{"title":"Mark O'Connell","description":"\u003cp\u003eMark O’Connell’s works delve into the dynamic intersections of performance and media, offering insightful explorations within the realm of \u003cem\u003eTransmedia Theatre\u003c\/em\u003e. His writing reflects a thoughtful engagement with contemporary arts and culture, inviting readers to consider how narrative unfolds across varied platforms.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eReaders can expect a compelling blend of theory and practice, where the boundaries of traditional theatre are expanded through innovative storytelling techniques. O’Connell’s contributions enrich the dialogue around modern artistic expression and the evolving landscape of performance.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"a-thread-of-violence-by-mark-oconnell-9781783787715","title":"A Thread of Violence","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 1982, Malcolm Macarthur, the wealthy heir to a small estate, found himself suddenly without money. The solution, he decided, was to rob a bank. To do this, he would need a gun and a car. In the process of procuring them, he killed two people, and the circumstances of his eventual arrest in the apartment of Ireland's Attorney General nearly brought down the government. The case remains one of the most shocking in Ireland's history.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMark O'Connell has long been haunted by the story of this brutal double murder. But in recent years, this haunting has become mutual. When O'Connell sets out to unravel the mysteries still surrounding these horrific and inexplicable crimes, he tracks down Macarthur himself, now an elderly man living out his days in Dublin and reluctant to talk.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAs the two men circle one another, O'Connell is pushed into a confrontation with his own narrative: what does it mean to write about a murderer?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46529534591212,"sku":"9781783787715","price":26.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/2491983482823.jpg?v=1749220166"},{"product_id":"notes-from-an-apocalypse-by-mark-oconnell-9781783784073","title":"Notes from an Apocalypse","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the remote mountains of Scotland, in high-tech bunkers in South Dakota and in the lush valleys of New Zealand, small groups of determined men and women are getting ready.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThey are environmentalists who fear the ravages of climate change; billionaire entrepreneurs dreaming of life on Mars; and right-wing conspiracists yearning for a lost American idyll. One thing unites them: their certainty that we are only years away from the end of civilisation as we know it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eNot unconcerned himself by the possibility of the end of days, Mark O'Connell set out to meet them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eNotes from an Apocalypse\u003c\/em\u003e is described as 'a cross between Bill Bryson and David Foster Wallace... A fidgety, fretful but very funny book with which to while away the days in self-isolation' - \u003ci\u003eTimes\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46532226711788,"sku":"9781783784073","price":26.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/2455563482823.jpg?v=1749309625"},{"product_id":"to-be-a-machine-by-mark-oconnell-9781783781980","title":"To Be a Machine","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWinner 2018 Wellcome Prize\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhat is transhumanism?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSimply put, it is a movement whose aim is to use technology to fundamentally change the human condition, to improve our bodies and minds to the point where we become something other, and better, than the animals we are. It's a philosophy that, depending on how you look at it, can seem hopeful, or terrifying, or absurd.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eTo Be a Machine\u003c\/i\u003e, Mark O'Connell presents us with the first full-length exploration of transhumanism: its philosophical and scientific roots, its key players, and possible futures. From charismatic techies seeking to enhance the body to immortalists who believe in the possibility of 'solving' death; from computer programmers quietly re-designing the world to vast competitive robotics conventions; \u003ci\u003eTo Be a Machine\u003c\/i\u003e is an Adventure in Wonderland for our time.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eTo Be a Machine\u003c\/i\u003e paints a vivid portrait of an international movement driven by strange and frequently disturbing ideas and practices, but whose obsession with transcending human limitations can be seen as a kind of cultural microcosm, a radical intensification of our broader faith in the power of technology as an engine of human progress. It is a character study of human eccentricity, and a meditation on the immemorial desire to transcend the basic facts of our animal existence - a desire as primal as the oldest religions, a story as old as the earliest literary texts.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA stunning new non-fiction voice tackles an urgent question... what next for mankind?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46534158254316,"sku":"9781783781980","price":26.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/2434633482823.jpg?v=1749415862"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.pro\/collections\/mark-oconnell.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}