London Peculiar And Other Nonfiction
Oakland, CA and Pontypool, Wales: PM Press and Green Print, simultaneous trade-paperbacks, 2012 (March);
edited by Michael Moorcock & Alan Kausch;
original prices: $23·95 (U.S.A), £17·99 (U.K.);
xxviii + 377 pages;
I.S.B.N.s: 978-1-68486-492-2 (U.S.A.) & 978-1-85425-106-0 (U.K.);
cover artist: Linda Steele (photograph)/John Yates (design);
introduction by Iain Sinclair.
A collection of short non-fiction, arranged thematically — see below — with near-identical editions published (to all intents and purposes) simultaneously on both sides of the Atlantic, the only difference between them being the barcodes and I.S.B.Ns on their back covers, and the inclusion of a U.S.$ price on the American edition’s back cover.
Contents:-
p. xi: ‘The Man On The Stairs: An Introduction To Michael Moorcock’ (as ‘The Man On The Stairs: Introduction’ only, on contents page) by Iain Sinclair;
p. xvii: ‘Editor’s Foreword’ by Allan Kausch;
p. 1: ‘Scratching A Living’;
p. 5: ‘A Child’s Christmas In The Blitz’;
p. 25: “LONDON” comprising:-
p. 26: ‘Heart And Soul Of The City’;
p. 30: ‘A Place Of Perpetual Rehearsal And Audition’;
p. 34: ‘Building The New Jerusalem’;
p. 39: ‘City Of Wonderful Night’;
p. 42: ‘London Peculiar’;
p. 48: ‘Introduction To Gerald Kersh’s Fowlers End’;
p. 52: ‘A Child Of Her Times’
p. 55: ‘Mysteries Of London’;
p. 58: ‘Benglish For Beginners’;
p. 60: ‘Cockney in Translation’;
p. 63: “OTHER PLACES” comprising:-
p. 64: ‘Diary, 13th October 2001’;
p. 67: ‘Diary, 30th August 2003’;
p. 70: ‘Diary, 7th January 2006’;
p. 73: ‘Diary, 26th October 2007’;
p. 76: ‘Diary, 12th April 2008’;
p. 79: ‘Diary, 4th October 2008’;
p. 82: ‘Diary, 28th March 2009’;
p. 85: ‘Diary, 31st October 2009’;
p. 88: ‘Diary, 15th May 2010’;
p. 91: ‘A Review Of Another Fool In The Balkans: In The Footsteps Of Rebecca West by Tony White’;
p. 93: ‘A Construction Site Of The Mind’;
p. 97: “ABSENT FRIENDS” comprising:-
p. 98: ‘The Patsy’;
p. 101: ‘Jack’s Unforgettable Christmas’;
p. 107: ‘When The Political Gets Too Personal’;
p. 111: ‘Andrea Dworkin: Memorial’;
p. 113: ‘JG Ballard Introduction’;
p. 115: ‘Time Made Concrete’;
p. 120: ‘The Voice’;
p. 123: ‘The Atrocity Exhibition’;
p. 125: ‘JG Ballard: In Memoriam’;
p. 129: ‘Introduction To The Secret Of Sinharat by Leigh Brackett’;
p. 134: ‘James Cawthorn: 1929(sic)–2008’;
p. 136: ‘Fascination With Mortality: The Late Thomas M Disch’;
p. 139: ‘Thomas M Disch Tribute’;
p. 141: ‘A Constant Curiosity’ (first appearance in print form);
p. 147: ‘Introduction To Expletives Deleted by Angela Carter’;
p. 153: ‘Ted Carnell’;
p. 155: ‘A Review Of No Laughing Matter by Angus Wilson’ (first appearance);
p. 158: ‘Mal Dean’;
p. 160: ‘The Ego Endures’;
p. 163: “MUSIC” comprising:-
p. 164: ‘Adding To The Legend’;
p. 166: ‘Phil Ochs’;
p. 169: ‘The Deep Fix’;
p. 172: ‘Death By Hero Worship’;
p. 176: ‘Living With Music: A Playlist’;
p. 179: ‘Signs Of The Times’;
p. 182: ‘Rewriting The Blues’;
p. 185: “POLITICS” comprising:-
p. 186: ‘To Kill A King’;
p. 189: ‘Before Armageddon’;
p. 202: ‘A Million Betrayals’;
p. 209: “INTRODUCTIONS AND REVIEWS” comprising:-
p. 210: ‘The Cosmic Satirist’;
p. 214: ‘Dark Continents, Dying Planets’;
p. 218: ‘A Fiercer Hen’;
p. 221: ‘An Introduction To The Babylonian Trilogy by Sébastien Doubinsky’;
p. 223: ‘Like A Fox’;
p. 226: ‘Button-Holed By Erudition’;
p. 229: ‘Cricket By Moonlight’;
p. 242: ‘Introduction To The Aerodrome by Rex Warner’;
p. 248: ‘Les Livres Dimanches’ (sic);
p. 255: ‘Echoes Of Peake’;
p. 257: ‘Breaking Free’;
p. 260: ‘The Time Of The Time Machine’;
p. 272: ‘Ubu C’est Moi’;
p. 276: ‘What To Buy For The Grown-Up Boy;
p. 278: ‘Yesterday’s Tomorrow’;
p. 281: ‘A Review Of Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock’;
p. 284: ‘North Pole Ghetto’;
p. 287: ‘Wagner And Wodehouse, Together At Last’;
p. 289: ‘Homage To Cornucopia’;
p. 292: ‘Forever Dying, Forever Alive’;
p. 295: ‘Introduction To Lud Heat and Suicide Bridge by Iain Sinclair’;
p. 298: ‘Norton Goes To The Seaside’;
p. 301: ‘How to Poach Magpie Eggs’ (first appearance);
p. 310: ‘The Triumph Of Time’;
p. 314: ‘Conan: American Phenomenon’;
p. 322: ‘Learning To Be A Jew’;
p. 327: ‘Introduction To The Hooligan by Rudolf Nassauer’ (first appearance);
p. 333: ‘When Worlds Collide’;
p. 336: ‘Kit Carson Rides Again’;
p. 338: ‘The Undertaker And The Actress’;
p. 340: ‘The Spaces In Between’;
p. 343: ‘Bites At The Red Apple’;
p. 347: ‘The Water Maze’;
p. 349: ‘Sexton Blake, Detective’;
p. 359: ‘A Review Of The Manual Of Detection by Jedediah Berry’;
p. 361: ‘Paraxis Introduction’;
p. 364: ‘Frances (sic) Bret Harte’;
p. 367 (as p. 371 on contents page): ‘Afterword’ by Moorcock;
p. 370 (as p. 374 on contents page): ‘Bibliography’;
p. 377 (as p. 381 on contents page): ‘About The Author’.
London Peculiar is also available as an e-book: 9781604864908.
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