Iain Gately Reihenfolge der Bücher (Chronologisch)

The author, recovering from an operation to fit him with a titanium hip joint, sets out to catch a tube. This is no London Underground train, but rather that evanescent space, inside the unfolding wave, of which the surfer's dreams are made. The ultimate experience for the surfer is to ride inside a tube as it closes behind them. Most rides last between five and fifteen seconds; the record is thirty. In twelve years of surfing, Iain Gately has never caught a tube, but, before he gets old, he yearns to do so. The Secret Surfer is an alternative travel book; an exploration of an activity that attracts loners, obsessives and eccentrics; a lyrical evocation of places in Cornwall, Galicia, Portugal, Andalucía, Morocco and Ireland; and a rousing call to all of us not to give up too soon. Gately's quest, whether it ends in triumph or in failure, will offer a similar mixture of introspection and adventure, of a search for self-knowledge and of physical endeavour.

On October 12, 1492, after an arduous voyage, his crew near mutinous, his provisions exhausted, Christopher Columbus landed on a small island he believed to be part of China. He was met by representatives of the local tribe who offered him gifts of beads, fruit and dried leaves. He threw the latter in the sea. But Columbus and his crew did not remain ignorant of these leaves' powers or purpose for long. LA DIVA NICOTINA traces the history of our relationship with a plant whose only function is to stimulate, from its beginnings amongst the ancient civilisations of South America to the present day. From Mayan gods to Marlboro Man, from Casanova to President Clinton, LA DIVA NICOTINA examines the roles tobacco has played in its long association with men and women, including its functions as spiritual messenger, as sexual ambassador, as a cure for cancer, global currency and ultimately as an assassin. Ever since the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas, tobacco has been central to western civilisation, and in some cases has been the cause of revolutions and the birth of nations. Tracing its development from ritual refreshment to universal habit, LA DIVA NICOTINA is a fascinating and witty dissection of this dangerously seductive plant.