Michael Collins – författare

'No other person who has flown in space has captured the experience so vividly' - New York Times Book Review In July 1969, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins piloted the Apollo 11 spacecraft to the moon. Fifty years later, it is still one of the greatest achievements in human history.In this remarkable memoir, Michael Collins conveys, in a very personal way, the drama, beauty, and humour of that adventure. He also traces his development from his first flight experiences in the air force, through his days as a test pilot, to his involvement in Project Gemini and his first spaceflight on Gemini 10. He presents an evocative picture of the famous Apollo 11 spacewalk, detailing the joys of flight and a new perspective on time, light, and movement from someone who has seen the fragile Earth from the other side of the moon.Updated with a new preface to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the moon-landing, Carrying the Fire by Michael Collins is the utterly absorbing and truly compelling classic account of what it was like to be a member of the Apollo 11 mission to the moon.

How did the 'quintessentially English' game of cricket come to be so important across Britain's Caribbean empire? As empire declined and gave way to complex patterns of migration, what part did cricket play in the life of the Windrush generation in post-war Britain? Following the work of the great Trinidadian intellectual C. L. R. James, much has been written about the profound importance of cricket for the development of social and cultural life within the Anglophone Caribbean. And yet, from at least the 1930s, black West Indian cricketers were celebrated far beyond the Caribbean, in England and across empire. Cricket was in fact a major factor shaping imperial ideas about black people--how they looked and behaved, what their imagined characteristics and traits were--placing the West Indies, as the Caribbean islands were then known, within a racialised, hierarchical structure of cricket-loving peoples, alongside the colonies of white settlement: South Africa, New Zealand, Australia. During World War II, black West Indians played prominent roles in the surprisingly large amount of cricket played in England, part of a wider propaganda effort to promote the idea of a multiracial empire, united in common cause against fascism. For post-Windrush arrivals after 1948, cricket was not just a peripheral pastime or a recreational footnote. Cricket was a cornerstone of black West Indian social and cultural life and self-empowerment in England, integral to the earliest creation of social and community groups and the development of support networks. Watching the West Indies international cricket team win on the field of play was just one part of the Windrush story. Through the late 1940s and into the 1950s, the growth of an extensive network of Windrush cricket teams and clubs, and, by the 1970s, the evolution of Caribbean cricket leagues and competitions, created a subtle and multifaceted sense of being a West Indian in England. In due course, the children of Windrush migrants would seek to play cricket for England, challenging the very notion of what it means to be English.Interweaving extensive archival and oral history research into an engaging, often surprising narrative about empire and postwar Britain, Windrush Cricket challenges a range of orthodoxies, arguing that cricket constituted a foundational, yet almost entirely ignored aspect of the way in which Windrush migrants settled and made new lives in postwar England.

In the decades before 1914, the City of London was the premier international financial centre. However, this position was not long maintained, other industrial nations quickly and effectively challenged the influence of Britain, and following the disruption of the world markets caused by World War I and the Great Depression of the 1930s, international hegemony slipped away for ever.The relationship of bankers and industrialists has often been cited as a key factor in this decline. Critics of the banks claim that, even before World War I, there were serious deficiencies in the financial provision provided by banks to the domestic industrial sector, and that these deficiencies handicapped Britain's competitive advantage in world markets, leading to the decline of their influence and power.This book examines these claims, and bringing to bear important new data that presents the debate in a novel and revealing framework, expounds an economic rationale for historical bank behaviour. Using a rich source of contemporary records, it presents a series of micro-economic studies into commercial bank assets and liabilities, financial crises, bank mergers, the professionalization of banking, the organization and conduct of the industrial loan business, and the nature of bank support given to industrial clients.The result is a new, authoritative interpretation of bank-industry relations in the half-century before World War I.

Imagine a world without Principia Mathematica, Rights of Man, the Bible, Shakespeare, or the Mahabharata.Books that Changed History features 75 of the world's most momentous titles - from The Art of War to Anne Frank's Diary - and reveals their far-ranging impact.Books are the medium through which scientists, storytellers, and philosophers introduce their ideas. Discover seminal religious and political titles, cornerstones of science such as On the Origin of Species, and ancient texts such as the I Ching, which is still used today to answer fundamental questions about human existence.Get up close to see fascinating details, such as Versalius' exquisite anatomical illustrations in Epitome, Leonardo da Vinci's annotated notebooks, or the hand-decorated pages in the Gutenberg Bible. Discover why Euclid's Elements of Geometry was the most influential maths title ever published, and marvel at rare treasures such as the Aubin Codex, which tells the history of the Aztecs and the early Spanaish colonial period in Mexico.Books that Changed History gathers stories, diaries, scientific treatises, plays, dictionaries, and religious texts into a stunning celebration of the power of books.

How did Christianity get shared around the world? And how has Christian belief changed over the last 50 years? Providing some of the answers to these and many other questions, this overview charts the 2,000-year-long history of the world's largest religion.A History of Christianity covers everything from the world of the Old Testament to Christianity in the 21st century, including topics such as the early martyrs, the birth of the monasteries, the Crusades, the Reformation, and the rise of the Church in the Americas and Africa.Explore the wide-ranging beliefs and doctrines found within the Church and the role Christianity plays in people's lives. Discover the key events, figures, and movements that helped shape the Church, with a fresh and highly visual approach.In this Christianity book, you can find: - An accessible illustrated guide to the key events and thinkers of the last 2,000 years of Christianity- Detailed contextual illustrations, maps, and annotated works of art- Insightful quotes from Christian thinkers and the Bible- Chapters outlining different elements of Christianity and important moments that shaped beliefs including: The Roots of Christianity, Challenges to the Early Church, The Renaissance, Social Issues & Activism, and moreBeautifully illustrated, clearly presented, and written in an accessible style, this guide is the ideal companion for those who want to know about the history of the Church. This is a great guide for readers looking for a clear and accessible introduction to Christianity.

In this historical survey spanning 120 years, the authors attempt to find out if there is any truth in the allegation that Britain's economic decline has been exacerbated by the failings of the banking system.

This book is concerned with developments in three main areas of monetary history: domestic commercial banking; monetary policy; and the UK’s international financial position. For ease of analysis the 160 years under study are arranged into three clear chronological divisons. Part 1 covers the years 1826-1913, a period in which the UK emerged as the world’s leading economic power. It was in these years that an extensive and fully-operative domestic banking system was established. Part 2 covers 1914 to 1939 – the years which marked a break in the traditional monetary arrangements of the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Part 3 covers 1939-1986 when the dominance of state influence within the domestic money markets was re-established by the Second World War and the acceptance by the authorities of the obligation to ‘manage’ the economy which meant that successive postwar governments took direct responsibility for the conduct of monetary and credit policy.

Tackling social exclusion should be a central aim of any civilised social policy. In this meticulously revised and updated new edition of his groundbreaking study, Sport and Social Exclusion, Mike Collins has assembled a vast array of new evidence from a range of global sources to demonstrate how the effects of social exclusion are as evident in sport as they are in any area of society. The book uses sport as an important sphere for critical reflection on existing social policy and explores sport's role as a source of initiatives for tackling exclusion. It examines key topics such as: • What is meant by 'social exclusion' • How social exclusion affects citizenship and the chance to play sport • How exclusion from sport is linked to poverty, class, age, gender, ethnicity, disability, and involvement in youth delinquency, and living in towns or countryside • How exclusion is linked to concepts of personal and communal social capital.It uses four revised and five new major case studies as detailed illustrations, notably Be Active, Birmingham, the national PE and Youth/School Sport strategy, Positive Futures and Street Games..Sport and Social Exclusion features a wealth of original research data, including new and previously unpublished material, as well as important new studies of social exclusion policy and practice in the UK and elsewhere. This revised edition surveys all the most important changes in the policy landscape since first publication in 2002 and explores the likely impact of the London Olympic Games on sport policy in the UK. The book concludes with some typically forthright commendations and critiques from the author regarding the success of existing policies and the best way to tackle exclusion from sport and society in the future. By relating current policy to new research the book provides an essential guidebook for students, academics and policy makers working in sport policy and development."

Tackling social exclusion should be a central aim of any civilised social policy. In this meticulously revised and updated new edition of his groundbreaking study, Sport and Social Exclusion, Mike Collins has assembled a vast array of new evidence from a range of global sources to demonstrate how the effects of social exclusion are as evident in sport as they are in any area of society. The book uses sport as an important sphere for critical reflection on existing social policy and explores sport's role as a source of initiatives for tackling exclusion. It examines key topics such as: • What is meant by 'social exclusion' • How social exclusion affects citizenship and the chance to play sport • How exclusion from sport is linked to poverty, class, age, gender, ethnicity, disability, and involvement in youth delinquency, and living in towns or countryside • How exclusion is linked to concepts of personal and communal social capital.It uses four revised and five new major case studies as detailed illustrations, notably Be Active, Birmingham, the national PE and Youth/School Sport strategy, Positive Futures and Street Games..Sport and Social Exclusion features a wealth of original research data, including new and previously unpublished material, as well as important new studies of social exclusion policy and practice in the UK and elsewhere. This revised edition surveys all the most important changes in the policy landscape since first publication in 2002 and explores the likely impact of the London Olympic Games on sport policy in the UK. The book concludes with some typically forthright commendations and critiques from the author regarding the success of existing policies and the best way to tackle exclusion from sport and society in the future. By relating current policy to new research the book provides an essential guidebook for students, academics and policy makers working in sport policy and development."

By presenting a new interpretation of Rabindranath Tagore’s English language writings, this book places the work of India’s greatest Nobel Prize winner and cultural icon in the context of imperial history and thereby bridges the gap between Tagore studies and imperial/postcolonial historiography.Using detailed archival research, the book charts the origins of Tagore’s ideas in Indian religious traditions and discusses the impact of early Indian nationalism on Tagore’s thinking. It offers a new interpretation of Tagore’s complex debates with Gandhi about the colonial encounter, Tagore’s provocative analysis of the impact of British imperialism in India and his questioning of nationalism as a pathway to authentic postcolonial freedom. The book also demonstrates how the man and his ideas were received and interpreted in Britain during his lifetime and how they have been sometimes misrepresented by nationalist historians and postcolonial theorists after Tagore’s death.An alternative interpretation based on an intellectual history approach, this book places Tagore’s sense of agency, his ideas and intentions within a broader historical framework. Offering an exciting critique of postcolonial theory from a historical perspective, it is a timely contribution in the wake of the 150th anniversary of Tagore's birth in 2011.

This book is concerned with developments in three main areas of monetary history: domestic commercial banking; monetary policy; and the UK’s international financial position. For ease of analysis the 160 years under study are arranged into three clear chronological divisons. Part 1 covers the years 1826-1913, a period in which the UK emerged as the world’s leading economic power. It was in these years that an extensive and fully-operative domestic banking system was established. Part 2 covers 1914 to 1939 – the years which marked a break in the traditional monetary arrangements of the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Part 3 covers 1939-1986 when the dominance of state influence within the domestic money markets was re-established by the Second World War and the acceptance by the authorities of the obligation to ‘manage’ the economy which meant that successive postwar governments took direct responsibility for the conduct of monetary and credit policy.

This accessible study investigates the role of banks in the finance of British industry, an issue which has long been the subject of dispute. From one perspective the history of British finance is one of success: from the late nineteenth century the City of London was the leading financial centre in the international economy. Yet there has been much disquiet over the level of support that banks have given to British Industry, particularly when Britain's economic hegemony was challenged at the end of the nineteenth century, and during the malaise which followed the First World War. Michael Collins weighs the conflicting arguments. Is there evidence of failure in the money markets? Has the estrangement of financial and industrial capital hindered Britain's economic development? He places these and other questions in historical context and provides a survey of literature on this contentious subject.

This accessible study investigates the role of banks in the finance of British industry, an issue which has long been the subject of dispute. From one perspective the history of British finance is one of success: from the late nineteenth century the City of London was the leading financial centre in the international economy. Yet there has been much disquiet over the level of support that banks have given to British Industry, particularly when Britain's economic hegemony was challenged at the end of the nineteenth century, and during the malaise which followed the First World War. Michael Collins weighs the conflicting arguments. Is there evidence of failure in the money markets? Has the estrangement of financial and industrial capital hindered Britain's economic development? He places these and other questions in historical context and provides a survey of literature on this contentious subject.

Looking at the operations of an organization, this book examines the different types of organization in both the public and private sectors. It then considers the internal relationships between operations, marketing, personnel and other functions within organizations. The specific aspects of operations are covered in detail: Work practices. Planning. Resourcing. Legislation. Customer relations.

This series is designed for supervisors and front line managers and has been re-written to support the latest Management Standards from the Management Charter Initiative who have provided the Foreword.Each book provides the knowledge and understanding required for the core and major options associated with the NVQ/SVQ3 level qualifications in Supervisory Management and is written in a manner that links learning with the supervisor/front line manager's work experience. As such it also supports non-competence programmes such as the NEBSM Introductory and Full Certificate programmes in Supervisory Management. Whilst finance at supervisory level has no dedicated management standards, it is vital that the competent supervisor/front line manager can understand the financial implications of their role. The RESOURCES section of this book provides the reader with an understanding of the language and practices of the finance function as they relate to the work situation. The INFORMATION section considers the types of information the supervisor/front line manager is likely to encounter, and looks at the ways of distributing and presenting such information.

Looking at the operations of an organization, Managing Activities examines the different types of organizations in both the public and private sectors. It then considers the internal relationships between operations, marketing, personnel, etc. within organizations.

Donald Jay Grout’s widely praised edition of the work of a key figure in the history of opera provides the most reliable version of the score for each opera, appending a translation of the libretto. These volumes are “at once practical and unquestionably scholarly” in the words of Opera Journal.A tale of love and honor in the opera seria tradition, Tigrane was first performed at Naples in 1715. This edition of it will please performance groups and music historians alike.

Liam, a fallen angel with a bad track record, has arrived in America through the back door, an illegal immigrant stuck with the worst kind of job and a reputation for trouble. Forced on the run, he links up with another fallen star, a beautiful, pregnant girl called Angel. Hampered, yet spurred on, by Angel's lowlife boyfriend, Liam finds the wide open spaces bring him a freedom not advertised by the immigration brokers back home ' and the chance to run towards the life he had always dreamed of. Michael Collins writes with his characteristic rawness and anger about the Irish in 80s America. He brings a new poignancy to our understanding of the emigrant experience and of the loneliness of not belonging.

Ambrose Feeney has seen his hopes and ambitions dashed by others' influence and his own inertia. His Limerick is an old siege city of walls, both real and psychological. As Ambrose descends into lunacy he paints a starkly sane portrait of one family's life in an Ireland unsoftened by the mists of legend. The Life and Times of a Teaboy begins with the recollection of a Christmas past and ends with the entrance of the principal character into a lunatic asylum; a crisis in personal growth that mirrors the nation's. 'He is one of the most exciting talents to have emerged not only from Ireland but anywhere in recent decades' The Times

Michael Collins's stories are about Ireland, about the Irish as they are and as they would like to be imagined. In the title story we see the fatal consequences of self-deception. Posing as a nationalist hero, a young man travels to America with a suitcase full of meat. The warm welcome he expects swiftly dematerialises as he awakes to the grim realities of life in hiding. The vivid, surreal splendour of the writing allied with images of real people - the struggling widow, the careless father, the schoolboy and the philosopher, the good and the corrupt - make this an outstanding collection.

It is the mid-80s in post-industrial America. In a small town graced with the decaying hulks of defunct factories, young journalist and college dropout Bill churns out lengthy essays on the death of industry and of America itself for The Daily Truth, whose scoops rarely rise above the latest home-bake contest. The static summer is punctured when local bad boy Ronny Lawton reports his father missing. A dismembered finger is found and all suspect the son of murdering his hated father, but nothing can be proved. The sorry tale of the white trash Lawtons hypnotises the town and Ronny Lawton becomes a local icon. Bill becomes increasingly obsessed with the story - he gets involved with Ronny's estranged wife, finds a decomposing human head, and ends up as a suspect in the murder case himself. Things come to a head and Ronny Lawton holds his wife, child and Bill hostage in a confrontation with the FBI. Bill escapes with the woman and child and contemplates the American dream gone sour.

'The thinking man's John Grisham' New Statesman The body of a small girl, dressed as an angel, is discovered late one night in a pile of autumn leaves at the side of the road. At first it looks like a hit and run - after all, it's Halloween night and the streets have been full of children trick or treating. But how did a 3-year-old come to be alone on the dark streets at such a late hour? Lawrence, the policeman sent to investigate, finds himself under increasing pressure when it becomes clear that the chief suspect is the town's star quarterback. In the ensuing cover-up, Lawrence finds himself a pawn in the power games between the local mayor, the suspect's family, and an investigator with some personal scores to settle.

A tale of murder and literary ambition set on an American university campus from a master of the dark side of human natureIt's been over a decade since Robert Pendleton published his brilliant short story debut, and his hopes for a dazzling literary career now lie in tatters. Hanging on to his tenure in literature at Bannockburn college by the slimmest of threads, Pendleton's simmering despair boils over with the arrival on campus of his one-time friend, now nemesis, the bestselling author and king of the coffee-table book, David Horowitz.For Pendleton, death seems to be the only remaining option, but his attempt to kill himself is wrecked by the intervention of Adi Wiltshire, a graduate student battling her own demons of failure and thwarted ambition. Whilst Pendleton recovers from his suicide attempt, Adi discovers a novel hidden in his basement: a brilliant, bitter story with a gruesome murder at its core.The publication of Scream causes a storm of publicity, a whirlwind into which Adi and Horowitz are thrust - along with the sister of a young girl whose real-life, unsolved murder bears an uncanny resemblance to the crime in Pendleton's novel and a burnt-out cop with secrets of his own, who is determined to prove that in this case fact and fiction are one and the same.

From the BOOKER-shortlisted author of THE KEEPERS OF TRUTH. A writer's journey towards fatherhood throws up shadows from his past.Karl is a troubled writer standing on the precipice of forty. After a degree of success in his early career he is now battling with what he terms his 'opus', his legacy to the world. But his partner Lori, the main breadwinner, is also thinking about her destiny and wants a child. As they embark on fertility treatment, Karl is forced to confront his deepest fear - that he will turn out to be like his father, a travelling salesman who was found dead after apparently committing murder when Karl was just thirteen. Unbeknown to Lori, Karl has already taken loans out against their house to pay for his mother's care home, and his freelance work, ghosting for a crime writer called Perry Fennimore, has dried up. As the fertility treatment progresses, Karl feels increasingly distanced from his relationship and the safety of home, and attracted to the shadowlands of Chicago's backstreets. When Fennimore re-emerges with a proposal, Karl begins to tap this new source of creativity - but just how far will he go in his pursuit of the ultimate story?

In Francis: Bishop of Rome, Fr. Michael Collins introduced readers to the pope who has grabbed the attention and the spiritual imaginations of Catholics and others around the world. Now, in this second edition, Collins takes account of the most important events and development of his remarkable pontificate. With a focus on compassion, Francis has challenged world leaders to be more attentive to the poor, begun important reforms of the Curia and the Vatican Bank, and called for two synods of bishops to discuss pastoral challenges that face modern families. This new edition, which is 25% longer than the first, includes more details about Jorge Bergoglio’s early life and a far more expansive understanding of the pontificate of this remarkable spiritual leader.People of God is a series of inspiring biographies for the general reader. Each volume offers a compelling and honest narrative of the life of an important twentieth or twenty-first century Catholic. Some living and some now deceased, each of these women and men has known challenges and weaknesses familiar to most of us but responded to them in ways that call us to our own forms of heroism. Each offers a credible and concrete witness of faith, hope, and love to people of our own day.