Most Popular Books by Brian Boyd

The story of Nabokov''s life continues with his arrival in the United States in 1940. He found that supporting himself and his family was not easy--until the astonishing success of Lolita catapulted him to world fame and financial security.

Pale Fire is regarded by many as Vladimir Nabokov''s masterpiece. The novel has been hailed as one of the most striking early examples of postmodernism and has become a famous test case for theories about reading because of the apparent impossibility of deciding between several radically different interpretations. Does the book have two narrators, as it first appears, or one? How much is fantasy and how much is reality? Whose fantasy and whose reality are they? Brian Boyd, Nabokov''s biographer and hitherto the foremost proponent of the idea that Pale Fire has one narrator, John Shade, now rejects this position and presents a new and startlingly different solution that will permanently shift the nature of critical debate on the novel. Boyd argues that the book does indeed have two narrators, Shade and Charles Kinbote, but reveals that Kinbote had some strange and highly surprising help in writing his sections. In light of this interpretation, Pale Fire now looks distinctly less postmodern--and more interesting than ever. In presenting his arguments, Boyd shows how Nabokov designed Pale Fire for readers to make surprising discoveries on a first reading and even more surprising discoveries on subsequent readings by following carefully prepared clues within the novel. Boyd leads the reader step-by-step through the book, gradually revealing the profound relationship between Nabokov''s ethics, aesthetics, epistemology, and metaphysics. If Nabokov has generously planned the novel to be accessible on a first reading and yet to incorporate successive vistas of surprise, Boyd argues, it is because he thinks a deep generosity lies behind the inexhaustibility, complexity, and mystery of the world. Boyd also shows how Nabokov''s interest in discovery springs in part from his work as a scientist and scholar, and draws comparisons between the processes of readerly and scientific discovery. This is a profound, provocative, and compelling reinterpretation of one of the greatest novels of the twentieth century.

At the age of twenty-one, Brian Boyd wrote a thesis on Vladimir Nabokov that the famous author called "brilliant." After gaining exclusive access to the writer''s archives, he wrote a two-part, award-winning biography, Vladimir Nabokov: The Russian Years (1990) and Vladimir Nabokov: The American Years (1991). This collection features essays written by Boyd since completing the biography, incorporating material he gleaned from his research as well as new discoveries and formulations. Boyd confronts Nabokov''s life, career, and legacy; his art, science, and thought; his subtle humor and puzzle-like storytelling; his complex psychological portraits; and his inheritance from, reworking of, and affinities with Shakespeare, Pushkin, Tolstoy, and Machado de Assis. Boyd offers new ways of reading Nabokov''s best English-language works: Lolita, Pale Fire, Ada, and the unparalleled autobiography, Speak, Memory, and he discloses otherwise unknown information about the author''s world. Sharing his personal reflections, Boyd recounts the adventures, hardships, and revelations of researching Nabokov''s biography and his unusual finds in the archives, including materials still awaiting publication. The first to focus on Nabokov''s metaphysics, Boyd cautions against their being used as the key to unlock all of the author''s secrets, showing instead the many other rooms in Nabokov''s castle of fiction that need exploring, such as his humor, narrative invention, and psychological insight into characters and readers alike. Appreciating Nabokov as novelist, memoirist, poet, translator, scientist, and individual, Boyd helps us understand more than ever the author''s multifaceted genius.

Brian Boyd explains why we tell stories and how our minds are shaped to understand them. After considering art as adaptation, Boyd examines Homer’s Odyssey and Dr. Seuss’s Horton Hears a Who! demonstrating how an evolutionary lens can offer new understanding and appreciation of specific works.

Argues that lyric making is universal across cultures, and uses the example of Shakespeare''s "Sonnets" to showcase the human disposition to play with lyrical patterns.

A rich compilation of the previously uncollected Russian and English prose and interviews of one of the twentieth century''s greatest writers, edited by Nabokov experts Brian Boyd and Anastasia Tolstoy. “I think like a genius, I write like a distinguished author, and I speak like a child": so Vladimir Nabokov famously wrote in the introduction to his volume of selected prose, Strong Opinions. Think, Write, Speak follows up where that volume left off, with a rich compilation of his uncollected prose and interviews, from a 1921 essay about Cambridge to two final interviews in 1977. The chronological order allows us to watch the Cambridge student and the fledgling Berlin reviewer and poet turn into the acclaimed Paris émigré novelist whose stature brought him to teach in America, where his international success exploded with Lolita and propelled him back to Europe. Whether his subject is Proust or Pushkin, the sport of boxing or the privileges of democracy, Nabokov’s supreme individuality, his keen wit, and his alertness to the details of life illuminate the page.

The Continuing Professional Development series sets out to demystify professional development in education, and does so from a Scottish perspective. All books in the series approach their subject in an accessible manner that allows teachers and educators to perceive how continuing professional development can enhance job satisfaction - as well as making a real difference to the most important client group of all: the pupils and students in their care. In The Learning Classroom, Brian Boyd considers the large range of initiatives which have asked teachers to promote creativity, enterprise, citizenship (amongst others), as well as the growing interest in international ideas such as multiple intelligences, learning styles and teaching for understanding, to name but a few. The book looks at the key aspect of a number of these ideas as they impact on classrooms and describes how teachers can create a learning classroom which will incorporate the key elements of these initiatives.

This practical, hands-on guide shows K-12 school leaders how to support STEM programs that excite students and teachers—even if the leader is not an expert in science, technology, engineering, or math. Buckner and Boyd explore ideas for fostering equitable access to rich and rigorous learning experiences, acting as instructional leaders, and building community engagement and partnerships. You’ll get advice on creating a structure to help teachers examine, discuss, and improve students'' learning experiences. And you’ll learn how to support teachers in designing challenging lessons that foster students'' curiosity and ingenuity in working on real-world problems. Finally, you’ll learn ways you can effectively tap into the wealth of resources in your community to help achieve your STEM vision.

The essential, step-by-step surgical guide on reconstructive flaps for head and facial defects Often referred to as the mirror of the soul, the face is indelibly entwined with a person''s appearance and personality. This presents a particular challenge when reconstructive surgery is required. The goal of every reconstructive surgeon is to repair damage as inconspicuously as possible with minimal scarring while restoring prior function. Jackson''s Local Flaps in Head and Neck Reconstruction, Third Edition by renowned plastic surgeons Peter C. Neligan, J. Brian Boyd, and David Mathes honors the two widely acclaimed prior editions of this landmark resource by the late master plastic surgeon, educator, and prolific author Ian T. Jackson. The new edition features updated and streamlined content, simplified references, colorized illustrations, and procedural videos. The book includes nine chapters, starting with two foundational chapters that discuss the advantages of local flaps, skin biomechanics, surgical planning, principles of skin and soft tissue movement, the utility of Burow''s triangles, and use of diverse flaps, followed by patient management. Each of the procedural chapters focuses on a specific area, with step-by-step reconstruction techniques for the scalp, forehead, eyelids, nasal area, cheeks, ears, and lips. The reader-friendly book provides plastic surgeons of all levels with a simple yet elegant approach to managing reconstructive problems commonly encountered in practice. Key Highlights Firsthand pearls on recently introduced flaps including perforator and propeller Each procedural chapter includes discussion of impacted anatomy and aesthetics, imaging, different types of flaps, challenges, surgical pearls, and summary tables for quick review Abundant illustrations and operative photos depict step-by-step solutions for reconstructive challenges of the head and neck Twenty-two high-quality surgical videos provide visual insights on how to treat specific defects using a diverse spectrum of flap techniques All aesthetic and reconstructive surgeons will benefit from consulting this invaluable, reader-friendly resource for daily practice based on the beloved classic.

A good substitute who will complete the teacher''s plan for the day is hard to find. One who can do this not make the kids cry is gold. One who can also make the kids beg for his return...that''s what this book is about. Substitute teaching should be challenging and fun. The stories in this book happened to real kids. They are sometimes gut-wrenching, often hilarious and they are all true. Mr. Boyd is Pregnant: The Woes and Triumphs of a Substitute Teacher will open your eyes to the struggles that children and teens face - and open your heart to them, too.

Over a career that now spans nearly four decades, U2 has produced one hit album after another and created the template for the giant global stadium tour that other bands now use. From their roots in post-punk, the band has grown and incorporated musical styles from synth pop to gospel, while always making socially and politically aware music that hits a nerve with fans. Written by a leading music journalist, U2 Experience documents all of the band''s mammoth achievements. The first interactive book to celebrate the legendary Irish rock group, it contains 20 items of removable facsimile memorabilia --including posters, tickets, flyers, and contracts--as well as numerous rare photographs.

Lorsqu''en mai 1940, à Saint-Nazaire, Nabokov, échappant à l''occupation de la France, s''embarque pour New York, c''est un écrivain russe accompli, considéré comme le plus grand espoir de sa génération. Vingt ans plus tard on saluera en lui le plus grand écrivain américain vivant. Cette étonnante métamorphose commence à l''université de Stanford, où il est nommé professeur associé, avant d''enseigner le russe et la littérature à Wellesley College et à l''université de Cornell. Sa passion pour les papillons - il en découvrira deux espèces, dont l''une portera son nom - lui vaut aussi un poste d''entomologiste au Musée de zoologie comparée de Harvard. Mais, entre-temps, il s''est fait connaître en collaborant aux meilleures revues américaines, le New Yorker en particulier, et en publiant des souvenirs, Speak Memory (Autres rivages). Le grand public le découvre en 1957 avec Pnine, un conte gogolien tendre et comique. L''année suivante, sa notoriété devient mondiale avec Lolita, qui provoque un scandale et se vendra, en vingt ans, à quatorze millions d''exemplaires. Cet immense succès permet à Nabokov de quitter l''enseignement. Il se retire à Montreux, en Suisse, où il mourra après avoir édifié une œuvre qui, à l''image de sa vie, est un défi à la géographie et à la diversité linguistique.

Le chef du département de littérature anglaise de l''Université d''Auckland a consacré dix ans à écrire cette imposante et minutieuse biographie avec l''aide et "l''imprimatur des héritiers" de Nabokov. L''oeuvre (en deux volumes) complète, prolonge et contredit parfois les écrits autobiographiques du modèle: cf. ##Autres rivages## (Gallimard, 1961). Selon F. Bordeleau cette "biographie intellectuelle" propose à la fois une remarquable analyse de l''oeuvre et une "peut-être outrancière tentative de réhabilitation de l''homme".