Rutherfurd has told the story of the land he was born in and has told it well. The verbosity of a Michener is missing, but all the other elements are present, from geology and archaeology to a rich story of human life. A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to have lunch with wordweaver and we chatted away for ages over remnants of pizza and juice at a Pizza Express just off Museum Street in London. I had the afternoon off - I know, I am the luckiest girl! - and after we hugged one another goodbye I set off to visit Forbidden Planet on Shaftesbury Avenue to have a 'look around' - my intention was to keep my cards firmly in my pocket and not to succumb to temptation. I came away with two books for hubby, and an armload for me.

One of which was Nightlife by Rob Thurman. I was a bit tentative, thinking it was going to be a bit rubbish, but for a fiver, I could risk it.Īnd, once again, I was proven wrong. What a good read by the first time novelist Rob Thurman - and a definite talent to watch out for. The novel surrounds Cal - Caliban - and his brother Niko. You see, he is an interesting mixed breed of monster and human, the first ever hybrid to live and survive after a breeding.and they want him back.what for isn't clear at first.įrom monsters, grendels, who are after Cal. They had him, when he was younger, they snatched him away but he managed to escape and he came back to find his brother Niko waiting for him at that exact spot he disappeared. Alex Haley was born in Ithaca, New York in 1921. He grew up in the South, the son of Simon Alexander Haley, a teacher, and the former Bertha George Palmer, also a teacher.

In 1939 Haley began a twenty year service with the coast guard.

It was during his service that he began to write. After World War II, Haley was able to petition the Coast Guard to allow him to transfer into the field of journalism, and by 1949 he had become a First Class Petty Officer in the rate of Journalist. He later advanced to the rank of Chief Petty Officer and held this grade until his retirement from the Coast Guard in 1959.Īfter his retirement from the Coast Guard, Haley began his writing career and eventually became a senior editor for Reader's Digest. Haley conducted the first Playboy Interview for Playboy magazine. The interview, with jazz legend Miles Davis, appeared in the September 1962 issue. Throughout the 1960s, Haley was responsible for some of the magazine's most notable interviews, including an interview with American Nazi Party leader, George Lincoln Rockwell and an interview with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., which was the longest he ever granted to any publication.

The Mother by Brett McBean