{"title":"The Liffey Press","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9781739789268","title":"Oops! Why Things Go Wrong","description":"In this ground-breaking book, Niall Downey – a cardio-thoracic surgeon who retrained to become a commercial airline pilot – uses his expertise in medicine and aviation to explore the critical issue of managing human error. With further examples from business, politics, sport, technology, the civil service and other fields, Downey makes a powerful case that by following some clear guidelines any organisation can greatly reduce the incidence and impact of human error. While acknowledging that in our fast-paced world getting things wrong is impossible to avoid completely, Downey offers a strategy based on current best practice that can make a massive difference. He concludes with an easy to use, aviation-style Safety Management System that can be hugely helpful in avoiding preventable catastrophes in organizations of all kinds. An acknowledged expert in error management, Niall Downey advises governments, major corporations and the health industry on how to develop a systemic approach to controlling for human imperfection. Arguing that prevention is far preferable to denying responsibility after the fact, he gave an influential TEDx talk outlining how healthcare could use aviation's experience to reduce tragic outcomes and improve patient safety. Oops! Why Things Go Wrong seeks to understand and navigate error. It shows how we have become particularly vulnerable to blunders due to new technologies and today’s pressurised work environments. But it also shows how we can fight back against our own inherent fallibility to live in a safer and less error-strewn world.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43128581357746,"sku":"9781739789268","price":22.95,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781739789268.jpg?v=1791213011"},{"product_id":"9781916099876","title":"Post-Pandemic","description":"The world economy had barely recovered from the global financial crisis when the COVID-19 pandemic struck and knocked it back to the floor. Governments already struggling with low growth and high debt have, once again, been forced to take extraordinary measures to protect businesses and jobs. The future looks grim.    The pandemic swept across the globe in 2020 as quickly as confidence in the banking system had vanished in 2008. In Ireland, only the tough decisions of a small group of regulators and officials kept the country from collapse, though the price of salvation was a huge national debt and years of lost opportunities.  As a key insider to the Irish bailout, Jonathan McMahon was at the heart of the response, witnessing what it takes to manage a crisis that threatens a nation. Battle-hardened by his experiences at the top of UK financial regulation during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Jonathan's advice on how to deal with crises is invaluable as countries all around the globe grapple with the effects of COVID-19.    Jonathan does not have all the answers, but as Henry David Thoreau said, \"It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see.\" Jonathan argues that we have to attend to the real, underlying causes of crises, not expediently dodge the difficult choices to be made. The bitter truth is that even if a vaccine is found to eradicate the virus, the huge challenges facing political and business leaders will persist.  Post-Pandemic is essential reading as we make decisions about our future. It is a book for our times.     \"… a magnificent book. McMahon brings his policy experience … to give us key lessons of looking at the data, making judgements, and acting quickly before the problems become unmanageable. … [W]ritten in a fun, racy style … in the post-pandemic world of pervasive uncertainty, it carries profound messages.\" – Ashoka Mody, Visiting Professor in International Economic Policy at Princeton University, former Assistant Director with the International Monetary Fund and author of EuroTragedy: A Drama in  Nine Acts \"Can our reactions to the previous crisis help us navigate the post-pandemic economic recovery? Drawing on a shrewd interpretation of his experience in Ireland a decade ago, and illustrating the discussion with vivid cameos, Jonathan McMahon makes a persuasive case that they can. A lively and instructive read.\" – Professor Patrick Honohan, former Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland and author of Currency, Credit and Crisis: Central Banking in Ireland and Europe.    \"The Covid 19 pandemic has produced an economic crisis which, as usual, is quite unlike its predecessors. But Jonathan McMahon shows that there are some enduring principles which should govern crisis management. He has drawn on his experience in the eye of the storm in the euro zone banking crisis to write an entertaining and extremely useful book.\" – Sir Howard Davies, Chairman of the Royal Bank of Scotland and former Director of the London School of Economics.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43205883789490,"sku":"9781916099876","price":16.95,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781916099876_07e5fbb4-4cc7-480d-8942-a54e2cbf0098.jpg?v=1786030955"},{"product_id":"9781068664502","title":"Storm in My Heart","description":"\u003cp\u003eFor more than six decades John Faulkner has been at the heart of British and Irish music-making, as a singer, songwriter, composer, musician, producer and film-maker.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eStorm in My Heart\u003c\/i\u003e is John’s highly personal account of his life in music, from his childhood in wartime London, through his years in the English folk explosion and on to life in Ireland as a significant player in the traditional music scene. In a lifetime’s journey John falls under the influence of Ewan McColl and Peggy Seeger, marries tempestuous singer Dolores Keane, and moves to County Galway where he brings his words and music to the world. He has an international number one success with ‘Lion in a Cage’, his campaigning tribute to the imprisoned Nelson Mandela, whom he subsequently meets. In this honest and witty memoir John recalls his work with Frankie Gavin, Alec Finn, John Prine and others, revealing the dark arts of the Irish music business while revelling in the freewheeling delights of a life devoted to performing. Storm in My Heart is a clear-eyed chronicle by one of Ireland’s finest artists.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eStorm in My Heart\u003c\/i\u003e includes QR codes to a curated selection of John Faulkner’s best loved music.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56296385511797,"sku":"9781068664502","price":19.95,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781068664502_ffaa2090-33e9-417e-8103-d5ac910a19cc.jpg?v=1786017292"},{"product_id":"9781739789213","title":"Making Sense of Mental Health","description":"Mental health difficulties bring us face to face with our vulnerability as human beings, and after two years of struggling with the effects of Covid-19 concerns about mental health worldwide have never been higher. But our discussions are still fraught with issues of language and understanding. Are we all on a ‘spectrum’ of mental wellness? Is ‘well-being’ about ‘being well’ or about coping? Mental health problems can be frightening when we experience them ourselves, or see them in others. And despite all the talk, most of us find it hard to decide when or where to seek help. What is often missing from these discussions is the most valuable resource of all – the personal accounts of those with lived experience of mental health difficulties. Making Sense of Mental Health is centred on hours of in-depth interviews with adults coping with mental health issues. The author follows their journeys from the origin of their distress to their lowest moments to eventual recovery and a sense of moving on. These lived experiences show how in times of crisis people can move forward amidst the chaos, vulnerability and uncertainty brought on by mental health problems. There are no quick fixes or miracle cures to serious mental health issues. This book shows that ‘what works’ is whatever helps an individual make sense of what is happening to them. A problem entwined with the human condition, mental health difficulties can best be treated by understanding the experiences of those who have lived through them, and as a society by finding a way to ascribe meaning to the complex reality of mental health.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56303731310965,"sku":"9781739789213","price":17.95,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781739789213_9706b92b-5218-40ca-95f0-149613acef18.jpg?v=1786024241"},{"product_id":"9781916099814","title":"The Boundless and Miraculous","description":"The boundless and miraculous is what Vincent van Gogh believed we should all seek – and to be satisfied with nothing less. This is exactly what he achieved in his art, despite many profound difficulties which he recorded in his letters.  These letters later became recognised for their literary virtues, such as simplicity, clarity, spontaneity and rich imagery.  Such qualities are among those most prized in poetry. In The Boundless and Miraculous, extracts from Van Gogh’s letters are presented as ‘found poems’ – writing not originally intended to be a poem, reinterpreted as such – mainly in the form of sonnets. They record many of the pivotal moments in Van Gogh’s life and his struggles and emotional state at these times are evident in the content and tone of the writing.    There are also his views on the work of other artists, both his contemporaries and those who went before him. In particular, the poems encapsulate much of the thinking behind the way van Gogh’s art developed, and notably the thought processes behind some of his most iconic paintings.    With 87 colour plates, The Boundless and the Miraculous celebrates Van Gogh’s spectacular art as well as his wonderful writing in what could be considered a series of brief autobiographical sketches. A fabulous gift book aimed at all lovers of Van Gogh’s work, this volume will also make a major contribution to our understanding of his short and amazing life.    To TheoYou must understand how I regard art.   One must work long and hard to arriveat the truthful. What I want is difficult,and yet I don’t believe I’m aiming too high.    I would like to reach the point where peoplesay of my work, that man feels deeply, feels subtly.   What am I in the eyes of most people?A nonentity or an oddity.    Very well – assuming that, I’d like to showwhat there is in the heart of such an oddity,such a nobody. This is my ambition,based less on resentment than on love.    Even though I’m often in a mess, inside methere’s still a calm – pure harmony.   The Hague  c. 21 July 1882","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56308953547125,"sku":"9781916099814","price":18.95,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781916099814_b3539897-fcab-4dbc-90b0-4caf646ca31b.jpg?v=1786030954"},{"product_id":"9781739789299","title":"Big Dream, Little Boat","description":"Battling time, tide and the weather, Big Dream, Little Boat is a compelling account of one man’s journey by kayak around the island of Ireland. Kevin O’Sullivan, an Aer Lingus pilot based in Skerries in north County Dublin, had set himself a mission – to circumnavigate the entire Irish coast – and to get home safely. The only problem was finding a way to do it. With a demanding job and family commitments he decides to break the journey into manageable three- and four-day chunks, leaving his kayak at stages along the way and resuming the adventure when the opportunity arose. Travelling mainly in the summer months, his expedition takes three years. Along the way he reflects on the fascinating marine life, colourful Irish history, lovely scenery, and in particular on the remarkable people he met on his journey. He also recounts the many challenges he faced, not least of which was his biggest difficulty – chronic seasickness! Despite an attempt to paddle only in good weather, Kevin still encountered some very difficult conditions. Unexpected winds and great swells left him digging deep, using all his skills and experience of years of kayaking to survive.In the great Irish tradition of taking care of travellers on the road, he was supported by oftentimes complete strangers who put him up in their homes, fed him and enthusiastically encouraged him along the way. On a journey of soul-searching and deep contemplation, the kindness of strangers helped to renew his faith in humanity.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56312779735413,"sku":"9781739789299","price":22.95,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781739789299_c475b0aa-e249-4e7b-9cd6-086087596618.jpg?v=1786024242"},{"product_id":"9781068664533","title":"Beneath the Cedar Tree","description":"\u003cp\u003eUnable to free themselves from a personal trauma six years past, one that has come back to haunt them due to an outrageous miscarriage of justice, Brendan and Irene Gogarty find themselves amongst a planeload of Holy Joes bound for Medjugorje. A pair of agnostics, most unlikely pilgrims, they’re taking a punt on divine deliverance. Medjugorje in 1995 is a spiritual shrine in the middle of a warzone, a ready-made getaway with Vegas-type odds on salvation, but the sacred hill does not deliver. Overcome with unrealistic hopes for some heavenly sign, Irene has a meltdown on Cross Mountain. Things will never be the same.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe couple head for the coast and witness first-hand a country ravaged by conflict before they reach the azure calm of the Adriatic. Over lazy days in a fishing village the Gogartys begin to unwind. On a whim Brendan decides to buy an old cottage – dubbed the villa – as a gift for Irene. It is perfect except that it is occupied by the auctioneer’s pregnant cousin, Anja, and her severely war-damaged husband, Damir. The young Bosnian couple literally have nothing, yet it is the Gogartys who feel they have lost everything. Irene cannot accept Brendan’s offer of a fresh beginning, knowing it would result in her new friends becoming homeless, but now the Irish couple must face some hard truths about both their past and their future.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn this unlikely setting in a faraway land, Brendan and Irene must reach deep into themselves and, under the shade of a cedar tree, find the means to cope with loss and discover the things that really matter . . .\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56419715744117,"sku":"9781068664533","price":17.95,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781068664533_180bcc56-c772-4705-8e48-fe4d6f16b21d.jpg?v=1790607975"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/publisher-the-liffey-press.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}