London Peculiar and Other Nonfiction

by Moorcock, Michael; Kausch, Allan; Sinclair, Iain

• ISBN13: 9781604864908
• ISBN10: 1604864907
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-01-25
• Publisher: PM Press

Summary

Voted by the London Timesas one of the best writers since 1945, Michael Moorcock has long been considered one of the top names in science fiction and fantasy. Here, Moorcock has personally selected his best published and unpublished essays, articles, reviews, and opinions--all uncensored. Covering a wide range of topics including books, films, politics, reminiscences of old friends, and attacks on new foes, this collection is the definitive compilation for any serious fan of Moorcock, or science fiction in general. Drawn from more than 50 years of writing, including Moorcock's most recent work from the Los Angeles Timesand the Guardian--along with obscure and now unobtainable sources--the prose in this compendium showcases Moorcock at his sharpest.

Author Biography

Michael Moorcock is an award-winning author who has written more than 80 works of fiction and nonfiction, including The Cornelius Quartet, Doctor Who, and Elric: The Stealer of Souls. His nonfiction has appeared in Financial Times, the Guardian, and the Los Angeles Times. He lives in Bastrop, Texas. Allan Kausch is the editor of more than 1,100 projects for Lucasfilm Ltd., and has also edited five volumes of Selected Letters of Philip K. Dick, in addition to 80 other books. He lives in San Francisco. Iain Sinclair is the author of Lights Out for the Territory, London Orbital, and A Walk Around the M25.

Table of Contents

The Man on the Stairs: Introduction	p. xi
Editor's Foreword By Allan Kausch	p. xvii
Scratching a Living	p. 1
A Child's Christmas in the Blitz	p. 5
London
Heart and Soul of the City	p. 26
A Place of Perpetual Rehearsal and Audition	p. 30
Building the New Jerusalem	p. 34
City of Wonderful Night	p. 39
London Peculiar	p. 42
Introduction to Gerald Kersh's Fowlers End	p. 48
A Child of Her Times	p. 52
Mysteries of London	p. 55
Benglish for Beginners	p. 58
Cockney in Translation	p. 60
Other Places
Diary: 13th October 2001	p. 64
Diary: 30th August 2003	p. 67
Diary: 7th January 2006	p. 70
Diary: 26th October 2007	p. 73
Diary: 12th April 2008	p. 76
Diary: 4th October 2008	p. 79
Diary: 28th March 2009	p. 82
Diary: 31st October 2009	p. 85
Diary: 15th May 2010	p. 88
A Review of Another Fool in the Balkans: In the Footsteps of Rebecca West by Tony White	p. 91
A Construction Site of the Mind	p. 93
Absent Friends
The Patsy	p. 98
Jack's Unforgettable Christmas	p. 101
When the Political Gets Too Personal	p. 107
Andrea Dworkin: Memorial	p. 111
JG Ballard Introduction	p. 113
Time Made Concrete	p. 115
The Voice	p. 120
The Atrocity Exhibition	p. 123
JG Ballard: In Memoriam	p. 125
Introduction to The Secret of Sinharat by Leigh Brackett	p. 129
James Cawthorn: 1928-2008	p. 134
Fascination with Mortality: The Late Thomas M Disch	p. 136
Tom Disch Tribute	p. 139
A Constant Curiosity	p. 141
Introduction to Expletives Deleted by Angela Carter	p. 147
Ted Carnell	p. 153
A Review of No Laughing Matter by Angus Wilson	p. 155
Mai Dean	p. 158
The Ego Endures	p. 160
Music
Adding to the Legend	p. 164
Phil Ochs	p. 166
The Deep Fix	p. 169
Death by Hero Worship	p. 172
Living with Music: A Playlist	p. 176
Signs of the Times	p. 179
Rewriting the Blues	p. 182
Politics
To Kill a King	p. 186
Before Armageddon	p. 189
A Million Betrayals	p. 202
Introductions and Reviews
The Cosmic Satirist	p. 210
Dark Continents, Dying Planets	p. 214
A Fiercer Hen	p. 218
An Introduction to The Babylonian Trilogy by Sébastien Doubinsky	p. 221
Like a Fox	p. 223
Button-Holed by Erudition	p. 226
Cricket by Moonlight	p. 229
Introduction to The Aerodrome by Rex Warner	p. 242
Les Livres Dimanches	p. 248
Echoes of Peake	p. 255
Breaking Free	p. 257
The Time of The Time Machine	p. 260
Ubu C'est Moi?	p. 272
What to Buy for the Grown-Up Boy	p. 276
Yesterday's Tomorrow	p. 278
A Review of Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock	p. 281
North Pole Ghetto	p. 284
Wagner and Wodehouse, Together at Last	p. 287
Homage to Cornucopia	p. 289
Forever Dying, Forever Alive	p. 292
Introduction to Lud Heat and Suicide Bridge by Iain Sinclair	p. 295
Norton Goes to the Seaside	p. 298
How to Poach Magpie Eggs	p. 301
The Triumph of Time	p. 310
Conan: American Phenomenon	p. 314
Learning to Be a Jew	p. 322
Introduction to The Hooligan by Rudolf Nassauer	p. 327
When Worlds Collide	p. 333
Kit Carson Rides Again	p. 336
The Undertaker and the Actress	p. 338
The Spaces in Between	p. 340
Bites at the Red Apple	p. 343
The Water Maze	p. 347
Sexton Blake, Detective	p. 349
A Review of The Manual of Detection by Jedediah Berry	p. 359
Paraxis Introduction	p. 361
Frances Bret Harte	p. 364
Afterword	p. 371
Bibliography	p. 374
About the Author	p. 381
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