Books with author William Kennedy

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize. Francis Phelan, ex-ballplayer, part-time gravedigger, full-time drunk, has hit bottom. Years ago he left Albany in a hurry after killing a scab during a trolley workers' strike; he ran away again after accidentally - and fatally - dropping his infant son. Now, in 1938, Francis is back in town, roaming the old familiar streets with his hobo pal, Helen, trying to make peace with the ghosts of the past and the present.... New York Times: "Rich in plot and dramatic tension... almost Joycean in its variety of rhetoric... the novel goes straight for the throat and the funnybone." Wall Street Journal: "[Kennedy's] power is such that the reader will follow him almost anywhere, to the edge of tragedy and back again to redemption."

Ten-year old Truman Henry Safford (born 1836) wasasked:“Multiply in your head365,365,365,365,365,365by365,365,365,365,365,365.”He flew around the room likea top, pulled his pantaloonsover the top of his boots,bit his hand, rolled hiseyes in their sockets,sometimes smiling andtalking, and then seeming tobe in an agony, until, in not morethan one minute, said he,“133,491,850,208,566,925,016,658,299,941,583,225!”‘Lightning calculators’, are not that uncommon andwhile we may not be able to match the brilliance of aTruman Henry Safford, we can all develop, with theaid of this book, a talent at mental mathematics.With these super-easy methods you need no longer beINTRODUCTIONcaught between the drudgery of the old dinosaur methodsand the ‘cop-out’ of the calculator. When BharatiKrsna Tirthaji reconstructed the ancient system ofVedic Maths (used in this book) earlier this century, heuncovered a beautifully integrated and complete systemof maths which had been lost for centuries. TheVedic system mirrors the way the mind naturally worksand so is designed to be done mentally.Fun with Figures is for those who think they are nogood at maths – and for those who are good atmaths. It is for those who would like to steal a littlelightning. The book answers a need of our time,offering easy, enjoyable maths which improves mentalagility and memory, promotes confidence and creativity– as well as being useful in everyday life.Each double page shows a simple mathematicalmethod and is independent of the others (with twoexceptions, which are indicated). In addition to thevarious everyday situations indicated in this book,you will surely find many other occasions for the useof these easy methods. There are many exercises foryou to practise and answers at the end of the book.