Duncan Robertson – författare

During the Middle Ages the act of reading was experienced intensively in the monastic exercise of lectio divina 'the prayerful scrutiny of passages of Scripture, savored in meditation, memorized, recited, and rediscovered in the reader's own religious life. The rich literary tradition that arose from this culture includes theoretical writings from the Conferences of John Cassian (fifth century) through the twelfth-century treatises of Hugh of St. Victor and the Carthusian Guigo II; it also includes compilations, literary meditations, and scriptural commentary, notably on the Song of Songs. This study brings medievalist research together with modern theoretical reflections on the act of reading in a consolidation of historical scholarship, spirituality, and literary criticism.

"Visegrad is very funny and very insightful—into Central Europe, into the US, into the expat mind. I also have to reread it, probably right away, to sort out all the dizzying detail Robertson has packed it with. So, while I’m rereading it, you should be getting started now on reading it the first time."--Arthur Phillips, author of Prague and The King at the Edge of the WorldMeet Rye, a young American writer adrift in Visegrad, where the national sport is appearing to work as hard as possible while doing nothing at all. Things get complicated in this rollicking satire when Rye partners with a loan-shark who has purchased the outstanding student debt of his fellow expats. He squares their accounts by signing the likes of Colin Having, who suspects the world’s dogs of conspiring against him, H. Defer, who is developing a universal theory based on the wetness of feet, and the SEC man, who has been sent to Visegrad to determine how Rye’s boss acquires individual student loans.Before long, Rye discovers he is being followed. Customers disappear and he is no longer free to leave the country. Rye realizes that he must sabotage the lucrative business he has helped build, or else abandon his friends to a shady cabal in the Visegrad government.Visegrad presents a world at once familiar and preposterous—an imaginary world, and yet one that is historically accurate in its an amalgamation of Prague, Budapest, Warsaw, Krakow, and Berlin. It is about getting away with something—being young, being cruel, falling in love. A must for fans of Prague (Arthur Phillips); The Sellout (Paul Beatty); Necessary Errors (Caleb Crain); All That Man Is (David Szalay); and Temporary People (Deepak Unnikrishnan).

Visegrad is a satirical comedy set in a budding Eastern European autocracy. Its setting, the titular Visegrad, is an expatriate Mecca, a post-Soviet capital where the national sport is appearing to work as hard as possible while doing nothing at all. It is the story of Rye, an American millennial who becomes infatuated with a young couple in debt to a local bookie who has developed a secret method of purchasing outstanding student loans from the United States. Things get complicated when Rye agrees to work off the debt and signs on a battery of clients, including Colin Having, who believes that the world's dogs are in a conspiracy against him; H. Defer, an academic wunderkind who is developing a universal theory based on the wetness of feet; and the SEC man, who has been sent to Visegrad to determine how Rye and his boss acquire individual debts. Soon, Rye learns he is being followed. Customers start to disappear and he discovers he is no longer free to leave the country. Now he must sabotage the lucrative business he has helped build, or else abandon his friends to the machinations of a shady cabal within the Visegrad government. A series of comic digressions that branch from the central, tragic digression of choosing to live in a foreign country, Visegrad presents world at once familiar and preposterous--a world that is even historically accurate in its an amalgamation of Prague, Budapest, Warsaw, Krakow, and Berlin, even though it is a place that does not exist and therefore has no history. It is about getting away with something--being young, being cruel, falling in love. Of particular interest to readers who have travelled extensively or lived abroad, it is a must for fans of Prague (Arthur Phillips); The Sellout (Paul Beatty); Necessary Errors (Caleb Crain); All That Man Is (David Szalay); and Temporary People (Deepak Unnikrishnan).

Older adults increasingly represent a significant portion of urgent, emergency, and ambulance service calls, making it more important than ever to foster a deeper understanding of older patients' needs. Urgent and Emergency Care of the Older Person addresses the critical gap in prehospital education concerning the care of older patients, and demonstrates the principles underpinning improvements to the provision of care using the multidisciplinary team approach. A range of specialist authors provide the necessary knowledge, skills, and guidance for prehospital professionals, community clinicians, and advanced practitioners, emphasising a holistic, person-centred approach. It challenges stereotypes, urges clinicians to see beyond age and adapt communication and care strategies to individual needs and circumstances. Topics include ageing theories, frailty, common clinical scenarios, and the latest best practices to prepare paramedics and prehospital clinicians for the multifaceted nature of caring for the older person. Key features include: Case studies and targeted questions, to support clinicians in applying their knowledge to practice Aligned to key national health and social care priorities An ideal companion text for both undergraduate students and registered paramedics as well as specialists paramedics in frailty services or those working within the community such as  primary care or Urgent Crisis Response teams In line with current UK guidelines and research