Author Topic: Author! Author! (Read 360703 times)

roshanarose · « **Reply #2080 on:** July 20, 2011, 09:01:06 AM »

Not all the participants went on the long journey. The main character didn't.

My PC is acting up.

The book is non-fiction. Sorry, it is not Studs Terkel.

JoanK · « **Reply #2081 on:** July 20, 2011, 03:25:15 PM »

Too bad. Studs terkel is who I want to be when I grow up.

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #2082 on:** July 20, 2011, 03:42:39 PM »

Roshanarose - I don't think it's your computer. I have had nothing but trouble with this site all day - it's only in the past hour that it seems to have sorted itself (or maybe one of our esteemed leaders has been working away on it?). I've had not trouble accessing any other sites.

Rosemary

roshanarose · « **Reply #2083 on:** July 20, 2011, 11:18:18 PM »

Rosemarykaye - I think you are right. While I was attempting to add my clues nothing was happened. I was concerned that I wouldn't have any new clues for everyone.

Did you know?: Today is the anniversary of the day Neil Armstrong walked on the Moon.

Author: A famous and controversial author.
Earlier in his life he had been a successful reporter.
Has a BA and a PhD
His first book, which evidently became a best seller, was completed while he was still working full-time as a reporter.

Character: Achieved fame before this book was written.
Actively participated in WWII.
During his time fighting in WWII, he evaded capture and with the aid of the French Resistance, made his way across the Pyrenees to neutral Spain.

Book: The plot revolves around preparation for a long journey.
The book is based on a series of interviews with the participants.
Inspired by the danger and risks the participants and the main character were taking, the author set out to explain a certain quality that his subjects had.

roshanarose · « **Reply #2084 on:** July 20, 2011, 11:25:27 PM »

JoanK - Realising that I knew nothing about Studs Terkel, I did a search for him. I like this definition and quote:

Terkel was a self-described agnostic,[9] which he jokingly defined as "a cowardly atheist" during a 2004 interview with Krista Tippett on NPR's Speaking of Faith. Movie critic Roger Ebert claimed that Terkel was an atheist.[10][11]

JoanK · « **Reply #2085 on:** July 21, 2011, 03:42:15 PM »

I like that too. That's not the quality I want to emulate though. It's the way that he has of getting people to talk about themselves so that you can really SEE them, and share their life experiences.

roshanarose · « **Reply #2086 on:** July 21, 2011, 08:39:39 PM »

From his site there are many interesting interviews. One day when I connect my speakers (and they work) I look forward to hearing them.

The quote made me laugh because I know many atheists who are not brave enough to own up to it, so the term "cowardly atheist" seemed particularly apt.

Hey where are the quiz takers? I will not add any more until someone attempts to answer with the clues already given. There is a very broad hint in one of my posts.

PatH · « **Reply #2087 on:** July 21, 2011, 09:58:53 PM »

The hint is so broad I can't see it, but I'll keep thinking. There is a lot to go on, but I can't seem to think who it is.

roshanarose · « **Reply #2088 on:** July 21, 2011, 10:52:28 PM »

The hint is not actually part of the clues.

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #2089 on:** July 22, 2011, 02:29:01 AM »

Is it something to do with space exploration? Neil Armstrong?

Rosemary

Gumtree · « **Reply #2090 on:** July 22, 2011, 04:16:45 AM »

I wondered about the Neil Armstrong mention too... otherwise what's the mysterious broad hint?

C'mon Roshanarose - More clues needed...

Gumtree · « **Reply #2091 on:** July 22, 2011, 04:38:12 AM »

For some reason I started thinking about Nancy Wake - Pyrennes & Spain etc...then Chuck Yeager took over my head - I haven't read much about him but I think he did something like escaping into Spain after being shot down -

The more I think about it the more I think it must be Yeager -

At one time DH and sons were all agog over his exploits so there's probably a book around here about him... If so, I haven't read it and I don't know title or possible author.

roshanarose · « **Reply #2092 on:** July 22, 2011, 10:20:10 AM »

Hey Gum - Are you absolutely sure that you want to guess the right answer for this quiz? It seems to me that we have the monopoly on writing up the quizzes. Am I being a tad too cynical, do you think?

I was kind of surprised that the Moon Walk anniversary was not mentioned on any of the media I saw anyway. It seems that Rupert Murdoch is far more famous than Neil Armstrong. pffffttt spare me the media.

roshanarose · « **Reply #2093 on:** July 22, 2011, 10:27:27 AM »

Yep, Gum. The character is Chuck Yeager. Now for the book and the author. For the Americans this should be a doddle.

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #2094 on:** July 22, 2011, 10:53:03 AM »

Oh dear, never heard of him I'm afraid...

Rosemary

Frybabe · « **Reply #2095 on:** July 22, 2011, 11:06:54 AM »

Rosemarykaye, you probably have and just don't remember it. Chuck Yeager was the test pilot who first broke the sound barrier. He later had a hand in training our first astronauts. The book is The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Yeager

Gumtree · « **Reply #2096 on:** July 22, 2011, 02:00:39 PM »

Roshanarose: I'd scarcely call it a monopoly - we've just had a good run lately.

That title mentioned by Frybabe sounds familiar... I'd never have thought of it in a million years - haven't read it.

PatH · « **Reply #2097 on:** July 22, 2011, 02:05:51 PM »

WINNERS! Good job!

Gumtree for thinking of the character, and Frybabe for knowing book and author, probably character too, if she'd shown up first.

I guess Frybabe is it, since Gum couldn't have gotten the book, but the two of you can settle it.

I'd forgotten Yeager's name, and though I knew enough bits to have gotten the quiz, I don't think I would have put them together.

What a remarkable career Yeager had!

Frybabe · « **Reply #2098 on:** July 22, 2011, 05:40:31 PM »

Thinking cap is on. Will be back with something a little later.

roshanarose · « **Reply #2099 on:** July 23, 2011, 01:07:30 AM »

Congratulations Gum and Frybabe.

Gum - It wasn't a boast, unfortunately it reflects the number of players.

Chuck was quite a guy. I suppose they still have test pilots and what have you. I love flying, but I don't know about testing ! Yeager was the first man to fly faster than the speed of sound. I have often though that it must be lonely up there, flying solo, so fast. Sam Shepard portrayed him well in the Right Stuff, and Ed Harris who played John Glenn, was wonderful as always.

Tom Wolfe seems a bit of an enigma. The Right Stuff (1979) is quite a departure from his normal style. One of his major literary influences was "Vanity Fair", Thackeray. Wolfe also wrote "Bonfire of the Vanities" (1987)which I couldn't get into. He was the self-styled man in the white suit, a sartorial choice he began wearing exclusively, publicly in the 60s'. The choice of theme for "The Right Stuff" was a canny move. The book became a bestseller and won the American Book Award for nonfiction, and the National Institute of Arts and Letters Harold Vursell award for prose style, and the Columbia Journalism Award.

www.tomwolfe.com/bio.html

Why did I choose this particular book? As a small child I had an uncle who had been a pilot in the RAAF during the war and his backyard was built almost on the runway at Richmond Air Force Base in New South Wales. Whenever I heard a plane coming in to land I would rush down the back and wave to the pilot. Sometimes he would wave back - it was that close. In those days they were still flying bombers from WWII. My favourite plane was a huge black Neptune bomber, and they used to land every hour up until 9pm. My Uncle Ron used to tell me the names of all the planes and where they had flown during the war, their capabilities etc.

One day there was a catastrophic event. One of the Neptune's had crashed into a riverbank not far from the air field. We rushed down there. There was a lot of smoke, but the plane was intact and the pilot OK. That experience and seeing the big planes come in formed a life-time love of planes (and speed).

What really happened when that Neptune crashed. My memory has played truicks on me once again.

www.simplesite.com/raafansw/17754252

Frybabe · « **Reply #2100 on:** July 23, 2011, 07:51:00 AM »

I see the site is extremely slow again today. I am heading off to the grocery store before it gets too toasty out again (it is already 80 at 7:50am). Hopefully, the site will be acting better a little later.l

Some progress. I know my author, I just need to decide which book to use.

Frybabe · « **Reply #2101 on:** July 23, 2011, 06:55:36 PM »

Alrightty then:

Author:
One time journalist turned writer/historian.

Book: Non-fiction
While not the focus of the book, as a narrative device the author follows a central figure who lived through much of the period.

PatH · « **Reply #2102 on:** July 23, 2011, 07:15:56 PM »

I have a feeling I know this, but can't put a finger on it yet.

PatH · « **Reply #2103 on:** July 23, 2011, 07:16:29 PM »

I think it’s time to retire Title Mania. No one has posted there for 5 months, and we had all kind of run out of titles. Is there any reason to archive it rather than just trash it? We had some good conversations there, which I wouldn’t mind rereading, but realistically, no one is going to look for them. Let me know what you want.

roshanarose · « **Reply #2104 on:** July 24, 2011, 12:33:52 AM »

PatH - May I humbly put forward a suggestion for this board?

PatH · « **Reply #2105 on:** July 24, 2011, 01:33:54 AM »

Quote from: roshanarose on July 24, 2011, 12:33:52 AM

PatH - May I humbly put forward a suggestion for this board?

Certainly, roshanarose, what is it?

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #2106 on:** July 24, 2011, 01:43:57 AM »

Anthony Powell? A Dance to the Music of Time?

Frybabe · « **Reply #2107 on:** July 24, 2011, 08:35:23 AM »

Sorry, no, Rosemarykaye. The series sure sounds interesting though. Have your read them?

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #2108 on:** July 24, 2011, 10:18:16 AM »

Yes Frybabe - I have read them all and they are absolutely wonderful. The books start in the early 1900s, when the narrator is at Eton, they continue through his time at Oxford, the war, etc and end when he is in his 70s - there is an enormous cast of characters, for the purpose of untangling which I eventually bought Hilary Spurling's excellent guide, "Invitation to the Dance" (she was the one who wrote "Pearl Buck In China"). The series was written in 12 books, but I have it in 4 volumes of 3 novels each.

It was televised some years ago with a fantastic cast, including John Geilgud, Edward Fox, Miranda Richardson, and Nicholas Purefoy. Paul Rhys was the beautiful but doomed Charles Stringham, and Simon Russell Beale was brilliant as Widmerpol. The lovely James Fleet (from The Vicar of Dibley and Four Weddings and a Funeral) played Moreland, another tragic figure.

You can get the TV series on DVD and I can't recommend it highly enough - it is one of my all time favourites.

Although unfortunately it's not the answer!!

Rosemary

PatH · « **Reply #2109 on:** July 24, 2011, 12:02:21 PM »

I second everything Rosemary just said about Dance to the Music of Time. Bob and I started reading them in the early '60s, when only 5 had been written, then eagerly awaited each new volume. They are worth rereading, too; I've done so several times over the years.

Frybabe · « **Reply #2110 on:** July 24, 2011, 03:07:00 PM »

New clues.

Author:
One time journalist turned writer/historian.
Won two Pulitzer Prizes, but not for this book.

Book: Non-fiction
While not the focus of the book, as a narrative device the author follows a central figure who lived through much of the period.
The book seeks to show how people viewed and reacted to the numerous events that happened during this period, and how the events shaped the future of this area of the world.

pedln · « **Reply #2111 on:** July 24, 2011, 07:31:44 PM »

Nothing is jelling. I want to say Doctorow, but he wrote novels.

roshanarose · « **Reply #2112 on:** July 24, 2011, 09:49:56 PM »

PatH - I sent you a message with my suggestion.

PatH · « **Reply #2113 on:** July 24, 2011, 09:53:44 PM »

Not jelling for me yet, either.

Aussies rule today! Cadel Evans won the Tour de France today, the first Australian to do so. He started yesterday a whopping 57 seconds behind (that's a lot) and dramatically pulled ahead of the three front runners, pretty much assuring he would win today, which he did. Good job.

Gumtree · « **Reply #2114 on:** July 25, 2011, 05:29:06 AM »

Frybabe - forgive this intrusion into your quiz... haven't a clue about who you're talking about...

PatH Being a modest Aussie I wasn't going to say anything about Cadel's great win - except perhaps

WINNER WINNER WINNER WINNER WINNER WINNER ...

He was always the one to beat - it's a huge achievement for him and for the country as a whole - we always punch above our weight in sport as in other things. We watched the entire TV coverage for the full three weeks - DH is a great fan - so is son who lives in Sydney.

JoanK · « **Reply #2115 on:** July 25, 2011, 08:02:53 PM »

WELL DONE, AUSTRALIA! " we always punch above our weight in sport as in other things."

You certainly do! The US is a great sports nation and, as a sports junky, I benifit from being able to follow so many sports. But we pay a price! If an American had won, people here would have said "Oh thats nice", and turned the page of the newspaper. There are almost no sports acheivements that would bring about the surge of national pride that other nations feel.

Frybabe · « **Reply #2116 on:** July 26, 2011, 07:45:59 AM »

Author:
One time journalist turned writer/historian.
Won two Pulitzer Prizes, but not for this book.
Covered the Spanish Civil War for The Nation.

Book: Non-fiction
While not the focus of the book, as a narrative device the author follows a central figure who lived through much of the period.
The book seeks to show how people viewed and reacted to the numerous events that happened during this period, and how the events shaped the future of this area of the world.
The person the book follows over much of this time period was a nobleman who married the daughter of a king.

straudetwo · « **Reply #2117 on:** July 26, 2011, 03:35:37 PM »

A guess -

Author : Barbara Tuchman

Book : Bible and Sword

PatH · « **Reply #2118 on:** July 26, 2011, 04:32:09 PM »

Brilliant, Traude! It's certainly Barbara Tuchman, but I think the book is probably "A Distant Mirror".

Frybabe · « **Reply #2119 on:** July 26, 2011, 07:27:45 PM »

Winners

Traude is right with the author - Barbara Tuchman
PatH has the book right - A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century

Congratulations!

News:

Author Topic: Author! Author! (Read 360703 times)