Ian Thomson

A Case Study in a Knowledge-based Contractually Staffed Organization

Named the Dolman Travel Book of the Year, The Dead Yard paints an unforgettable portrait of modern Jamaica. Since independence, Jamaica has gradually become associated with twin images--a resort-style travel Eden for foreigners and a new kind of hell for Jamaicans, a society where gangs control the areas where most Jamaicans live and drug lords like Christopher Coke rule elites and the poor alike. Ian Thomson's brave book explores a country of lost promise, where America's hunger for drugs fuels a dependent economy and shadowy politics. The lauded birthplace of reggae and Bob Marley, Jamaica is now sunk in corruption and hopelessness. A synthesis of vital history and unflinching reportage, The Dead Yard is "a fascinating account of a beautiful, treacherous country" (Irish Times).

A Story of Modern Jamaica

The Dead Yard

Jamaica used to be the source of much of Britain's wealth, a tropical paradise for the planters, a Babylonian exile for the Africans shipped to the Caribbean. It became independent in 1962.Jamaica is now a country in despair. It has become a cockpit of gang warfare, drug crime and poverty. Haunted by the legacy of imperialism, its social and racial divisions seem entrenched. Its extraordinary musical tradition and physical beauty are shadowed by casual murder, police brutality and political corruption.Ian Thomson shows a side of Jamaica that tourists rarely see.He met ordinary Jamaicans in their homes and workplaces; and his encounters with the white elite, who still own most of Jamaica's businesses and newspapers, are unforgettable. Thomson brings alive the country's unique racial and ethnic mix; the all-pervading influence of the USA; and the increasing disillusionment felt by its people, who can't rely on the state for their most basic security. At the heart of the book is Jamaica's tense, uneasy relationship with Britain, to whom it remains politically and culturally bound.

Jan Bebbington

Carlos Larrinaga

Brendan O'Dwyer

This handbook showcases the broad spectrum of diverse approaches to environmental accounting which have developed during the last 30 years across the globe. The volume covers a range of physical issues such as water, carbon and biodiversity, as well as specific accounting matters such as management control, finance and audit. Moreover, seven chapters present environmental accounting issues that arise in the regions of Africa, Asia, Europe, MENA, North America, the Pacific and South America. The handbook also highlights future challenges in all the topic areas addressed as well as introducing new topics, such as links between environmental accounting and the circular economy, and the issues associated with animal rights. Edited by leading scholars in the area and with key contributions from across the discipline, and covering a diverse range of perspectives and locations, the volume is divided into five key parts: • Part 1: Framing the issues • Part 2: Financial accounting and reporting • Part 3: Management accounting • Part 4: Global and local perspectives • Part 5: Thematic topics in environmental accounting This handbook will act as a significant publication in drawing together the history of the field and important reference points in its future development, and will serve as a vital resource for students and scholars of environmental accounting and environmental economics.

Routledge Handbook of Environmental Accounting

Richard M.S. Wilson

Maria Cadiz Dyball

Accounting sustainably involves accounting for and to the natural environment, and accounting for and to society, including groups currently oppressed or disadvantaged by unsustainable processes and practices. This book creates a compelling case for the inclusion of sustainability at the heart of accounting educational programmes, offering critical lessons and identifying risks to avoid when designing accounting programmes and courses. Accounting sustainability has moved from the side-lines of policy discourses, accounting institutions, professional accounting practices, and research activities into the mainstream. The chapters in this proposed book engage in a critical dialogue to facilitate change in accounting education for sustainability. They dispel the myth that accounting for sustainability is an oxymoron, bad for business, unrelated to practice, or contrary to professional accounting bodies’ accreditation requirements. This book was originally published as a special issue of Accounting Education.

Sustainability in Accounting Education

Kerry Furber

THE DISILLUSION OF KING HENRY VIIIA comic novel, written by Kerry John Furber, with contributions by Ian Thomson.In 1527, the 36-year-old, philandering, King Henry VIII of England, was feeling a little peeved. His 42-year-old Spanish wife of 18 years, the Queen, Catherine of Aragon, had done her best to issue forth a surviving male heir to the English throne. Sadly, her six pregnancies, during the first nine years of their marriage, had resulted in two stillborn daughters, a stillborn son, two sons who died in infancy, and a surviving girl child who became notorious as Bloody Mary, Queen Mary 1st of England. On top of that, Henry was conducting affairs with the Boleyn sisters, Mary and Anne. He was looking for a way out. In September 1527, Henry and his Lord Chancellor, Cardinal Wolsey, dispatched Sir William Knight, the 52-year-old, weary, Archdeacon of Huntingdon, down through France, across the Alps, and onwards to Rome, in order to petition the then Pope, Clement VII, to grant Henry a divorce on a technicality of Biblical origin. This is the story of Sir William's involvement in what became known as the King's Great Matter, from June 1527 until he returned to London in February 1528, and concludes in the late summer of 1529, when the Papal Legatine Court was held in Blackfriars, London, to finally hear the evidence proper regarding Henry's requested marriage annulment. This is a funny, fictional telling of an astonishing story from an incredible time, mixing in some facts, in so far as they are known (and often confused), with liberal helpings of fantasy and hilarity. On top of that, it's a love story, an adventure, a parody, and a musing upon what life just may have been like during these tempestuously torrid times. WARNING: READER DISCRETION ADVISED.This book contains scenes of a sexual nature and profane language which could cause offence. It is not recommended for readers under the age of 15 years.This book is for entertainment only and should not be used for historical reference purposes.

The Disillusion of King Henry VIII

'One of the best literary biographies of the year...superb... Levi, I think, would have appreciated it' Observer Re-issued to mark the centenary of Primo Levi’s birth, now featuring a new introduction from the author. Discover the definitive biography of the iconic writer and Holocaust survivor. On 11 April 1987 the Italian writer and chemist Primo Levi fell to his death in the house where he was born. More than forty years after his rescue from a Nazi concentration camp, it seemed that Levi had taken his own life. His account of Auschwitz, If This Is a Man, is recognised as one of the essential books of mankind. Ian Thomson spent over ten years in Italy and elsewhere researching and writing this matchless biography. This incomparable book unravels the strands of a life caught between the factory and the typewriter, family and friends. Deeply researched, it sheds new light on Levi's recurring depressions and unearths vital information about his premature death.

A Biography

Primo Levi

An enthralling journey into the shadowy republic of Haiti. In the land of Vodou, zombies and the Tontons Macoute. In this classic account, history jostles with adventure, high comedy is touched with danger; and Haiti glows like a magic charm. Now updated and with a new foreword by the author for the post-earthquake edition.

A Journey Through Haiti

Bonjour Blanc

Primo Levi, author of Survival in Auschwitz and The Periodic Table, wrote books that have been called the essential works of humankind. Yet he lived an unremarkable existence, remaining until his death in the house in which he'd been born; managing a paint and varnish factory for thirty years; and tending his invalid mother to the last. Now, in a matchless account, Ian Thomson unravels the strands of a life as improbable as it was influential, the story of the most modest of men who became a universal touchstone of conscience and humanism. Drawing on exclusive access to family members and previously unseen correspondence, Thomson reconstructs the world of Levi's youth--the rhythms of Jewish life in Turin during the Mussolini years--as well as his experience in Auschwitz and difficult reintegration into postwar Italy. Thomson presents Levi in all his facets: his fondness for Louis Armstrong and fast cars, his insomnia and many near-catastrophic work accidents. Finally, he explores the controversy and isolation of Levi's later years, along with the increasing tensions in his life--between his private anguish and gift for friendship; his severe bouts of depression and passion for life and ideas; his pervasive dread and reasoned, pragmatic ethic. Praised in Britain as "the best sort of history" and "a model of its kind," Primo Levi: A Life is certain to take its place as the standard biography and a necessary companion to the works themselves.

A Life

Offers a heart-breaking portrayal of modern Jamaica, describing the land of drugs, gangs and corruption that exists behind the vacation-resort facade that most travelers see. Original. 12,000 first printing.

A profile of the author of Survival in Auschwitz and The Periodic Table examines his daily experiences as a paint factory manager who tended an invalid mother and lived in the same house his entire life, discussing the impact of such factors as Mussolini's regime, his difficult reintegration into postwar Italy, and his struggles with depression and insomnia. Reprint. 10,000 first printing.

Jamaica used to be the source of much of Britain's wealth, an island where slaves grew sugar and the money flowed in vast quantities. It was a tropical paradise for the planters, a Babylonian exile for the Africans shipped to the Caribbean. It became independent in 1962. Jamaica is now a country in despair. It has become a cockpit of gang warfare, drug crime and poverty. Haunted by the legacy of imperialism, its social and racial divisions seem entrenched. Its extraordinary musical tradition and physical beauty are shadowed by casual murder, police brutality and political corruption. Ian Thomson shows a side of Jamaica that tourists rarely see in their gated enclaves. He travelled country roads in buses and met ordinary Jamaicans in their homes and workplaces; and his encounters with the white elite, who still own most of Jamaica's businesses and newspapers, are unforgettable. Thomson brings alive the country's unique racial and ethnic mix; the all-pervading influence of the USA; and the increasing disillusionment felt by its people, who can't rely on the state for their most basic security. At the heart of the book is Jamaica's tense, uneasy relationship with Britain, to whom it remains politically and culturally bound.

Tales of Modern Jamaica

Nel luglio 1986 Ian Thomson, un giovane giornalista inglese già autore di interviste a scrittori italiani come Calvino, Moravia o Natalia Ginzburg arriva a Torino per incontrare Primo Levi. L’autore di Se questo è un uomo ha quasi sessantotto anni, la barba ben spuntata e gli occhiali con la montatura di metallo. Le maniche della camicia arrotolate rivelano il tatuaggio sull’avambraccio sinistro con il numero 174517 ma nonostante lo spettro di Auschwitz che aleggia per la stanza, Thomson racconta di un uomo serio e dolce allo stesso tempo, che parla con generosità di chimica e alpinismo, editoria e fantascienza, dando vita a una conversazione piena di un’allegria inaspettata. Nove mesi dopo, l’11 aprile 1987, Levi si suicida gettandosi nella tromba delle scale della sua casa di Torino. Un evento tragico in cui si enuclea il più profondo dramma del Novecento. Non solo l’Italia ma il mondo intero è sconvolto dalla perdita di un uomo con “lo spessore morale e l’equilibrio intellettuale di un titano del Ventesimo secolo” come lo definisce Philip Roth. Ian Thomson ha passato più di cinque anni inseguendo parenti, amici o semplici testimoni: annota oltre 300 testimonianze, raccoglie immagini, consulta fonti di archivio. Da questo lungo lavoro di scavo esce un ritratto complesso di Levi, che prova a sbrogliare la matassa di una vita trascorsa fra la chimica e la letteratura, la fabbrica e la macchina da scrivere. Thomson, evitando di schiacciarsi sull’autobiografia finzionale costruita da Levi stesso e aggirando la sua nota riservatezza, ricostruisce il suo rapporto con la famiglia, la passione per la montagna, la storia dei rifiuti editoriali e infine formula alcune ipotesi riguardo il suicidio. Finalmente tradotta in Italia, la biografia definitiva dello scrittore italiano che più di ogni altro ha saputo interrogare in profondità la storia oscura del Novecento. «Lo scrittore, il chimico. L’amante della montagna, il partigiano. Il deportato. Queste e tante cose è stato Primo Levi» - la Lettura, Corriere della Sera. «Come scrivere della vita di un tale uomo? Thomson l’ha fatto con grande rispetto... Talvolta la sua discrezione lascia di stucco.» - Anthony Grafton, The New York Times. «Un capolavoro per il suo garbo e le sue rivelazioni.» - James Hamilton-Paterson «Ian Thomson ha fatto una quantità prodigiosa di ricerche e offre una notevole mole di materiale biografico inedito... Molto convincente.» - The New York Review of Books

Primo Levi. Una vita

A TLS Book of the Year. 'Erudite and urgent, Ian Thomson's Dante's Divine Comedy is another book that everyone ought to read' Spectator. 'Succinct but wide-ranging, Ian Thomson's richly illustrated exploration of Dante's masterpiece is ... fun ... ingenious ... fascinating' Observer. 'A book worth savouring as a chunky, chatty, richly illustrated guide that brings Dante and his world within our reach' Evening Standard. Dante has no equal as he sings of other-worldly horror and celestial beatitude alike. Yet for all our distance from medieval theology, the Florentine poet's allegorical journey through hell, purgatory and paradise remains one of the essential works of world literature. At least fifty English language versions of the Inferno – the first part of Dante's poem – appeared in the twentieth century alone. If Dante's Divine Comedy speaks to our present condition, it is because it tells the story of Everyman who sets out in search of salvation in this world. Dante composed his great poem in the spoken Italian of his time. He wrote about suffering bodies and human weakness, and about divine ecstasy, in words that have resonated with readers and writers for the last seven hundred years. Ian Thomson's lively book is a wide-ranging exploration of a literary masterwork and its influence on writers, poets, artists and film-makers up to our own time.

Dante's Divine Comedy

Papa Oyibo

When a tiny mouse comes to the aid of a giant elephant who has a thorn stuck in her foot, a friendship blooms as they give each other the gift of a new name.

Ian Thomson

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