My sporting heroes

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Norman Page

"Under the editorial direction of Professor Norman Page, more than 40 of the world's most prominent experts on Hardy have been brought together to combine their insights and understandings of all aspects of Hardy studies. The result is a unique synthesis of knowledge, incorporating different national interests and traditions of scholarship, investigating Hardy's life, work, and influences, and the historical context in which he wrote." "As well as the assurance of sound scholarship and the convenience of the Companion format, there are unexpected delights for the browser, such as entries on alcohol, humour, and pets. The Oxford Reader's Companion to Hardy is for the Hardy scholar and the Hardy reader alike: more than 300 entries arranged A-Z for immediate access; all the novels, collections of verse, autobiography, letters, essays, stories, and notebooks; Hardy's family and friends, the places that were important to him, and the influences that shaped his works; popular reaction and critical approaches to his work, and the history of Hardy publishing; 40 integrated black-and-white illustrations; fully cross-referenced to facilitate browsing; and subject index listing entries by topic, Additional material includes a chronology of Hardy's life, an index of his poems, lists of place-names and characters in his works, a glossary of dialect words and expressions, and an extensive bibliography."--Jacket.

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R.S. Rose and Gordon D. Scott

"The life and career of a spy, the German-born Johann Heinrich Amadeus "Johnny" de Graaf (1894-1980), who was a double agent for the British against the Soviets before the Second World War, and worked for Canada against Canadian Fascists during the war"--Provided by publisher.

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Jonathan F. Vance

"When Nazi Germany’s Buchenwald concentration camp was liberated in 1945, its records revealed that two young Canadians, Ken Macalister and Frank Pickersgill, were among its countless victims. At 30 and 31 years of age, they had been agents of Britain’s Special Operations Executive (SOE ), an undercover unit established by Winston Churchill that used sabotage and subversion to bring down the Nazi regime from within. Jonathan F. Vance brings us the dramatic, untold story of two men who were the most unlikely of soldiers. Pickersgill, an up-andcoming journalist, and Macalister, one of the finest law students ever to attend the University of Toronto, were both living in France when the Nazis seized power. Pickersgill, arrested as an enemy alien, spent two years in prison before escaping to England. The men’s intelligence, resourcefulness and familiarity with French customs and language caught the attention of the SOE. Trained in special-operations techniques, from radio control to killing, they were paired together and parachuted into France—just as the underground network they were to join was cracked open by the Germans. Unlikely Soldiers is an extraordinary tale of unsung heroes, intrigue and tragic error. With access to the recently opened SOE archives, Vance draws new material into a fascinating narrative that will appeal to anyone interested in military history, the evolution of espionage, or simply the remarkable story of two heroic Canadians."--pub. desc.

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Diana Athill

Diana Athill made her reputation as a writer with the candour of her memoirs, now aged ninety, and freed from any inhibitions that even she may once have had, she reflects frankly on the losses and occasionally the gains that old age brings, and on the wisdom and fortitude required to face death. This is a lively narrative of events, lovers and friendships: the people and experiences that have taught her to regret very little, to resist despondency and to question the beliefs and customs of her own generation.