Francis Wheen je uznávaný britský novinář a spisovatel, známý svým pronikavým pohledem a bystrým humorem. Jeho práce se často zabývá politickými a společenskými tématy s osobitým stylem, který kombinuje hlubokou znalost s vtipnou ironií. Wheen má talent pro odhalování absurdních situností a kritické zkoumání mocenských struktur. Jeho psaní je ceněno pro svou inteligenci a schopnost čtenáře zaujmout a pobavit.
Okolnosti vzniku a ideový obsah jednoho z myšlenkově nejvlivnějších děl novodobé ekonomické teorie: Marxova Kapitálu. Jiskrný a přístupný text seznamuje s Kapitálem jako knihou, která je na hony vzdálena představě suchého národohospodářského pojednání a blíží se spíše chmurnému gotickému románu, jehož hrdinové se stávají otroky kapitalismu jako obludy, kterou sami přivedli k životu.
Francis Wheen napsal poutavý, chvílemi nesmírně komický životopis dominantní postavy dvacátého století, jejíž život i myšlenky, osobní kouzlo i nesnášenlivost jsou tu zobrazeny v celé své bohaté složitosti i protichůdnosti. Je to obraz brilantního a provokativního filozofa, žijícího dickensovským životem urozeného muže, na které přišly zlé časy.
Golden Duck's edition of the 1934 bestseller Cheapjack by Margery Allingham's brother, Philip, containsover 30 photographs from the National Fairground Archive, the Allingham Society and other sources. An introduction by FRANCIS WHEEN discuses slumming in the 1930s and describes Cheapjack as an extraordinary autobiography. VANESSA TOULMIN of Sheffield University puts Cheapjack and its language in the context of the secretive society of showmen, hawkers and Gypsy travellers and calls it an important historic record. Margery Allingham's biographer, JULIA JONES, reveals the extent of detective novelist's involvement in Cheapjack and gives the wider story of this naive, eccentric and charming young man.
Exploring the complexities of Karl Marx, this biography presents him as a multifaceted individual—scholar, agitator, and socialite—rather than a one-dimensional figure. Francis Wheen delves into the contradictions of Marx's life, highlighting his profound impact on modern thought while addressing critiques from his adversaries. With a blend of humor and insight, Wheen crafts a compelling narrative that captures the essence of Marx's enduring influence and the vibrant context of his time, making it an engaging read for both scholars and casual readers alike.
Wheens presents "Das Kapital" as a compelling narrative rather than a traditional economic analysis, likening it to a Gothic novel. The book explores the struggles of individuals ensnared by the very system they helped to build—capitalism. Through vivid detail, it reveals the emotional and societal implications of economic theories, making complex ideas accessible and engaging for readers.
`If the 1960s were a wild weekend and the 1980s a hectic day at the office, the 1970s were a long Sunday evening in winter, with cold leftovers for supper and a power cut expected at any moment.'A jaw-droppingly brilliant account of how the seventies was defined by mass paranoia told with Francis Wheen's wonderfully acute sense of the absurd.
Francis Wheen has established himself as one of the most brilliant and admired journalists writing in Britain today with his massively acclaimed biography of Karl Marx, his contributions to radio and TV, and his outstanding commentary and analysis. This book brings together the best of his collected journalism from the Guardian, Observer, and magazines such as Esquire and The Modern Review. Ranging from the follies of think-tanks to the future of swearing, the hypocrisy of New Labour to the madness of retired prime ministers, all via shady business deals and scabrous gossip, this is a book that none of Wheen's legion of admirers will want to miss.
In this brilliant book, Karl Marx biographer Francis Wheen tells the story of Das Kapital and Marx's twenty-year struggle to complete his unfinished masterpiece. Wheen shows that, far from being a dry economic treatise, Das Kapital is like a vast Gothic novel whose heroes are enslaved by the monster they capitalism.
What characterizes our era? Cults, quacks, gurus, irrational panics, moral confusion and an epidemic of mumbo-jumbo, that's what. In How Mumbo-Jumbo Conquered the World, Francis Wheen brilliantly laments the extraordinary rise of superstition, relativism and emotional hysteria. From Middle Eastern fundamentalism to the rise of lotteries, astrology to mysticism, poststructuralism to the Third Way, Wheen shows that there has been a pervasive erosion of Enlightenment values, which have been displaced by nonsense. And no country has a more vivid parade of the bogus and bizarre than the one founded to embody Enlightenment values: the USA. In turn comic, indignant, outraged, and just plain baffled by the idiocy of it all, How Mumbo-Jumbo Conquered the World is a masterful depiction of the absurdity of our times and a plea that we might just think a little more and believe a little less.
