'Our planet's for big thinkers. That's why I feel so at home on it' Harvey Smith, an eighteen year old bilateral leg amputee, lives in East London with his sister, Jackie. It's an arrangement that is doomed to end when her new boyfriend, Alfonso Barrera, announces they are moving to Spain. Yet Harvey's concerns for his future are soon forgotten after reading the Arctic adventures of Simon Draper, a double leg amputee himself, who experienced phantom limb sensations so real he believed he could stand and run. Harvey is driven to replicate this experience and makes plans for his own journey. Yet he soon begins to question his motives and the demands he places on others. Can his desire for physical and mental rehabilitation be so easily resolved? Set against a backdrop of nineteen eighties political unrest, the story follows Harvey's trackless path towards independent adulthood, as he confronts not only his own disability but the unerring nature of life itself.

"Suggested for mature readers"--P. [4] of cover.

To this fascinating story of multicontinental revelry, Weeks attentively adds the background and development of Harvey Ladew's unique and wonderful gardens. 132 illustrations.

"Originally published, in a slightly different format, as Circulation: William Harvey's revolutionary idea, in Great Britain by Chatto & Windus, 2012"--T.p. verso.

The popular screen and stage star Laurence Harvey (1928-1973) is best remembered for his stellar performance in the film The Manchurian Candidate—a 20th century classic. Of his 50 films, Room At the Top not only brought sexual permissiveness to American and British screens and an Oscar nomination, but it also branded him a heartthrob sensation. For all his fame and fortune, Harvey's short life was riddled with controversy, demonized by critics, and fraught with tragedy. In this revealing biography by Harvey's sister-in-law, readers are provided a close-up view of his career, his three marriages and his longtime sexual affair with one of his male producers. It also details his battle with cancer and his failure to acknowledge its seriousness. Packed with personal anecdotes, more than twenty black and white photographs, and a filmography, Reach for the Top: The Turbulent Life of Laurence Harvey will fascinate film students, scholars, and fans of the actor.

With warmth and humor, tuba virtuoso Harvey Phillips tells the story of his amazing life and career from his Missouri childhood through his days as a performer with the King Brothers and the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circuses, his training at the Juilliard School, a stint with the US Army Field Band, and his freelance days with the New York City Opera and Ballet. A founder of the New York Brass Quintet, Phillips served as vice president of the New England Conservatory of Music and became Distinguished Professor of Music at Indiana University. The creator of an industry of TubaChristmases, Octubafests, and TubaSantas, he crusaded for recognition of the tuba as a serious musical instrument, commissioning more than 200 works. Enhanced by an extensive gallery of photographs, Mr. Tuba conveys Phillips's playful zest for life while documenting his important musical legacy.