In these stories whole lives come into focus through single events or sudden memories which bring the past bubbling to the surface. The past, as her characters discover, is made up not only of what is remembered, but also what isn't. The past is there, just out of the picture, but if memories haven't been savoured, recalled in the mind and boxed away, it's as if they have never been - until a moment when the pieces of the jigsaw re-form suddenly, sometimes pleasurably but more often painfully. Women look back at their young selves, at first marriages made when they were naive and trusting, at husbands and their difficult, demanding little ways. There is in this new collection an underlying heartbreak, a sense of regret in her characters for what might have been, for a fork in the road not taken, a memory suppressed in an act of prudent emotional housekeeping. But at the same time there is hope, there are second chances - here are people who reinvent themselves, seize life by the throat, who have moved on and can dare to conjure up the hidden memories, daring to go beyond what is remembered.

Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage

Literature & Fiction

Munro, Alan

Short Stories & Anthologies

Chatto & Windus, Ltd.

This book looks at the crisis over Kuwait in all its aspects - its background and causes; and the dramatic course of events as they unfolded over the eight tense months which followed the invasion in the first days of August 1990, as seen from the vantage point of the author's action station as British ambassador to Saudi Arabia. Particular emphasis is given to the crucial role played by Saudi Arabia as architect and lynchpin of the widely assorted coalition which came together to confront Iraq's aggression. The author gives a lively first-hand account of successive stages in the crisis, and backs this with an explanation of the factors, some of which go back many years, which led to the rise of Saddam Hussein and the threat he presented to international security. The book discusses the complex day-to-day interplay of diplomacy which took place between Saudi Arabia, Britain, and other western, Arab and moslem partners, as well as with a Soviet Union in terminal decline. Insights are revealed into the lead given by the United States through her armed forces and in the Security Council, and the course of her relationship on the ground with her major western associates, Britain and France. The backdrop for all this activity is painted in with contemporary undercurrents of Middle East politics: the Arab-Israel peace process, the shadow of revolutionary Iran, and the passions of Islamic revivalism. The crisis left its imprint on them all.

EMBASSY AT WAR: Politics and Diplomacy Behind the Gulf War

History

World

Brasseys

As Iraqi troops swarmed Kuwait in 1990, British Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Alan Munro played a vital role in putting, and holding, together a formidable coalition to evict them. He reveals here all the behind-the-scenes maneuvering that made this possible. With Western armies once more deployed in the Gulf, this new updated paperback edition of Munro's book provides a timely reminder of the pressures, pitfalls and potential of international diplomacy in the region.

Arab Storm: Politics and Diplomacy Behind the Gulf War

Asia

I.B.Tauris

This is a first-hand account of successive stages in the Gulf Crisis. There is an explanation of the factors, some of which go back many years, which led to the rise of Saddam Hussein and the threat he presented to international security. The book discloses the complex, day-to-day interplay of diplomacy which took place between Saudi Arabia, Britain and other Western, Arab and Moslem partners, as well as with a Soviet Union in terminal decline. Insights are revealed into the lead given by the USA through her armed forces and in the Security Council, and the course of her relationship on the ground with her major Western associates, Britain and France. The backdrop for all this activity is painted with contemporary undercurrents of: Middle East politics; the Arab-Israel peace process; the shadow of Revolutionary Iran and the passions of Islamic revivalism. The crisis left its imprint on them all.

Arabian Affair: The Gulf War from Saudi Arabia

Politics & Social Sciences

Politics & Government

Brasseys Uk Ltd

From first arrival in Lebanon as a fresh faced graduate to the heat of the first Gulf War conflict as managed from Saudi Arabia, Sir Alan Munro's account of life representing Her Majesty's government in embassy posting across the world will enchant and engage. This book is intended to convey something of the flavour - and the frivolities - of escapades and encounters which Sir Alan and his wife experienced in the course of thirty-five years in diplomacy in the Middle East, Africa and South America, and at home too. The narrative is set against a half-century of post-imperial adjustment in Britain's foreign policy, in which withdrawal from a global role is offset by an overriding concern, shared with western partners, to counter the extension - political and economic as well as military - of Soviet Marxist influence across a fractious post-colonial world. It is no purpose of mine to denigrate or burlesque any individuals who appear in its pages. This account brings out the human side, as well as the value, of a profession in which 'life's rich tapestry' plays an uncommonly prominent part.

Keep the Flag Flying: A Diplomatic Memoir

Biographies & Memoirs

Leaders & Notable People

Gilgamesh Publishing

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Books by Munro, Alan