The hilariously compelling memoir that was hailed as an instant classic. Hoi Polloi recounts a childhood spent on racetracks and in bars, as the author’s parents struggle to climb the social ladder. It begins in 1968 in the small town of Heritage, New Zealand. Living above the bar of his family’s hotel, the young Craig is exposed to violence, drinking and murky racial politics. His parents, whom Sherborne thinks of as “Winks” and “Heels” in his eccentric personal language, decide to sell the hotel and move to Sydney, Australia – which they imagine as New Zealand’s “England”, a place of boundless wealth, prestige and social opportunities. Once in Sydney, the family begins a love affair with the racing scene. Written with extraordinary sympathy and verve, Hoi Polloi is the portrait of an extraordinary childhood – brutal, poignant and unforgettable. ‘Craig Sherborne has written one of the great Australian memoirs ... Hoi Polloi is a pure comic outrage of a book that will keep you wide-eyed with wonder way past dawn.’ —Peter Craven ‘A lyrical, candid memoir ... Sherborne’s parents are reanimated as tragi-comic grotesques, irresistibly awful, touchingly ludicrous, mordantly sensitive and painfully funny’ —Times ‘I read the first sentence and then pushed the day’s work aside and sat down to read it all. I haven’t come across such a lively and gripping memoir in a long time.’ —Hilary Mantel ‘A brilliant, searing memoir and a major new work of life writing.’ —David McCooey, Australian Book Review ‘A scalding memoir, funny, fast-moving, shot through with a fierce pathos.’ —Helen Garner

People often cause the poetic gene to start twitching. A funny walk, a way of being, something someone says or purely the observation of personal behaviours can all initiate a burbling mound of words and phrases to fire those patterns of language and away you go on a journey of adventure and creation. Indeed lots of people poems can be found here - a mix of funny, sober, heartening, emotive and the unexpected.

Survey of English usage, grammar, and style offering guidance on almost any writing problem imaginable.

"Features more than 10,000 entries that focus exclusively on words that, while outside most people's working vocabulary, are often encountered in literature, in technical writings such as computing or medical terminology, and in such diverse subject areas as law, philosophy, and art. Special attention is given to easily confused or closely related words. Usage notes are provided to ensure that readers know how to integrate these words into their vocabularies for more precision and power in speech and writing."--Back cover.

"Social criticism at its scorching-hot best."--Barbara Ehrenreich "Think H.L. Mencken crossed with Jon Stewart."--The Phoenix In Rich People Things, Chris Lehmann lays bare the various dogmas and delusions that prop up plutocratic rule in the post-meltdown age. It's a humorous and harrowing tale of warped populism, phony reform, and blind deference to the nation's financial elite. As the author explains, American class privilege is very much like the idea of sex in a Catholic school--it's not supposed to exist in the first place, but once it presents itself in your mind's eye, you realize that it's everywhere. A concise and easy-to-use guide, Rich People Things catalogs the fortifications that shelter the opulent from the resentments of the hoi polloi. From ideological stanchions such as the Free Market through the castellation of media including The New York Times and Wired magazine, to gatekeepers such as David Brooks, Steve Forbes, and Alan Greenspan, Lehmann covers the vast array of comforting and comprehensive protections that allow the über-privileged to maintain their iron grip on almost half of America's wealth. With chapters on Malcolm Gladwell, the Supreme Court, the memoir, and more, no one is spared from Lehmann's pointed prose. Chris Lehmann is employed, ever precariously, as an editor for Yahoo! News, Bookforum, and The Baffler, while dissecting the excesses of his social betters for his column Rich People Things at TheAwl.com. He lives in Washington, DC, with his wife Ana Marie Cox and a quartet of excellent pets.

A comprehensive guide to the English language provides detailed and expert information on grammar, style, spelling, vocabulary, and punctuation with clear explanations and example sentences.