Finally available in paperback, one of the neglected masterpieces of Latin American literature -- an obsessive, yet lucid, exploration of the human body as a nexus of power and pleasure. Twenty-year-old Rene is sent to be groomed at a boarding schoolwhose motto is: "Suffer in silence". It is there that his education in"the service of pain" begins.

Previously unknown details of Rene Angelil's personal and professional life are revealed in this investigation into the man who orchestrated one of the foremost successes in the history of show business. A seducer, dreamer, and inveterate gambler, Angelil lived through the 1960s with an attitude of blissful insouciance, only to suffer a series of professional setbacks and disappointments in love, which did not prevent him from achieving fame and fortune. In 1981, Rene Angelil staked his life on a single card: Celine Dion. His bet succeeded, yet the road ahead was still rocky. His health gave way, and as he was recovering, an accusation of sexual assault threatened to ruin his reputation. What comes next in the life of this inveterate gambler? This biography takes us far beyond the idealized, indulgent image presented by the media. Is this powerful man a genius? Is he the victim of a conspiracy, or does he abuse his power? Why is he so feared? This completely up-to-date book contains answers to all these questions and much more.

The brilliant and ground-breaking mimetic theory of the French-American theorist René Girard (1923-2015)has gained wide-ranging recognition, yet its development has received less attention. This volume presents the important correspondence-conducted in French and as yet unpublished, let alone translated into English-between Girard and his major theological interlocutor Raymund Schwager SJ (1935-2004). It presents the personal relationship between two great thinkers that led to the development of a significant break-through in the humanities. In particular it reveals the theological development of Girard's thought in dialogue with Schwager, who was concerned to assist Girard in areas where he had little expertise and had encountered major criticism, such as the theological application of sacrifice. These issues in particular had placed major barriers to Girard's acceptance in theological circles. These letters reveal how Girard, with Schwager's help, entered the mainstream of theological debate.

Robinson details the life and times of France-Albert René (1935–2019), the second post-independence leader of Seychelles who oversaw the nation’s transition to democracy after over a decade of his brutal dictatorship. René’s career was Seychelles’ history over the forty-three years from independence in 1976 until his peaceful death. Having seized power in a violent coup he presented himself as a socialist in the Cold War but transitioned to build Africa’s most successful relationship with international lenders and developed Seychelles as a major offshore tax haven. He also sustained and cultivated Seychelles’ position as a Western tourism-based economy. Robinson outlines not only René’s use of political violence and extrajudicial killing but also his unique relationship with transnational, organised crime including his links with the New York mafia, Italian organised crime interests and even helping to arm the Rwandan genocide. Nevertheless, René – a white leader of an African nation – avoided the self-isolation of Rhodesia and South Africa; endowed racial harmony; enabled women to advance politically and socially; and left Seychelles with high incomes, currency convertibility, and robust human and physical infrastructure. This is an essential read for anyone with an interest in the history of Seychelles, which will also be of great value to scholars of postcolonial states, African studies, microstates and the Indian Ocean region.

Born into a German-French bilingual environment, the once renowned German-language author Ren Schickele (1883-1940) grew up in the Alsace region - today located in eastern France - during its annexation to the German Empire when links to French culture were frowned upon. In the aftermath of the First World War the situation was reversed when Alsace was reclaimed by the French Republic. In both these phases of its troubled history, Schickele insisted on the importance of Alsace's right to retain its double cultural heritage between the borders of its powerful rival neighbours and on its potential, as mediator between France and Germany, to promote peace in Europe. These issues are addressed in a critical discussion of a range of Schickele's works. His controversial wartime drama Hans im Schnakenloch affords a wry but penetrating insight into issues of identity in Alsace under German rule up to the war, while his socio-political essays and a novel trilogy, Das Erbe am Rhein, were written against the backdrop of the malaise alsacien and life under French rule. The historical background to the work is examined in detail as it is intimately bound up with the issues of cultural identity that Schickele explores in his writings.

First published in 2002. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.