Books by Martin Shaw

"Through the Smoke Hole, we will find beauty in the wild. Through the Smoke Hole, we will escape the gaze of the Spyglass and find ourselves. Assailed by seductive promises and controlled by social media, we are losing our sense of direction. We are losing ourselves. We have networks, not communities. At a time when we are all confronted by not one, but many crossroads in our lives - identity, technology, trust, love, politics and global pandemic, celebrated mythologist and wilderness guide Martin Shaw delivers Smoke Hole: three metaphors for the modern world - a commons of imagination. Let us journey together, and these stories be your ally - hold them in your pocket, breathe deeper, feel steadier and become acquainted with rapture. Praise for Martin Shaw 'I can still remember the first time I heard Martin Shaw tell a story. The tale that emerged was like a living thing, bounding around, throwing itself at us there listening. I had never heard anything like it before.' - Paul Kingsnorth, Booker shortlisted author of The Wake 'Martin Shaw's work is so very beautiful. A new animal. His love of images is deep and contagious.' - Coleman Barks, author of The Essential Rumi 'Shaw has so much wisdom and knowledge about the old stories, it emanates from his pores.' - John Densmore, The Doors"--

I'm inviting you to join me on a pilgrimage I'll be making with a friend of mine! This pilgrimage will be of the imagination, of the heart. I suppose in truth, it's a fictitious pilgrimage. My friend is none other than St Francis of Assisi. For me, the imagination's a vital and an exciting tool for reliving something of a saint's life. So I'll be, as it were, 'walking and talking' with you, through these pages, about the story of the pilgrimage which'll take who knows how long. At each stage, I'll have my own personal reflections and I'll be addressing you personally in the hope to make some connection with where you might be. The story of the pilgrimage, apart from walking, is mostly about ordinary experiences: eating, resting, talking, getting irritated, being bored, embarrassed, delighted: and any other mood you care to add. I'll be picturing Francis, my friend and I hope yours also, carrying a copy of St Matthew's Gospel in his pocket, as I will myself. Maybe you'll do the same.ABOUT THE AUTHORMartin Shaw, prior to being consecrated Bishop of Argyll and The Isles in June 2004 at St John's Cathedral in Oban, was Chaplain and acting Dean of King's College Cambridge, working as a priest in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dunoon and London. As Canon Precentor at St Edmundsbury Cathedral, he was responsible for Liturgy and Music. Since 1972 he has been a member of the Third Order of St Francis and has a particular interest in Franciscan spirituality and pilgrimage. Through his singing and writing poetry, Martin Shaw has a keen involvement in art as an important approach to Christian spirituality. Since 2010 he has been an honorary assistant bishop in the Diocese of Exeter.

The central aim of this book is to analyse whether [or not] the global constitutes a fundamental challenge to the social-scientific study of politics, including the structure of disciplines and the division of labour between them.