Bøker av Simon Kitchener

As a historical subject, the Hansa has been largely ignored. As a literary subject, it is usually a small extra, a player you recognise but need not remember. Most, if asked, would be unable to envision the Hansa. Holbein left us two pictures from the 16th century but little else has survived. It has never found itself the setting of a serious book in English literature. So this book is unique. The Hansa, a medieval association of German merchants, trade from Russia in the east to the Bay of Biscay in the west and this gives us the setting. All the historical events presented are true. The main characters are a fictionalised family of merchants who, like the Hansa, have conflicting desires and principles. Their lives evolve and interconnect over sixty years, during which the plague, war, revolts, voyages, love stories and meetings with contemporary celebrities occur to help throw a light on urban medieval life. The fictional characters are extraordinary and likeable but not unfamiliar. Indeed, the world presented to us is closer to our own than the one inhabited by the knights and peasants living beyond the town walls of Lübeck and London. The characters are portrayed, not as aliens from another time, but as people whose needs-physical, mental and emotional-resemble our own today. The conflict between coercion and consensus is the central theme and is joined by the individual's search for meaning and value in life. This search constitutes the heart of the storyline as the varied characters wrangle with themselves, their families and economic circumstances to overcome life's obstacles and find happiness in being alive. It follows the lives of two unrelated women through trying circumstances who forge an incredible bond that is stronger than family and deeper than romantic love. And it looks closely at Lübeck herself, the Queen of the Hansa, whose progress is charted until she is forced to make a life-changing decision. Finally, there are people who really existed in history, brought to life in a realistic way and shown in a human light to help us understand better what medieval life might have been like.This is a fascinating read on many levels and will leave you wanting to know more about this seminal time.

Formed in 1694, for twenty-five years the Bank of England competed with other institutions to be the only public bank in England. In the wake of a wrenching civil war and a nearly bloodless revolution, England enjoyed a period of freedom unprecedented in its history. In London, particularly, the Crown and the Church exercised an ever decreasing control over people's lives, leaving individuals to believe anything was achievable.But it was a time of great naivety. New ideas, yet to be explored, their consequences still not understood, contained pitfalls for the unwary, traps for the foolhardy. Truth too often was taken on faith, and where there is faith, there is gullibility. It was on this gullibility our tricksters played. The story holds true to the facts of how the Bank came to exist. The characters are real and all took part in the Bank's foundation. We see through the eyes of an insider how this institution was formed, and how the trick was played. We look closely at those who perpetrated the illusion, how they conjured their alchemy in alignment with the Government, who profited on the margins, and why so many fools venally followed the folly.Today, the Bank's policies are all too similar to those followed in the lead-up to the South Sea Bubble. We must understand that ploy because the trick continues to be played. So long as fools think this time it is different, that this time faith will conquer reason, then the deception will continue, and the events will play out.

This is a story about understanding the meaning of art. It is not a polemic on how art should be interpreted; nor is it an appeal to revere its quasi-religious status; it is about art's significance in achieving self-actualisation. One does not need to agree with Maslow's theory to recognise that human beings like to create. Creating comes naturally to us, for survival, for fulfilment. Bringing something into existence, not matter how humble, is enjoyable, for children and adults alike, and while not all creation is artistic, artistic expression, the end of artistic creation, brings great benefits to those who can find such ways to exhibit their emotional evocations. How this might be done is the novel's theme. Should you disagree with my preference for Romanticism in artistic expression, do not let it deter you from the theme. The appreciation and valuation of art is subjective as it is derived from one's values. What we value in art tells us much about ourselves. The book considers this aspect of our self, and is useful for that, regardless of taste.The narrative, a young man's search for value in what promises to be a prosaic life, is not unusual. The setting, an art colony populated predominantly by women indulging their taste for painting while seeking refuge from orthodoxy, is somewhat more contrived. In defence, the setting mirrors the protagonist's attempts at artistic expression; as with his efforts, the setting veers from reality's replication and is not overly fanciful.Finally, the characters are more important than the narrative, for it is they who discuss art and show their relationship to it through their paintings. It is the players, their entrances and exits, and what they paint at Nemi Hall, that is most relevant to the theme. I hope you will enjoy it.

In November 1991, 36 Canadian soldiers, under the initially reluctant leadership of Captain Sid Brusson, participated in a three-week French Commando Course. This is their story.It follows Brusson's initial steps to organise the Canadian's participation, his eventual inclusion on the course, and what happened to Brusson and his men during their time in France. The story culminates in a thrilling final field exercise during which the men experience an unusual turn of events. Full of wit, fear, excitement and recurring self-doubt, this is a true-life story about real people in a very testing environment. It provides the reader with a small time capsule of the period when the Canadian Forces in Europe faced coming home after nearly fifty years in Germany. Told from the perspective of a young, sensitive artillery officer struggling to overcome his own demons while maintaining the respect of those around him, it illustrates how vital are willpower and a sense of humour to soldiering and leadership.

Inspecting the Unexpected is a novel written by a Canadian weapons inspector who from 1993-1995 carried out missions in Eastern Europe to verify the destruction of conventional weapons in Europe. It tells the story of how those missions were conducted, the problems encountered and the discoveries made as it became increasingly apparent that some government departments were looking to cash-in on the peace dividend in self-serving ways. As well as being a unique time-capsule of an intriguing moment in history, it looks at different people's views on where they thought Europe was moving and how, in such interesting times, it might all turn out. This is essential reading for those wanting to understand how various military forces in Soviet Europe dealt with the end of the Cold War.