This book, to quote its author, is based on the twin premises that the 'oddballs, tinks, heidbangers, saints, keelies, nutters, philosophers, freaks and such like deserve to be drawn awhile from the periphery to the centre' of our consciousness and that these apparently marginal lives are not only interesting in their own right, but often tell us more about the mores of a country or a time than the lives of its better known citizens (not that some of these are not included here too). In what other book could such eminent figures as the Japanese poet Basho, the modernist artist Kurt Schwitters, the baseball star Babe Ruth, the singer Billie Holiday and the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein rub shoulders with the likes of Anancy, Ganesh, Johnny Faa, Billie the Kid, Eliza Donnithorne (the true-life model for Dickens' Miss Havisham) or the Swiss air aces with a higher pro rata strike rate than the RAF in the Battle of Britain. Not to mention Henri Cochet - the sublime playboy tennis star who found himself two sets and forty-love down in the fifth game of the third set of the Wimbledon men's final in 1927 and went on to win the championship.
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‘A carnivalesque read, backed up by the depth of his research and the rigour of his intellect’ -- Glasgow Herald
‘For anyone interested in seeing what stokes the fire of human endeavour’ -- Christopher Fowler, Independent on Sunday
‘God, Mongrels and Demons is disarmingly charming for a radical’s rallying call’ -- Scotsman
‘Stimulating and hugely entertaining . . . an ideal bedside or bathside companion’ -- Scotland on Sunday --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
‘For anyone interested in seeing what stokes the fire of human endeavour’ -- Christopher Fowler, Independent on Sunday
‘God, Mongrels and Demons is disarmingly charming for a radical’s rallying call’ -- Scotsman
‘Stimulating and hugely entertaining . . . an ideal bedside or bathside companion’ -- Scotland on Sunday --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
About the Author
Angus Calder (b.1942) has taught all over the world, and is currently teaching at the University of Edinburgh. He was co-editor of the Journal of Commonwealth Literature (1981-7) and a recent collaborator with Alasdair Gray on a series of articles in the Scotsman. His many books include the seminal social history, The People's War: Britain 1939-45 (1969) and Revolutionary Empire (1981). His hobbies include cooking, shopping for food, music, cricket, curling and swimming in the sea.
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By keddieb
Format:Paperback
Unique, idiosyncratic and often brilliant, this collection of thumbnail biographies covers an array of historical and artistic figures from the legendary to the obscure. It is an unfailingly absorbing and amusing read, so much so that I have bought several copies as presents for friends.
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2.0 out of 5 stars
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3 of 11 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Muddled soup
14 Sep 2004
By D. MacGowan
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
Calder gets points for picking an interesting array of subjects for his biography, but his approach to each individual is somewhat confusing in the best of the entries. I found myself having to go back in many instances to follow the trail of breadcrumbs Calder left: names and events appear before we've been properly introduced (giving me the impression Calder had talked about them previously and I should already know who/what he is talking about -- which was not always the case).
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2.0 out of 5 stars
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