A shocking image of Syria's brutal war – a war that will continue regardless | Jonathan Jones

Even the most horrific photos are not able to prevent wars happening, they remain decoration for our conscienceThis week the Guardian published the kind of picture that deserves to change the world. The front page of Thursday's print edition was dominated by an epic scene of human suffering, reproduced above. In a canyon between grey shattered precipices of bomb-ravaged buildings, an uncountable number of people wait for food. The faces in the front of the vast desperate crowd are anxious, stoical, subdued; beyond is a sea of heads whose expressions are unreadable but guessably similar.This is a great photograph – and it wants the world to act. It was released by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees and shows what happened when aid workers tried to give out food parcels at Yarmouk refugee camp on the edge of Damascus. The picture illuminates the mind-boggling devastation of the war in Syria: tottering jumbles of concrete and plaster gaping with voids and caverns, are all that is left of this cityscape. Above all, it captures the sheer scale of human suffering with this horribly mesmerising sea of faces.But will it make a difference? It is intended as a campaigning picture, not a work of art. Here are the facts from one small part of Syria; here is the fate of part of the Palestinian people.When I look at photographs that try to move the world to compassionate action I am haunted by Jurgen Stroop. In the 1940s, Stroop, the SS General who led the final attack on the... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2014-02-28 00:00:00 UTC ]

Other Publishing stories related to: 'A shocking image of Syria's brutal war – a war that will continue regardless | Jonathan Jones'


One of Europe’s Great Libraries Didn’t Stand a Chance… In Either of the World Wars

Exactly a century after the burning of Washington another invading army encountered a library, and saw it as a perfect way to strike a blow at the heart of their enemy. This time the action would have a global impact, as the means of spreading news had been transformed in the century since the... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-12-02 09:48:49 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #world wars #global impact #literary hub #libraries


Mitchell Beazley continues to get organised with The Home Edit

Octopus imprint Mitchell Beazley has acquired The Home Edit Workbook by Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin of the Netflix series "Get Organized with The Home Edit".  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-12-01 20:51:40 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #netflix series


Jonathan Cape to publish Bennett's second novel, Checkout 19

Vintage imprint Jonathan Cape will publish Checkout 19 by Claire-Louise Bennett, author of Pond (Fitzcarraldo Editions, 2015).  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-30 16:16:38 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #claire-louise bennett #jonathan cape


‘Eddie’s Boy,’ by Thomas Perry, continues the saga of a retired hit man who can’t escape his past

One of Perry’s unique talents is his ability to tell the same story over and over again, while finding ways to make it fresh and absorbing. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-11-29 06:53:26 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #finding ways


Amazon gives rugby £20m lifeline and could spark Six Nations bidding war

Amazon may not be in it for the long term but its investment in Autumn Nations Cup is likely to prompt interest from othersThere has been little cheer for unions and clubs this year as restrictions imposed by the pandemic have reduced cash flow to a trickle, prompted wage cuts and led to a run... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-11-12 19:00:30 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #long term #friday night #report published #bidding war #nielsen


Jonathan Lethem’s ‘The Arrest’ imagines a kinder, gentler apocalypse

Expecting the terror of darkness once the power goes out, we find instead the sepia tones of candlelight. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-11-10 13:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #jonathan lethem


Picador bags Gillett's 'shocking' dance music history

Picador has bagged a “shocking, enlightening and engaging” social and political history of dance music in the UK by journalist and film-maker Ed Gillett. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-09 10:32:37 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #political history #picador


Gail Jones: Australian literature is chronically underfunded — here's how to help it flourish

Literature funding has been cut brutally in recent years and writers' incomes are disastrously low. Yet books shape our national identity, forming an often invisible bedrock for the wider economy. Continue reading at The Conversation

[ The Conversation | 2020-11-08 19:05:31 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #national identity #wider economy #australian literature


At Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, the Consolidation Carousel Continues

HMH joins the ranks of S&S as the latest large trade publisher to be put up for sale. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-11-06 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #trade publisher


In ‘Missionaries,’ Phil Klay paints a grim picture of Colombia’s drug war

The award-winning author of “Redeployment” debuts as a novelist with a cast of tortured characters navigating a treacherous world. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-11-02 06:53:32 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #award-winning author


They survived World War II — but were left stranded in Germany

Historian David Nasaw recounts the struggles of Jews and others who had no place to go. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-10-30 12:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #left stranded


Bookstat: Cavanagh's reign continues

Steve Cavanagh’s Fifty-Fifty (Orion) has once again reigned atop the Bookstat e-book top 10 for the week ending 24th October, with Martina Cole’s No Mercy (Headline) holding firm in the runner-up spot for a second week running. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-10-29 03:52:52 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #steve cavanagh #reign continues #reigned atop #martina cole #week running #e-book


Mira Jacob, Kiese Laymon, and Saeed Jones on the Art of Memoir

Bookable features established authors and emerging talent in conversation with host and author Amanda Stern, perhaps best known for creating the Happy Ending Music & Reading Series at New York’s famous Joe’s Pub and Symphony Space. With an immersive sound experience designed around each... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-10-23 08:48:34 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #memoir


Writing with a Humble Pen: A Conversation with Tayari Jones, by Avery Holmes

Interviews Photo by Beowulf Sheehan / Courtesy of www.tayarijones.com Tayari Jones is a New York Times best-selling author from Atlanta, Georgia. Her most recent novel, An American Marriage, won the 2019 Women’s Prize for Fiction. Jones has been... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2020-10-22 14:14:35 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #oklahoma city #short-story collection #small town #north carolina #book festival #best-selling author


Jones, Trollope and Reichs in Richard & Judy Christmas line-up

Tayari Jones, Joanna Trollope and Kathy Reichs are among the authors selected for Richard & Judy's Christmas Book Club, which this year is dominated by thrillers.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-10-22 09:21:24 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #tayari jones #joanna trollope #richard judy


A F Steadman | 'I really didn’t know if anyone would like it, so I was very shocked'

Though publishing deals are standard fair in the pages of The Bookseller, it is rare for them to make her whirlwind publishing journey a splash in the mainstream press. But this was the case last month, when 28-year-old début author A F Steadman’s fantasy adventure series Skandar and the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-10-14 05:47:38 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #publishing deals #mainstream press #unicorn thief #début author


S&S to publish Richard Jones picture books

Simon & Schuster Children's has acquired two picture books from author and illustrator Richard Jones.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-10-14 00:40:26 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #picture books


A Surprisingly Strong Year of Book Sales Continues

In spite of historical challenges, unit sales of print books were up 6.4% in the first nine months of 2020. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-10-09 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #historical challenges #print books


A Surprisingly Strong Year of Book Sales Continues

In spite of historical challenges, unit sales of print books were up 6.4% in the first nine months of 2020. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-10-09 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #historical challenges #print books


Pushkin to publish Wegelius' third Sally Jones title

Pushkin Press will publish The False Rose​ by Swedish author Jakob Wegelius, the third title featuring the highly intelligent and resourceful gorilla Sally Jones.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-10-06 22:58:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #pushkin press