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Anubis
Calaspia
718 Posts |
 Posted - 20/10/2009 : 12:19:39
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A real loss -- one of the few contemporaries whose many books have provided me with many hours of interesting reading and enlightenment.
Although I first stumbled upon his writings at the time of the campaign against the death penalty (Ten Rillington Place ... and other essays on similar themes), probably the three that I most enjoyed were his memoirs, On My Way to the Club, which includes the tale of his love relationship with Moira Shearer, his very enlightening (for me) The Airman and the Carpenter, where he describes how a German immigrant was framed by the US authorities for the kidnap and murder of the child of Charles Lindberg and his outstanding presentation of the case for atheism, All in the Mind: A Farewell to God (a book with a similar objective, but far better done, than Dawkins and his The God Delusion).
Born in Scotland, he served as an officer on a destroyer in WWII (one of those which pursued the Bismark), he writes often on naval matters, not only his own experiences, but a superb account of Nelson and his commanders. Always a marvellous sense of humour -- for those who haven't stumbled upon it already, make a point of reading his short classic tale about 'Shooting Rubbish on Wimbledon Common', included in his book of short writings, Truth to Tell.
A regular TV presenter in earlier times, a regular campaigner on liberal/progressive issues -- influential in the abolition of capital punishment ... and in his final years, the current battle for voluntary euthanasia.
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LUDOVIC KENNEDY R I P
