Background
Read, Piers Paul was born on March 7, 1941 in Beaconsfield, England. Son of Herbert Edward and Margaret (Ludwig) Read.
(Lost: 1972. A plane has crashed in the Andes mountains. T...)
Lost: 1972. A plane has crashed in the Andes mountains. The passengers are hopelessly lost in one of the most isolated places on earth. Abandoned: Almost three months later, two of the survivors, emaciated and frozen, reach the authorities and lead a rescue team to the remaining fourteen passengers. Alive: The rescue team are shocked when they reach the crash-site. Food supplies have long gone, and the remains of the dead lie scattered among the fuselage. It is only too clear how these passengers have managed to stay alive...
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( Sharpe's most famous comic protagonist fantasizes of mu...)
Sharpe's most famous comic protagonist fantasizes of murdering his wife. Henry Wilt has for ten years been trying to teach English literature to his students at the Fenland College of Arts and Technology. He has become bored, frustrated and possibly murdereous, so Chief Inspector Flint suspects the worst when Henry's wife Eva goes missing. From the author of GRANTCHESTER GRIND.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0330256033/?tag=2022091-20
(The intelligent and gripping thriller of treason and sexu...)
The intelligent and gripping thriller of treason and sexual intrigue in the south of France is back in print . After a despicable act of treason causes the slaughter of a British-led detachment of mercenaries in Indonesia, the list of suspects is narrowed to two young diplomats at the British Embassy in Jakarta. One of them, brilliant and charming Cambridge graduate Willy Ludley, disappears to Argentina, so it is assumed he is the traitor; case closed. The other suspect advances in his career and a decade later is up for an embassy post in Washington. The Foreign Office must now clear up any questions about his possible connection to the Indonesian affair. Simon Milson, of the Foreign Office and an old friend of Ludley's from Cambridge, catches the assignment. If Ludley can be confirmed as the traitor, the other suspect will be cleared. Milson contrives to drop in on Ludley and his wife at their home in Nice, the Villa Golitsyn, turning up with a runaway schoolgirl in tow. Amidst an increasing febrile atmosphere, fuelled by copious amounts of alcohol, intense philosophical conversations, and myriad sexual temptations, Ludley and Milson struggle with their principles and their pasts in this elegant and masterful thriller, first published in 1981, set equally in the sun-drenched Mediterranean and a moral no-man's land.
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(A moment-by-moment account of the events that immediately...)
A moment-by-moment account of the events that immediately preceded and followed the devastating explosion of the nuclear reactor at Chernobyl describes what has happened to the survivors and the neighboring countryside since the disaster. 40,000 first printing.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0679408193/?tag=2022091-20
(This is the story of a Czech writer who defects to the We...)
This is the story of a Czech writer who defects to the West and gets involved in an affair with the lady who has taken him under her wing. Piers Paul Reed also wrote "The Professor's Daughter" and "Upstart".
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(Hilary Fletcher, the son of a Yorkshire parson spent his ...)
Hilary Fletcher, the son of a Yorkshire parson spent his childhood in the company of the upper classes who humiliated him. So much so that he grows up with a deep loathing of the upper classes and a desire for revenge. Piers Paul Reed also wrote "The Professor's Daughter" and "Season in the West".
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0397009666/?tag=2022091-20
( Alice in Exile is Piers Paul Read's triumphant return t...)
Alice in Exile is Piers Paul Read's triumphant return to the fiction for which he is widely praised: romantic, dramatic, and rich with detail. It features Alice Fry--an independent woman in a world ruled by men--and the two men who love her. It is 1913 when Alice meets Edward Cobb, the eligible son of a baronet. When Alice's father, a radical publisher, gets involved in a scandal, Edward breaks off their engagement, unaware that Alice is expecting his child. Desperate, she travels to Russia to serve as a governess for charming Baron Rettenberg, as the Russian Revolution and World War I rage on.
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('A remarkable novel. Witty, even cynical, observation lea...)
'A remarkable novel. Witty, even cynical, observation leads to a conclusion profoundly moving.' - Graham Greene 'Read is undoubtedly one of the most talented novelists of our generation.' - Francis King 'A profoundly serious contemporary writer whose merits . . . are consistently underrated.' - D. J. Taylor 'All dark velvet and dry ice . . . If you are caught up by it, as I was, you will devour it at a single sitting and savor its resonances.' - New York Times 'Rare immaculately constructed work . . . so pleasurable you wish it would never end.' - Evening Standard As a boy, Edward Dawson is sent to an exclusive Catholic boarding school, where at a young age he develops an ambition to do good in the world. Believing he has a religious vocation, Dawson takes his monastic vows and enters the Church, first teaching and later working as a parish priest. But when he finds himself increasingly questioning the value of religious work in an irreligious world and doubting his own belief in God, Dawson leaves behind the only life he has ever known and goes to London. There he is taken up by a rich young widow and becomes her lover, entering her circle of decadent, fashionable friends and following a precipitous path towards debauchery and disillusion . . . Piers Paul Read's third novel, Monk Dawson (1969), was a tremendous critical success, winning both the Somerset Maugham Award and the Hawthornden Prize and confirming his reputation as one of the outstanding novelists of his generation. This edition, the first in more than 25 years, features a new introduction by the author.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1939140579/?tag=2022091-20
(This is a gripping look at Britain's great train robbery....)
This is a gripping look at Britain's great train robbery. One night in August, 1963, robbers stopped a freight/mail train north of London and grabbed a then-record 2.6 million British pounds - worth over $40 million pounds ($60 million dollars) at this writing. The author begins by looking at the robbers, most of whom belonged to gangs of professional thieves. These crooks were adept at burglary, theft, and bribing corrupt officials. The author shows the robbers' extensive planning for the crime, gaining vital information from both the library and unwitting rail officials. Then we read of the precisely-executed robbery, which left the train skipper injured. Reacting quickly, Scotland Yard assigned over 100 officers to the case, and soon discovering the hideout and evidence at Leathersdale Farm. Most of the robbers were soon rounded up, but a couple fled to France, Mexico, Canada, and eventually Brazil. The trial was among the most famous in British history, described here along with its aftermath. Finally, the author examines the rumor that the robbers were financed by ex-Nazi commander Otto Skorzeny and the brotherhood of ex-SS officers called Odessa. Author Piers Pual Read (b. 1941) uses nicely readable prose to keep the pages turning. Mr. Read wrote the book in 1978, shortly after he was contacted by an agent for the conspirators. Readers should enjoy this book, as well as ALIVE, the author's superb account of the survivors' ordeal following a plane crash in the Andes Mountains of South America in 1972.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0380429454/?tag=2022091-20
(On Thursday August 8, 1963, fifteen masked men stopped th...)
On Thursday August 8, 1963, fifteen masked men stopped the night train from Glasgow to London and robbed it of GBP2,500,000 (the equivalent of GBP41 million today). It was called the crime of the century, and the thieves were relentlessly pursued by Scotland Yard until half the gang were behind bars serving huge prison terms. But the story did not end there. First one, then another escaped in thrilling style and fled abroad, catching the world's imagination and making the Train Robbers into folk heroes. Thirteen years later, the gang combined to tell their story, and Piers Paul Read, author of the bestselling Alive, agreed to write it. This is the classic, complete and exclusive story of the twentieth-century's most audacious crime and its even more sensational aftermath.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0753541769/?tag=2022091-20
(Set between 1931 and 1945, this novel follows the life an...)
Set between 1931 and 1945, this novel follows the life and loves of the aristocratic Bertrand de Roujay. In this story Bertrand flees to Britain from occupied France where he joins the Free French under De Gaulle. Life in occupied France is illustrated through his career, relationships and family.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0394558871/?tag=2022091-20
( On October 12, 1972, a plane carrying a team of young r...)
On October 12, 1972, a plane carrying a team of young rugby players crashed into the remote, snow-peaked Andes. Out of the forty-five original passengers and crew, only sixteen made it off the mountain alive. For ten excruciating weeks they suffered deprivations beyond imagining, confronting nature head-on at its most furious and inhospitable. And to survive, they were forced to do what would have once been unthinkable ... This is their story -- one of the most astonishing true adventures of the twentieth century.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/038000321X/?tag=2022091-20
(Book annotation not available for this title. Title: The ...)
Book annotation not available for this title. Title: The Villa Golitsyn Author: Read, Piers Paul Publisher: Penguin Group USA Publication Date: 2012/12/04 Number of Pages: 192 Binding Type: PAPERBACK Library of Congress:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1468306855/?tag=2022091-20
(The famous British novelist and playwright Piers Paul Rea...)
The famous British novelist and playwright Piers Paul Read presents his lively, thought-provoking reflections on wide ranging spiritual topics with his usual brilliance and insight. When this best-selling writer turns his attention to a subject he holds most dear, his Catholic Faith, as well as to religious and cultural issues of our times, he provokes delight and inspiration, as well as some fury and controversy. Hell and Other Destinations is an illuminating volume that presents a selection of Read's most elegant and memorable writings on subjects ranging from Christians and Jews, liberation theology, and The Da Vinci Code to sexual desire, saints and Pope Benedict XVI.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1586171615/?tag=2022091-20
Read, Piers Paul was born on March 7, 1941 in Beaconsfield, England. Son of Herbert Edward and Margaret (Ludwig) Read.
Bachelor, St. John's College, Cambridge University, 1962. Master of Arts, St. John's College, Cambridge University, 1963.
Sub-editor, Times Literature Supplement, 1963-1964. Adjunct Professor writing Columbia University, 1980. Literature panel member Arts Council Great Britain, 1974-1976.
Governor Cardinal Manning Boys School, 1985. Chairman Catholic Writers Guild, 1993-1997.
(A moment-by-moment account of the events that immediately...)
(The famous British novelist and playwright Piers Paul Rea...)
(On Thursday August 8, 1963, fifteen masked men stopped th...)
( Alice in Exile is Piers Paul Read's triumphant return t...)
(This is the story of a Czech writer who defects to the We...)
(This is the story of a Czech writer who defects to the We...)
(A European conspiracy and a fanatic Catholic sect are beh...)
(Hilary Fletcher, the son of a Yorkshire parson spent his ...)
( On October 12, 1972, a plane carrying a team of young r...)
(The intelligent and gripping thriller of treason and sexu...)
(Set between 1931 and 1945, this novel follows the life an...)
(An intellectual thriller putting forth the supposition th...)
(Insight into the breakdown of pre-WWII Europe and the pos...)
( Sharpe's most famous comic protagonist fantasizes of mu...)
(Gripping true story of courage, adventure and endurance, ...)
(This is a gripping look at Britain's great train robbery....)
(Book annotation not available for this title. Title: The ...)
(The story of the Andes survivors.)
('A remarkable novel. Witty, even cynical, observation lea...)
('A remarkable novel. Witty, even cynical, observation lea...)
(Used but looks good)
(His first novel. Marx's daughter, a duchess and a young m...)
(Lost: 1972. A plane has crashed in the Andes mountains. T...)
(1st)
Member British board of Aid to Church in Need, 1988. Fellow Royal Society Literature. Member Society Authors (committee management 1972-1974), Institute.Contemporary Arts (committee management 1972-1974).
Married Emily Albertine Boothby, July 29, 1967. Children: Albert Nathaniel, Martha Marianna, William Edward, Beatrice Mary.