Books by Michael West

A programme text edition of Michael West's award-winning drama, exploring the disintegrating history of one man's life through a series flashbacks.

In 1995 the Texas Historical Commission discovered the shipwreck of la Belle, the final vessel of the ill-fated venture by French explorer Robert Cavalier Sieur de La Salle to colonize the Texas coast. Among the items recovered was an intact chest, informally known as the Belle Mystery Chest. It contained many tools used in occupations ranging from that of French wine coopering to those of agricultural, military, and maritime endeavors. Historical research using firsthand reports of the expedition''s survivors suggest the chest was first boarded in France on one of La Salle''s other ships, unloaded prior to its wrecking at the mouth of Matagorda Bay, taken to the new settlement on la Belle, and eventually returned to the ship before its sinking. Records verify that La Salle often claimed the possessions of the dead and that he ordered the ship reloaded with his personal goods and other supplies before it sank. Along with two artifacts with differing ownership initials and the sheer diversity of the chest''s contents, these clues suggest that the chest may have been a repository for various utilitarian items collected by La Salle before the loss of la Belle in January of 1686.

'I wasn't throwing up. I was dying. I was very ill . . . And do you know what? In the middle of all that . . . malaise, I remember thinking "This is what it's like to be married." But I'd do it again'An elderly couple sit in a dark room in their house, doing the crossword, taking their tablets and knitting, all the while raking over a traumatic past that has all but destroyed them.Conservatory is a compelling play about loss and family which shows that happiness is not a necessary condition of togetherness. It premiered at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, in March 2014.

Many organizations spend hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars on process improvement but never realize business performance results. Executives and organizational leaders pursue only those improvement initiatives that can yield measurable performance gains. This book defines how to achieve real business performance results from process improvement, thus filling a major information void in the economy. It explains how to set performance and process improvement goals, shows how to measure process improvement results, and details how to lead a performance culture. It also presents metrics for business performance and defines the relationship between performance and process.

Booker T Washington has held an ambiguous position in the pantheon of black leadership. This book offers a reinterpretation of one of the controversial figures in American history. It explains why Washington's ideas resonated in the post-Reconstruction era and considers their negative influence in the continuing struggle for equality in the US.

Amidst the filth and fury of Dublin 1904, the theatrical event of the century is about to explode... Will the Irish National Theatre of Ireland seize its chance for glory? This work is a gleefully innovative look at Dublin's lurid past, a rampant piece of story theatre that has delighted critics and audiences alike during its tour of Ireland.

Introducing pragmatic approaches to process improvement via CMMI, this book explores techniques for process improvement. It identifies various concepts of the CMMI and explains how to adapt those concepts to maximize improvement efforts.

Foley is the last of his family, among the last Protestants in the Republic of Ireland. He is attempting to recall his life, but memory is a fickle thing.