A biography of the composer Gustav Mahler which examines his life and work, as well as the circumstances which led to his death in 1911, focusing on his last ten years. Includes a chronology of his life and work.
A Times Book of the Month for readers of Golden Hill and Cloud Atlas.It is 1800, and the future of Chicago hangs in the balance, to be decided on the outcome of a game of chess. Win or lose, the result will reverberate through the next 100 years of history, and the players’ lives, the lives of their descendants, and the city itself will never be the same again …
For over a century the Wagners have presided over the Bayreuth Festival, playing host to many of the greatest and ghastliest figures in the arts and politics amidst family in-fighting and political controversy. Drawing on extensive interviews with members of the family and on both archive and recent material, Jonathan Carr presents a balanced but gripping portrait of the Wagners and their circle; a story which presents a mirror of Germany's rise, fall and resurrection.
Exploring the interplay between philosophy and science, the book delves into the universe's formation before the Big Bang and its parallels to life. It presents a compelling narrative on biological evolution, illustrating how mammals evolved from ancient whales. The text also tackles longstanding mysteries such as gravity, warp drive, and cryostasis, applying scientific principles to transform these once-impossible concepts into plausible realities. This integration of ancient ideas with modern science offers a fresh perspective on our understanding of the universe.
The Wagner Clan by Jonathan Carr is the first thorough and balanced history of Germany's most famous family. For well over a century the Wagner clan has run the Bayreuth Festival and played host to many of the greatest and ghastliest figures in the arts and politics. Its members have also regularly battled one another - indeed, with its jealousy, greed, passion and intrigue the Wagner family saga is as riveting as any opera. Drawing on extensive interviews with members of the family and on both archive and recent material, Jonathan Carr - author of a highly praised biography of Mahler - presents a balanced but gripping portrait of the Wagners and their circle. He takes a fresh look at hotly controversial matters such as Richard Wagner's antisemitism and the family's role during the so-called "Third Reich". Not least he underlines the decisive roles played in Bayreuth over decades by two British-born members of the clan, both of them fervent admirers of Adolf Hitler.
Sarah is a narcoleptic who has dreams so vivid she mistakes them for real events; Robert has had his life changed for ever by the misunderstandings arising from her condition; Terry, the insomniac, spends his wakeful nights fuelling his obsession with movies; and the increasingly unstable Dr Gregory Dudden sees sleep as a life-shortening disease which must be eradicated . A group of students sharing a house. They fall in and out of love, they drift apart. Yet a decade later they are drawn back together by a series of coincidences involving their obsession with sleep - and each other ...
