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The Navigator (West Novel)
''The Navigator'' (1976) is a novel by Australian writer Morris West. It was originally published by HarperCollins, Collins in England in 1976. Synopsis Gunnar Thorkild, half Polynesian and half European, the "navigator" of the title, mounts an expedition to the Island of the Dead, a legendary Polynesian island where, supposedly, all navigators go before their death. Critical reception Lyn Frost, in ''The Canberra Times'', noted: "The theme is one that recurs so often in West's novels, of a man confronting his belief in his god. The author has moved from the dogma of Rome to the dreaming of the Pacific and written one of his best." Eileen Alderton was rather blunt in her assessment of the novel: "Thinking of getting away for it all on a lost Pacific island? After reading this you won't." In her literary study of West and his work, Maryanne Confoy noted: "The tranquility of the 60-year-old West...resonates in ''The Navigator'' though conversations which affirm honesty in re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Morris West
Morris Langlo West (26 April 19169 October 1999) was an Australian novelist and playwright, best known for his novels '' The Devil's Advocate'' (1959), ''The Shoes of the Fisherman'' (1963) and ''The Clowns of God'' (1981). His books were published in 27 languages and sold more than 60 million copies worldwide. Each new book he wrote after he became an established writer sold more than one million copies. West's works were often focused on international politics and the role of the Roman Catholic Church in international affairs. In ''The Shoes of the Fisherman'' he described the election and career of a Slav as Pope, 15 years before the historic election of Karol Wojtyła as Pope John Paul II. The sequel, ''The Clowns of God'', described a successor Pope who resigned the papacy to live in seclusion, 32 years before the abdication of Pope Benedict XVI in 2013. Early life West was born in St Kilda, Victoria, the son of a commercial salesman. Due to the large size of his family, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
HarperCollins
HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Corp. The name is a combination of several publishing firm names: Harper & Row, an American publishing company acquired in 1987—whose own name was the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers (founded in 1817) and Row, Peterson & Company—together with Scottish publishing company William Collins, Sons (founded in 1819), acquired in 1989. The worldwide CEO of HarperCollins is Brian Murray. HarperCollins has publishing groups in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, India, and China. The company publishes many different imprints, both former independent publishing houses and new imprints. History Collins Harper Mergers and acquisitions Collins was bought by Rupert Murdoch's News Corpora ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harlequin (West Novel)
''Harlequin'' (1974) is a novel by Australian writer Morris West. It was originally published by Collins in England in 1974. Synopsis George Harlequin is the head of a prestigious Swiss bank. Then his bank is identified as the target of a hostile takeover by Basil Yanko, the CEO of a computer security company who uses the company's skills and expertise to set up other companies for attack. Critical reception Jonathan Dawson, writing in ''The Canberra Times'', noted that "''Harlequin'' is a thriller and a very fine one, certainly one of West's best works to date. It strikes deep into the heart of the capitalist system, the world of paper money that is now seen to be no longer impregnable." In her literary study of West and his work, Maryanne Confoy noted: "In ''Harlequin'', written when he was in his late fifties, West once again investigated the theme of the divided self and he developed it in greater depth. But this time it was against the panorama of the battle between go ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Proteus (West Novel)
''Proteus'' (1979) is a novel by Australian writer Morris West. It was originally published by Collins in England in 1979. Synopsis The novel's protagonist is John Spada, an Italian-American who leads a multinational corporation. He also secretly heads a covert organisation called Proteus, aiming to free prisoners of conscience around the world. To achieve this, Proteus threatens to release a deadly botulism culture into selected cities' water supply. Critical reception John Philip in ''The Canberra Times'' thought that the "essence of a gripping yarn is there; but the story, as it unfolds, falters and finally fails." He concluded: "All in all, a disappointing novel. A great deal of action is developed around a topical theme; but finally Morris West loses touch with reality." In her literary study of West and his work, Maryanne Confoy noted: "In ''Proteus'' West was trying to discover whether the goodness of one human being could triumph over the evil of another. If the thor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Morrow (publisher)
William Morrow (June 15, 1873, in Dublin, Ireland – November 11, 1931, in New York City) was an American publisher. He attended Harvard College, class of 1900. At New York city, on April 24, 1923, he married novelist Honoré Willsie Morrow. He founded William Morrow and Company in 1926 and led it until his death. William Morrow and Company William Morrow and Company was acquired by Scott, Foresman in 1967 and sold in 1981 to the Hearst Corporation, which sold it, along with Avon Books, to the News Corporation in 1999. Both William Morrow and Avon are now imprints of News Corp subsidiary HarperCollins. Among many other authors, Morrow was Nevil Shute Nevil Shute Norway (17 January 189912 January 1960) was an English novelist and aeronautical engineer who spent his later years in Australia. He used his full name in his engineering career and Nevil Shute as his pen name, in order to protect ...'s American publisher for several of his novels. Morrow was the publisher ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pocket Books
Pocket Books is a division of Simon & Schuster that primarily publishes paperback books. History Pocket Books produced the first mass-market, pocket-sized paperback books in the United States in early 1939 and revolutionized the publishing industry. The German Albatross Books had pioneered the idea of a line of color-coded paperback editions in 1931 under Kurt Enoch, and Penguin Books in Britain had refined the idea in 1935 and had one million books in print by the following year. Pocket Books was founded by Richard L. Simon, M. Lincoln ("Max") Schuster and Leon Shimkin, partners of Simon & Schuster, along with Robert de Graff. In 1944, the founding owners sold the company to Marshall Field III, owner of the ''Chicago Sun'' newspaper. Following Field's death, in 1957, Leon Shimkin, a Simon & Schuster partner, and James M. Jacobson bought Pocket Books for $5 million. Simon & Schuster acquired Pocket in 1966. Penguin's success inspired entrepreneur Robert de Graff, who partn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Allen & Unwin
George Allen & Unwin was a British publishing company formed in 1911 when Sir Stanley Unwin purchased a controlling interest in George Allen & Co. It went on to become one of the leading publishers of the twentieth century and to establish an Australian subsidiary in 1976. In 1990, Allen & Unwin was sold to HarperCollins and the Australian branch was the subject of a management buy-out. George Allen & Unwin in the UK George Allen & Sons was established in 1871 by George Allen, with the backing of John Ruskin, becoming George Allen & Co. Ltd. in 1911 and then George Allen & Unwin in 1914 as a result of Stanley Unwin's purchase of a controlling interest. Unwin's son Rayner S. Unwin and nephew Philip helped run the company, which published the works of Bertrand Russell, Arthur Waley, Roald Dahl, Lancelot Hogben, and Thor Heyerdahl. It became well known as J. R. R. Tolkien's publisher, some time after publishing the popular children's fantasy novel ''The Hobbit'' in 1937, and its ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1976 In Australian Literature
This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1976. Events * Major publications Books * Robert Drewe – ''The Savage Crows'' * David Ireland (author), David Ireland – ''The Glass Canoe'' * Thomas Keneally – ''Season in Purgatory'' * Frank Moorhouse – ''Conference-Ville'' * Gerald Murnane – ''A Lifetime on Clouds'' * Christina Stead – ''Miss Herbert (The Suburban Wife)'' * Morris West – ''The Navigator (West novel), The Navigator'' * Patrick White – ''A Fringe of Leaves'' Short stories * Elizabeth Jolley – ''Five Acre Virgin and Other Stories'' * Dal Stivens – ''The Unicorn and Other Tales'' Science Fiction and Fantasy * A. Bertram Chandler – ''The Way Back'' * Lee Harding (writer), Lee Harding ** ''The Altered I : An Encounter with Science Fiction'' (edited) ** ''Beyond Tomorrow'' (edited) ** ''Future Sanctuary'' * David Lake (writer), David Lake – ''Walkers on the Sky'' Children's and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1976 Australian Novels
Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Philadelphia Flyers–Red Army game results in a 4–1 victory for the National Hockey League's Philadelphia Flyers over HC CSKA Moscow of the Soviet Union. * January 16 – The trial against jailed members of the Red Army Faction (the West German extreme-left militant Baader–Meinhof Group) begins in Stuttgart. * January 18 ** Full diplomatic relations are established between Bangladesh and Pakistan 5 years after the Bangladesh Liberation War. ** The Scottish Labour Party (1976), Scottish Labour Party is formed as a breakaway from the UK-wide party. ** Super Bowl X in American football: The Pittsburgh Steelers defeat the Dallas Cowboys, 21–17, in Miami. * January 21 – First commercial Concorde flight, from London to Bahrain. * January 27 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
