Al Alvarez

From the author of The Savage God, a unique memoir of growing old, and a lesson in not going gently into that good night.

A Swimmer's Journal

Pondlife

'To write about suicide . to transform the subject into something beautiful - this is the foreboding task that Alvarez set for himself . he has succeeded.' The New York Times

A Study of Suicide

The Savage God

Marcelo Cohen

Una Exploración de la Vida Nocturna, el Lenguaje Nocturno, el Dormir y el Soñar

La Noche

Poetry, poker, mountaineering, novels - a sparkling collection of essays from Britain's best-loved man of letters

People, Pastimes, Poker and Books

Risky Business

Al Alvarez, poet, critic, novelist, sportsman, and poker player, has for seventy years been hard to categorize. He is the author of the best-selling study of suicide, THE SAVAGE GOD, and as poetry editor of the OBSERVER, he has known most of the leading poets of the second half of last century. For a time he was an influential critic and his anthology THE NEW POETRY scandalised the literary community. Much of the liveliness of Alvarez's story is inspired by the ambiguous fate of being an English Jew. Although his family had been settled in London for more than two centuries, being Jewish always made them feel like outsiders. He went From Oundle, an English public school, to Oxford, where an academic career beckoned; instead he embarked on life as a freelance writer. Meanwhile he climbed mountains, played poker and wrote books about these pastimes which are now regarded as classics. WHERE DID IT ALL GO RIGHT? is his memorable, irreverent account of that journey.

Where Did It All Go Right?

Un clásico de la literatura de montaña. Esta es la historia de Mo Anthoine, un hombre discreto con una vida extraordinaria. Uno de los mejores escaladores de su tiempo que en la montaña no buscó ningún récord, sino el placer de vivir buenos momentos en compañía de sus amigos y, sobre todo, ponerse a prueba y llevar su resistencia física y mental al límite: eso que él llamaba «alimentar a la bestia». Durante casi treinta años no solo completó alguno de los ascensos más difíciles en todo el mundo, también se dedicó a las más variopintas actividades, como a reinventar el equipamiento de alpinismo o a ser doble de actores en películas de acción. Al Alvarez, célebre escritor y apasionado del deporte, reconstruye en este libro su amistad con el carismático Anthoine, con el que compartió su afición por la escalada. El relato de alguna de sus más épicas expediciones acerca al lector a la pasión desinteresada que mueve a los auténticos aventureros. Alimentar a la bestia es un clásico de la literatura de montaña y aventura, pero también un homenaje a la humildad y el compañerismo. «La palabra que mejor define la vida de Al Alvarez es “suerte”. Pero hay otro término de seis letras más adecuado para definir la vida que escogió vivir: “riesgo”.» John Sutherland (The Guardian) «El temor que transmite es tan intenso que he tenido que agarrarme al sofá. Cuando te das cuenta del coraje y la fortaleza que demuestran tener los protagonistas de este libro, alucinas. (...) Una escritura hermosa y emocionante.» The Times «Divertidísimo, ingenioso, profundo y –como el tema que trata– absolutamente único.» Climber

Alimentar a la bestia

What makes good writing good? In his brilliant new book, Al Alvarez argues that it is the development of the voice - voice as distinct from style - that makes a writer great. A poet as well as a critic, Al Alvarez approaches his subject both as an informed observer and an insider. Here are - among others - Sylvia Plath, John Donne, Jean Rhys, Shakespeare, T. S. Eliot, Coleridge and W. B. Yeats, dissected with clarity, depth and a profound understanding of the mechanics of writing. Like the best literary criticism, The Writer's Voice makes writing come vividly alive. Written with passion and insight, it is the ideal gift for anyone who loves to read.

The Writer's Voice

Feeding the Rat is the story of an extraordinary man: climbing legend Mo Anthoine, who found his greatest joy in adventures that tested the far limits of human endurance. That passion for "feeding the rat" made him the unsung hero of dozens of horrifying epics in the mountains, including the famous Ogre expedition that nearly killed Doug Scott and Sir Chris Bonington. The book is also the story of the extraordinary friendship between Mo and adrenaline junkie Al Alvarez - the distinguished poet, journalist and critic - whose deeply moving portrait of his longtime climbing partner is a classic of adventure literature.

A Climber's Life on the Edge

Feeding The Rat

Since its first publication twenty years ago, The Biggest Game in Town has become a sought-after cult classic. Acclaimed writer and critic Al Alvarez delves into the murky and compelling world of high-stakes Vegas poker, where 'the next best thing to playing and winning is playing and losing'. Uncovering an exotic underground rich in ambiance and eccentricity, The Biggest Game in Town is a real one of a kind, deftly capturing the skewed psyches and peculiar rites of professional poker players who descend every year for the World Series of Poker. It's a world that seems almost too surprising and bizarre to be true. 'A cool, precise, sharply witty, vivid evocation of a place and people, their appearances, behaviour and speech..Mr Alvarez is a shrewd analyst of the psychology of gamblers and a cleverly selective recorder of their bizarre talk with which, directly and indirectly, they reveal their secure grasp of unreality and their insane courage' Sunday Telegraph 'It will have most readers sitting on the edge of their seats' Sunday Times 'A new classic on gambling...it's quite brilliant' Time Out 'This is a magnificent book. Beyond the straights and full houses, Alvarez has written about people who are extremely good at what they do, and about America' San Francisco Chronicle

Al Alvarez

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