Tom Mathews Knihy

In 1966, Dian Fossey, lacking formal training, established a gorilla observation camp in Africa, driven by a passion to study and protect the endangered species. Sponsored by Dr. Louis Leakey, her initial field study evolved into a dedicated mission against poaching. Fossey developed a profound bond with the mountain gorillas, becoming their most intimate observer. Her life was tragically cut short in 1985, yet her legacy continues to inspire conservation efforts and awareness about wildlife protection for future generations.

A critique of American military leadership, arguing that the Pentagon's devotion to developing high-tech weapons systems has left the troops ill-prepared to fight the types of wars going on in places like Bosnia and Saudi Arabia, as evidenced by the fact that soldiers in the Gulf War were wearing Vietnam issue boots and carrying dangerously outmoded equipment.

"The author wonderfully captures the powerful emotions and human condition of each character. The book is filled with interesting episodes and incidents and it is a fascinating journey for the reader. Well-crafted plot..."

Visualize a scenario where you are vacationing in a tropical island, away from the hustle and bustle of the cities, stresses of daily life, watching the waves reaching out to caress the shore, and you sipping the coconut water with a straw and next to you curled up is your sweetheart, humming a love song in your ear. Sounds fascinating and romantic? of course, it is. Have you ever thought of the lives and the miseries of the inhabitants of this "tropical paradise"? Have you looked into the weary eyes of the street urchins, as you walked past them to the sandy beach? or care to know the women toiling in the rice and sugar cane fields for pennies a day and the endless abuse they are subjected to by their drunken husbands and the harassment by the rich men driving around in their Mercedes-Benz and BMW cars? If you claim you care, then read Rethee Devi's story penned in these pages. You may develop a new insight of the torture she suffered along with half-starved women whom she defended as their attorney in Kerala State, India, also known as "God's Own Country."

Tom Mathews has long been admired for his trademark wit and humour, for the combination of irreverence and formal inventiveness that has long since made him one of Ireland's most celebrated cartoonists. Taking its title from Beckett's 'Murphy', his follow-up, 'No Return Game', is at once an extension of his' considerable reach into (one might say infiltration of) Irish and particularly European art and literature, as it is also a deepening, and by times a darkening, of Matthews' own vision, the big questions of time and love, ageing and loss, faced (and sometimes faced down) but always present, the poet's evident love for language and life his constant companions and guiding stars.

Tom Mathews, New Jersey Global Literary Award Winner, 2009 Chairman, FOKANA LITERARY CONTEST, 2010 Author of Novels and Short Stories Formerly Program Director, Dept. of Psychiatry, University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey. Vice Chairman, Malayalee Assn. of Maryland