In this essay collection, now with a new introduction by Ann Patchett, Geoffrey Wolff recounts the moral (and sometimes immoral) education of a writer, friend, husband, and father. He shows us his wildly dysfunctional childhood Christmases--presided over by his con-man father--then shifts to his brash, short-lived teaching career in Istanbul. With dazzling literary agility, Wolff guides us through the surprising, invaluable turns that shaped his path: his victory over the chaos of drink, his open-heart surgery, his life-affirming surrender to the slopes of the Matterhorn, and his transcendent love of family. Long considered a classic, now expanded and back in print after two decades, "A Day at the Beach" shares Wolff's spirited, elegant, and deeply felt observations on an extraordinary life.

Duke Wolff was a flawless specimen of the American clubman -- a product of Yale and the OSS, a one-time fighter pilot turned aviation engineer. Duke Wolff was a failure who flunked out of a series of undistinguished schools, was passed up for military service, and supported himself with desperately improvised scams, exploiting employers, wives, and, finally, his own son.

In The Duke of Deception, Geoffrey Wolff unravels the enigma of this Gatsbyesque figure, a bad man who somehow was also a very good father, an inveterate liar who falsified everything but love.

`This handbook planned for carer's will offer relatives and friends with noteworthy organizational health care information. It will also help guide carer's regarding the key roles, and the functions of support agencies that are seen as crucial elements when planning and seeking alternative care interventions...This book aims to provide carers with basic facts and the confidence to deal more effectively with their role.' - The International Journal of Psychiatric Nursing Research This is an essential resource for all people caring for family members or friends with mental illness. Written by experts, Mental Illness: A Handbook for Carers provides basic information on: * forms of mental illness * treatment plans * what to do in an emergency * the role of mental health professionals and other agencies * legal issues and confidentiality * housing, work and benefits. Mental Illness examines the provision made for people with mental illness and their carers, and the support that is available to them. It includes information on housing, employment, social services and the law. The writers avoid jargon, and the book includes a glossary of terms with which carers may be unfamiliar. Accessible, practical and comprehensive, this handbook acts as a one-stop shop for anyone caring for a person with a mental illness.