{"title":"Charles Ritchie","description":"\u003cp\u003eDelve into the poignant and evocative works of Charles Ritchie. His stories offer a unique glimpse into the human condition, exploring themes of resilience, hope, and the quiet beauty of everyday life. Start browsing now.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"laughter-is-the-best-weapon-the-remarkable-adventures-of-an-unconventional-soldi-book-charles-ritchie-9781399091886","title":"Laughter is the Best Weapon: The Remarkable Adventures of an Unconventional Soldier","description":"“An army may march on its stomach but it leans on its funny bone.” So says Brigadier Charles Ritchie, and he should know. Postings to the Yemen, Northern Ireland, Bosnia and other far-away trouble spots gave him many opportunities to demonstrate that the ability to laugh – and make others laugh – is an invaluable skill in an officer’s kitbag.  In Laughter is the Best Weapon – the Remarkable Adventures of an Unconventional Soldier, Charles abandons the popular trend for military heroism and angst-ridden confessions. Instead he leads the reader on a forthright yet light-hearted and self-deprecating journey through his 38 years’ service as a Royal Scot. In the process we witness his sometimes significant, but often comedic, participation in a wide range of recent British military operations.  If you prefer your military history more entertainingly honest than earnestly intellectual and your soldiers hilariously slapstick rather than heroically stoic, then this is the book for you. Liberally sprinkled with career-limiting cock-ups, bizarre near-death experiences and the clatter not of gunfire but shameless name-dropping, these delightfully varied anecdotes deliver a hugely entertaining glimpse into the extraordinary life of one of the British Army’s most spirited and loveable characters.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49510055936273,"sku":"GOR012061164","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49741074825489,"sku":"NGR9781399091886","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50643902300433,"sku":"GOR011591213","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51144138359057,"sku":"GOR014185124","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52110679015697,"sku":"GOR014472130","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1399091883.jpg?v=1751420861"},{"product_id":"undiplomatic-diaries-book-charles-ritchie-9780771075384","title":"Undiplomatic Diaries","description":"\u003cb\u003eWith an Introduction by Allan Gotlieb\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOne of Canada's most distinguished diplomats, Charles Ritchie was also a born diarist. Now, for the first time, Ritchie's diplomatic diaries are collected in one complete volume, covering his entire career in the Canadian Foreign Service. Ritchie creates a startlingly vivid and perceptive portrait of daily life at the centre of major historical events, including one of the finest accounts of the London Blitz ever written -- the people in the parks, the shabby streets, the heightened love affairs. Ritchie's life was a whirl of high-society engagements, and he turns his dry wit and irreverence to the social scene. Evocative and compelling, these diaries beautifully portray a forgotten era.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ LIKE_NEW \/ SBYB","offer_id":50365118251281,"sku":"CIN0771075383LN","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50445212188945,"sku":"GOR008597584","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51334092161297,"sku":"CIN0771075383VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":52772335943953,"sku":"CIN0771075383G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0771075383.jpg?v=1751232218"},{"product_id":"appetite-for-life-book-charles-ritchie-9780771075254","title":"An Appetite for Life","description":"Charles Ritchie's first volume of diaries, The Siren Years, created a sensation when it was published in 1974. Besides winning the Governor General's Award for Non-fiction, it was hailed by reviewers on both sides of the Atlantic. An Appetite for Life, his second volume, first published in 1977, deals with his youth in Halifax and his career at Oxford - the years when Charles Ritchie turned from a callow, blundering youth into a callow, blundering young man. \u003cbr\u003eAs these diaries show, Charles Ritchie had a sharp eye, a keen ear, a highly developed sense of the absurd, and - despite his unhappy knack of landing ?at on his face - a thorough appetite for life. \u003cbr\u003eThis is not only a hilariously funny book, but it presents a vivid picture of two worlds - Halifax and Oxford in the mid-twenties - that are now long gone. It also introduces us to an astonishing range of characters, but the most astonishing of all is the young Charles Ritchie himself.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51068113092881,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51068113879313,"sku":"GOR004691085","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0771075251.jpg?v=1751263901"},{"product_id":"siren-years-book-charles-ritchie-9780333177532","title":"Siren Years","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51320417681681,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51320417976593,"sku":"GOR003341554","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53019846410513,"sku":"GOR002629917","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53617985159441,"sku":"GOR002041038","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0333177533.jpg?v=1751134165"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/collections\/author-books-by-charles-ritchie.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}