he was to make good on that goal, and many others besides. He tells a colorful life story (with documentary maker Helen Batten) in _Confessions of a Showman: My Life in the Circus_ (Vision), a lively warts-and-all autobiography that tells his unique story from elephant muck to big top success, with world travel and cocaine addiction thrown in.

Cottle had taught himself juggling with fruits from his mother's kitchen, and his dad even encouraged performance in front of his Masonic lodge when Cottle was thirteen. Having left home, he took up in the Roberts Brothers Circus, where among other things he played the rear end of a pantomime horse. He had other menial tasks, cleaning up after the elephants being the worst one; the circus was grubby hard work, and he loved it. He got to perform, but realized that as much as he enjoyed showing off, especially to the girls, he was not the most talented of ring acts. He could only be big in the circus by owning and directing one, and he wound up being the owner of several in succession and simultaneously. He had a tempestuous marriage to a woman from a circus family, complicated by a difficult life on the road and his womanizing and drug use. Before it wound up, the marriage did produce three daughters, who became, respectively, a juggler, a trapeze artist, and a trick rider. Cottle expresses enormous fondness for his daughters, and also for the son who has gone into non-circus public relations. He gives a bitter history of his run-ins with animal rights protesters, and eventually keeping animals in the acts was more trouble than it was worth. Cottle thinks that this reflects a prejudice against circuses that is a particular form of English snobbery. "In the rest of Europe circus is seen as a precious art form, which is ironic when circus started in Britain. Here we are seen as barely better than gypsies, and we all know how they are treated."

Cottle moved on to the Circus of Horrors, which was a big success with young people, and to fun fairs, and his current project of the caves and the amusement park at Wookey Hole. He has been clean of cocaine for several years; his book has many harrowing stories about the effects of his habit on his business and on his family life. Cottle, now that he is an elder statesman for the circus, is no longer running a circus, but he has, after many falls, landed on his feet. There are plenty of passages of sadness, financial reverses, and self recrimination in his book, but overall it is a rollicking memoir of a unique life. Readers will learn the vital nature of candy floss (that's cotton candy to Americans) to make or break a circus's budget. There are details of how to transport a circus overseas, with all the animals, as Cottle responded in 1975 to the decree of the Sultan of Oman: "He wants a British circus in Oman in December." (What simpler times those were.) On another trip he and his circus found themselves in the middle of the Iranian revolution. Like any showman, he gives descriptions that leave the reader wishing to be able to see the thing described, like the "hot-air balloon father and daughter act which consisted of the balloon whirling around at an impossible speed and them falling out and their clothes falling off." He reveals the trick of how to stick one's head into a crocodile's mouth, but there is no trick that will let one escape from the greatest danger, the vile breath of the crocodile. He tells how he staged the worlds largest _Guinness_-approved) custard pie fight, complete with two concrete mixers to make the custard. His book is a recounting of a romp of a life, full of odd events and funny stories. It's a great show.

The Amazon tag says "Conservative Party Peel," but the true title is "The Conservative Party from Peel to Major" (earlier editions end with Thatcher and Churchill). Apparently it has never been published in the United States, although it was widely available in bookshops in London as recently as a couple of years ago (and it appears to be available at Amazon UK). The lack of a United States edition is a shame. Nobody better understands than Blake the grand tradition of the conservative governance in Britain. He his chief claim to fame is a biography of Disraeli which, after 40 years, has surely taken its place as a classic in the form. He was for many years Provost of Queen's College, Oxford. This book (which began life as the Ford Lectures at Oxford in 1968) is in part a history. But it is much more: it is a meditatation on the meaning of conservatism and on the task of governing. In a time when conservatism in the United States seems to have lost all coherence -- and when the Conserve Party in Britain has declared itself broke -- we can well use the stimulus of such a clear thinker and elegant writer.

I highly recommend this book for understanding the constitution and laws of the Grand Lodge.

The choice of books on contract law for students and practitioners is divided in the main between straightforward text/case books and secondary commentaries. John takes us in a new direction, lifting the skirts on the subject in the tradition of critical legal scholarship. As entertaining as it is stimulating and informative.

In a series of interviews between 1971 and 1993 Gussow (longtime _New York Times_ drama critic, who also coaxed a fascinating set of comments from Tom Stoppard) got Pinter to talk about how he works. Pinter refuses to comment on what his work "means," but is eager to clear the air about misperceptions about himself (such as being in a chronic state of outrage). Pinter comes across as generous as well as politically committed, suspicious of audiences, but grateful to (fellow) actors. And he clearly has a sense of humor (too rarely appreciated in his plays).

These maps are great for traveling the side roads, hiking (topo), and for genealogy. BUT without the identifying number of each map, it is frustrating. There are 89 Discovery maps for the Republic of Ireland so it's uncertain if you are getting the map you want or need. The Cork/Kerry could be one of four possible: #72, #79, #84, or #85. Extremely annoying as the ISBN searches do not always match anything and that's all we are given to identify the map.
Again, the Discovery series maps are excellent. Lots of historical info, viewpoints, both English & Irish names, and a life saver when there are no road signs.

Quite a hefty tome, just chalk full of information, details, reasonings, changes in the ceremony (and why), and full of life with the different offices and personalities which take place in a coronation.

This book is not for the faint of heart...or if you have a light lap. It is to be savored and lugged from room to room as you go about your day.

While rich, it is easily read and you won't get bogged down in trying to remember what happened on the previous page.

This book is an examination of the role of the English country house in poetry of the 17th Century. The primary poets examined are Jonson, Herrick and Marvell. These poets were writing during a time of great social change in England, one manifestation of which was the construction of new and large houses in country by the newly rich. McClung traces the development of this genre of poetry from Roman models, and shows the important role it played in English poetry. The poets praise those houses that represent the classic English virtues, while those that represent what was at the time innovative architecture are usually condemned. McLung illustrates his analysis with photographs of some of the best known of the great country houses of the time. This is an example of academic criticism at its best.

I had heard that this book was not highly recommended, but what the heck, it was $14.00 and free shipping from Amazon.

The cover photo, also displayed inside, is beautiful, as are all the other photos in the book. Some are not my cup of tea, but a lot of them are, and Joe Cornish has proven his mastery of light and the landscape photograph.

I found the book somewhat instructional because the images gave me ideas for my own work, and the text isn't preachy or anything. All in all, a very good buy!

I was doing research for a senior level graduate course and came across this book, written by a USAF officer. It was immensely helpful: the clarity of the writing, the thoroughness of the research, and the enduring value of the subject matter all impressed equally. Anyone interested in WWII aviation will be pleased with this book.