Martin Booth

Man Booker Prize Nominee

Martin Booth (1944-2004) was the bestselling author of novels including Hiroshima Joe, Islands of Silence, and The Industry of Souls, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Another novel, A Very Private Gentlemen, was adapted into the 2010 movie, The American, starring George Clooney. He also wrote several nonfiction books, including Cannabis: A History, Opium: A History, and the memoir Golden Boy: Memories of a Hong Kong Childhood. Booth was born in England, but spent much of his childhood in Hong Kong, a location that would deeply inspire his writing. He moved back to England at the age of 20, and started his literary career as a poet. He worked as a schoolmaster, a job he held until 1985, when the success of Hiroshima Joe allowed him to devote himself full-time to his writing. At the time of his death in 2004, he was living in Devon, England.

Martin Booth

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The American - Movie Trailer

A movie trailer for The American (2010), based on the novel A Very Private Gentleman, by Martin Booth.

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Martin Booth

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The American

Martin Booth
Picador

From the Booker shortlisted author of Islands of Silence and The Industry of Souls comes a fascinating portrait of a man with a double life and a dark trade....

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Golden Boy

Martin Booth
Picador

At seven years old, Martin Booth found himself with all of Hong Kong at his feet when his father was posted there in 1952. This is his memoir of that youth, a...

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Cannabis

Martin Booth
Picador

To some it's the classic "gateway drug," to others it is a harmless way to relax, or provide relief from pain. Some fear it is dangerous and addictive, while...

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A Very Private Gentleman

Martin Booth
Picador

SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE, THE AMERICAN, STARRING GEORGE CLOONEY AND DIRECTED BY ANTON CORBIJN The locals in the Italian village where he lives call...

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Islands of Silence

Martin Booth
Picador

In the summer of 1914 Alec Marquand has just graduated from college and has been hired by the lord of a remote country estate in the Scottish Highlands to...

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Hiroshima Joe

Martin Booth
Picador

One of the most powerful novels about the experience of war, first published in 1985 Captured by Hirohito’s soldiers at the fall of Hong Kong and...

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The Industry of Souls

Martin Booth
Picador

The remarkably powerful and critically acclaimed novel that was chosen as A New York Times Notable Book of 1999 and shortlisted for The Booker Prize The...

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The Doctor and the Detective

Martin Booth
Minotaur/Thomas Dunne Books

This entertaining, smart biography of Arthur Conan Doyle presents a modern day interpretation of the man who, contrary to his best efforts, will always be...

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Opium

Martin Booth
St. Martin's Griffin

Known to mankind since prehistoric times, opium is arguably the oldest and most widely used narcotic. Opium: A History traces the drug's astounding impact on...

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