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Embracing the Ordinary
'In recession-chastened, soddenly staycationing Britain, Foley may well have devised a new bestseller format: a how-to book offering a way of escape ... [a] lovely book' Guardian It has always been difficult to appreciate everyday life, often devalued as dreary, banal and burdensome, and never more so than in a culture besotted with fantasy, celebrity and glamour. Yet, with characteristic wit and earthiness, Michael Foley - author of the bestselling The Age of Absurdity - draws on the works of writers, thinkers and artists who have celebrated and examined the ordinary life, and encourages us to delight in the complexities of the everyday. With astute observation, Foley brings fresh insights to such things as the banality of everyday speech, the madness and weirdness of snobbery, love and sex, and the strangeness of the everyday environment, such as the office. It is all more fascinating, comical and mysterious than you think. Intelligent, funny and entertaining, Foley shows us how to find contentment and satisfaction by embracing the ordinary things in life. 'A convincing argument for the beauty of the seemingly banal… ' Scotsman
The Age of Absurdity
PHILOSOPHY. A wry and accessible investigation into how the desirable states of wellbeing and satisfaction are constantly undermined by modern life. Michael Foley examines the elusive condition of happiness common to philosophy, spiritual teachings and contemporary psychology, then shows how these are becoming increasingly difficult to apply in a world of high expectations. The common challenges of earning a living, maintaining a relationship and ageing are becoming battlegrounds of existential angst and self-loathing in a culture that demands conspicuous consumption, high-octane partnerships and perpetual youth. Foley presents an entertaining strategy of not just accepting but embracing today's world - finding happiness in its absurdity.
The Road to Notown
A satirical novel set in Ireland on the literary world and its hangers-on. The hero is Kyle Magee, the "Zorba of the North," and he subjects the starry-eyed narrator to all the pretension, hypocrisy and paranoia he can handle. Counter balancing this is the Herron household comprising no-nonsense women, two of whom hero and narrator eventually marry. A debut in fiction.
Isn't This Fun?
Michael Foley wants to understand why he doesn't appear to be experiencing as much 'fun' as everyone else. So, with characteristic wit and humour, he sets out to understand what fun really means, examining its heritage, its cultural significance and the various activities we associate with fun. He investigates pursuits such as dancing, sex, holidays, sport, gaming, and comedy, and concludes that fun is not easy, simple and fixed, as many seem to believe, but elusive, complex and constantly changing. In fact, fun is a profoundly serious business, a range of new group rituals evolving in response to cultural developments, often motivated as much by spirituality as hedonism. Also, while fun is a modern phenomenon it turns out to have recreated many of the elements of early ritual. His findings will invigorate you with insights, make you laugh at life, and quite possibly help you to understand why the post-post-modern is actually the pre-pre-modern.
New and Selected Poems
A collection of the very best of Michael Foley's irreverent and often controversial poetry.
Confronting the War Machine
Focusing on the draft resistance movement in Boston in 1967-68, this study argues that these acts of mass civil disobedience turned the tide in the antiwar movement by drawing the Johnson administration into a confrontation with activists who were largely young, middle-class, liberal, and from suburban backgrounds--the core of Johnson's constituency.
Farming for the Long Haul
Farming in the ruins of the twentieth century -- A short, unhappy history of business advice for farmers -- Subsistence first! -- Land for the tiller -- Soil, civilization, and resilient farmers through the centuries -- Resourceful farmers -- Woodlands and wastes -- It takes a village: leisure, community, and resilience -- Getting a living, forging a livelihood -- Farmer, citizen, survivor: politics and resilience
Getting Used to Not Being Remarkable
While his wife is having an affair, a husband looks after their two children. He is Martin Ward, an Irish teacher in England and the novel examines his non-confrontational philosophy in matters of adultery.
Drinking with the Saints
Pub crawl your way through the sacred seasons with this entertaining and useful collection of cocktail recipes, distilled spirits, beer, and wine for virtually every occasion on the Catholic liturgical calendar. One part bartender’s guide, one part spiritual manual, a dash of irreverence, and mixed with love: Drinking with the Saints is a work that both sinner and saint will savor.
Prisoners of the British
Much of what has been written about the treatment of prisoners of war held by the British in various conflicts point to the belief that they have often been treated in a more caring and compassionate way than the prisoners of other countries. This was seen as especially true in the First World War as to how British prisoners were treated. This would seem to point out that Germans held in Britain were treated leniently while there were claims of British prisoners being mistreated by the Germans. Was the British sense of fair play present in the prison camps and did this sense of fair play include the press and public who often called for harsher treatment of the Germans in captivity. Were those seen as enemy aliens living in Britain given similar fair treatment? Were they sent to internment camps because they were a threat to the country or for their own protection to save them from the British public intent on inflicting violence on them. This book will examine the truth of these views while also looking at the number of camps set up in the country and the public and press perception of the men held here.
