Richard Burton – författare

The irresistible, candid diaries of Richard Burton, published in their entirety“Just great fun, and written out of an engaging, often comical bewilderment: How did a poor Welshman become not only a star, but a player on the world stage that was Elizabeth Taylor’s fame?”—Hilton Als, NewYorker.com “Of real interest is that Burton was almost as good a writer as an actor, read as many as three books a day, haunted bookstores in every city he set foot in, bought countless books on every conceivable subject and evaluated them rather shrewdly. . . . Apt writing abounds.”—John Simon, New York Times Book ReviewIrresistibly magnetic on stage, mesmerizing in movies, seven times an Academy Award nominee, Richard Burton rose from humble beginnings in Wales to become Hollywood's most highly paid actor and one of England's most admired Shakespearean performers. His epic romance with Elizabeth Taylor, his legendary drinking and story-telling, his dazzling purchases (enormous diamonds, a jet, homes on several continents), and his enormous talent kept him constantly in the public eye. Yet the man behind the celebrity façade carried a surprising burden of insecurity and struggled with the peculiar challenges of a life lived largely in the spotlight. This volume publishes Burton's extensive personal diaries in their entirety for the first time. His writings encompass many years—from 1939, when he was still a teenager, to 1983, the year before his death—and they reveal him in his most private moments, pondering his triumphs and demons, his loves and his heartbreaks. The diary entries appear in their original sequence, with annotations to clarify people, places, books, and events Burton mentions. From these hand-written pages emerges a multi-dimensional man, no mere flashy celebrity. While Burton touched shoulders with shining lights—among them Olivia de Havilland, John Gielgud, Claire Bloom, Laurence Olivier, John Huston, Dylan Thomas, and Edward Albee—he also played the real-life roles of supportive family man, father, husband, and highly intelligent observer. His diaries offer a rare and fresh perspective on his own life and career, and on the glamorous decades of the mid-twentieth century.

You can choose your house … but you can't choose your neighbours.This is the haunting true story of how one couple found themselves the targets of a relentless campaign of intimidation, harassment and violence – orchestrated by their unhinged neighbours.Amanda and Richard packed up their lives to live debt free and realise their dream of living in the countryside. Little did they know that their peaceful existence would soon be destroyed when unassuming couple Cassie and Francis moved in. What follows is a sinister story of charm, manipulation, threats and violence. A truly unbelievable tale. Perfect for readers of true crime, domestic thrillers, and chilling real-life stories of obsession, harassment, and the dark side of human nature.

Probably one of the original 'story within a story' books, Arabian nights is a selection of stories told by a young girl on her wedding night to a prince who has sworn to kill any girl who marries him. Her clever stories serve as 'cliff-hangers' and keep him from murdering her night after night. This collection is where classic fairy tales such as Aladdin and Ali Baba and the Forty Theives come from as well as well-known moral tales and metaphors.The use of djiins, magic and an evocation of Oriental splendour makes Arabian Nights dazzle. A 'must read' book and the perfect counter point to western fairy tales such as Hans Christian Anderson and the Brothers Grimm.

Disguised as a Persian dervish, Sir Richard Burton (1821-1890) set out to become the first Christian to penetrate the Muslim shrines of Medina and Mecca - a reckless stunt that would have resulted in his being executed if discovered. Endlessly observant, amused, boastful and engaging, Burton here describes his time in Cairo (including a memorable drinking contest with a ferocious Albanian mercenary captain), his crossing of the Red Sea in a crazily overloaded pilgrim boat and his arrival in the fabled Nejd.Great Journeys allows readers to travel both around the planet and back through the centuries – but also back into ideas and worlds frightening, ruthless and cruel in different ways from our own. Few reading experiences can begin to match that of engaging with writers who saw astounding things: Great civilisations, walls of ice, violent and implacable jungles, deserts and mountains, multitudes of birds and flowers new to science. Reading these books is to see the world afresh, to rediscover a time when many cultures were quite strange to each other, where legends and stories were treated as facts and in which so much was still to be discovered.

"It is said if you take care of the pennies, the pounds will take care of themselves. Richard Burton's excellent book takes this approach to calculations applied to the biomedical sciences…This is certainly interesting and engaging but it avoids being complicated." –Journal of Biological Education, April 2009Biomedical Calculations: Principles and Practice is an accessible, student-friendly introduction to calculating, applying formulae and solving quantitative problems within these subjects. This book targets a problem area for many students and aims to give them the confidence which they are so often lacking when undertaking scientific calculations. It takes a unique approach to the subject and uses unit analysis as a central theme throughout the book to enhance student understanding. Clearly structured throughout, little basic knowledge of mathematics is assumed, but even the most numerate readers will be interested in the sometimes-novel biological detail. Numerous worked examples, supplementary questions and practice problems are provided and although the book is written to be read in sequence, it will also be a useful reference. The central theme of the book focuses on the value of unit analysis in solving quantitative problems, with explanations on how to avoid errors in calculations and in checking, understanding and deriving formulae and equations.   As a background to this, there is extensive treatment of physical units, both individually (e.g. kg, m, mmol) and in combination (e.g. m s¯², mmol L¯¹), and also of other aspects of quantitative thinking.  A variety of topics (mostly from physiology, pharmacology and biochemistry) are used to demonstrate these calculations in practice. Key features:  An accessible, student-friendly introduction for all those hesitant in calculating, applying formulae and solving quantitative problems An innovative approach to scientific calculations and how to work with unfamiliar formulae for the biomedical and life sciencesIncludes modern, up to date definition of pH eliminating the need for logarithms and a discussion of the importance of pHClear introduction on how to use the book, guidance on units and unit conversion, and an appendix on basic mathematics and notation Use of unit analysis as a central theme Includes numerous worked examples and supplementary questions throughout the text to enhance student understanding

"It is said if you take care of the pennies, the pounds will take care of themselves. Richard Burton''s excellent book takes this approach to calculations applied to the biomedical sciences…This is certainly interesting and engaging but it avoids being complicated." –Journal of Biological Education, April 2009

Biomedical Calculations: Principles and Practice is an accessible, student-friendly introduction to calculating, applying formulae and solving quantitative problems within these subjects. This book targets a problem area for many students and aims to give them the confidence which they are so often lacking when undertaking scientific calculations. It takes a unique approach to the subject and uses unit analysis as a central theme throughout the book to enhance student understanding. 

Clearly structured throughout, little basic knowledge of mathematics is assumed, but even the most numerate readers will be interested in the sometimes-novel biological detail. Numerous worked examples, supplementary questions and practice problems are provided and although the book is written to be read in sequence, it will also be a useful reference. 

The central theme of the book focuses on the value of unit analysis in solving quantitative problems, with explanations on how to avoid errors in calculations and in checking, understanding and deriving formulae and equations.   As a background to this, there is extensive treatment of physical units, both individually (e.g. kg, m, mmol) and in combination (e.g. m s¯², mmol L¯¹), and also of other aspects of quantitative thinking.  A variety of topics (mostly from physiology, pharmacology and biochemistry) are used to demonstrate these calculations in practice. 

Key features: 

An accessible, student-friendly introduction for all those hesitant in calculating, applying formulae and solving quantitative problems  An innovative approach to scientific calculations and how to work with unfamiliar formulae for the biomedical and life sciences Includes modern, up to date definition of pH eliminating the need for logarithms and a discussion of the importance of pH Clear introduction on how to use the book, guidance on units and unit conversion, and an appendix on basic mathematics and notation  Use of unit analysis as a central theme  Includes numerous worked examples and supplementary questions throughout the text to enhance student understanding