The Broken Boy by Patrick Cockburn
It is very easy to get polio. Patrick Cockburn was six when he woke up one day in the summer of 1956 with a headache and a sore throat. His parents, Claud and Patricia Cockburn, had recently returned to Ireland, to their house in East Cork, careless of the fact that a polio epidemic had broken out in Cork City. He caught the disease and was taken to the fever hospital. The virus attacks the nerves of the brain and the spinal cord leading to paralysis of the muscles. Patrick could no longer walk. The Broken Boy is at once a memoir of Patrick Cockburn's own experience of polio, a portrait of his parents, both prominent radicals, and the story of the Cork epidemic, the last great polio epidemic in the world.
Charming, interesting and moving by turn -- Anthony Daniels * Sunday Telegraph *
Engrossing.. an often perceptive genre-defying gem...engaging and entertaining -- Tom Adair * Scotland on Sunday *
This is wonderful writing...Brilliant...Cockburn has pulled off something remarkable * Observer *
The best journalist's autobiography to appear for years... This is a story of endurance and a hugely adventurous mind, elegantly told * Evening Standard *
Sad and entertaining, and altogether evocative of a vanished Ireland * Sunday Times *
Engrossing.. an often perceptive genre-defying gem...engaging and entertaining -- Tom Adair * Scotland on Sunday *
This is wonderful writing...Brilliant...Cockburn has pulled off something remarkable * Observer *
The best journalist's autobiography to appear for years... This is a story of endurance and a hugely adventurous mind, elegantly told * Evening Standard *
Sad and entertaining, and altogether evocative of a vanished Ireland * Sunday Times *
Patrick Cockburn writes on foreign affairs for the Independent. His other books include Getting Russia Wrong and Out of the Ashes: The Resurrection of Saddam Hussein.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780099459231 |
| ISBN 10 | 009945923X |
| Title | The Broken Boy |
| Author | Patrick Cockburn |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Vintage Publishing |
| Year published | 2006-05-04 |
| Number of pages | 336 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |