Nevil Shute Norway Foundation

Newsletter dated January 2011

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

From Simon Backshall

Thought other Shutists might be interested that "Stephen Morris" unabridged audiobook is now available through iTunes and audible.com. Joins "Town like Alice" and "On the Beach".

Editor: I was very happy with this message and of course checked it right away. I could not find anything of Nevil Shute in iTunes, nor in Audible. Turns out, that I can only buy from the Dutch iTunes store. I went to the United Kingdom store (by clicking the flag on the bottom of iTunes), and there you find all 3 books. When trying to buy Stephen Morris, I got a message that I'm only allowed to buy from the Dutch store, and there these books are not sold from the Dutch store. I tried to buy from Audible, but there I couldn't find anything from Nevil Shute either. When contacting Audible, they told me that this has to do with copyrights. so if you live in the UK you can buy them, but not if your living in the Netherlands. I suggest that if you want these books, you try for yourself, if they are available in your country.

From Laura Schneider

A Town Like Alice

Thanks to those of you who sent letters to Oprah Winfrey about choosing "A Town Like Alice" as one of her Book Club choices. Since Oprah has now completed her Australian trip, it is time to continue the campaign ! I have sent a copy of Alice to her and if she reads it, our work is done ! In the meantime, please continue our Alice effort by sending a brief letter to Oprah at www.Oprah.com or www.oprah.com/ownshow/plug_form.html?plug_id=216

This is a golden opportunity to introduce Nevil Shute to a worldwide audience.

Laura


From Charlie Cerf

More evidence that there are Shute fans everywhere:

Throughout her books, which are set in Alaska, Dana Stabenow drops hints about her favorite authors. At the beginning of Chapter 5 of The Singing of the Dead (2001) we read, "The pilot... touched the yoke absentmindedly, not looking up from the book he was reading. Kate (the protagonist) had already checked out the title. Round the Bend by Nevil Shute. One of George Perry's favorite authors, along with Earnest K. Gann. Both men wrote about flying like they'd held a plane up in the air a time or two, something George, full-time Bush pilot, part-time A&P mechanic, and sole proprietor of an air taxi, appreciated in full."

Later in the same book, two-thirds of the way through Chapter 11, a state trooper who is a major character is with Kate in a ransacked house, a house filled with books. "Jim had put the mattress and the springs back on the frame and was sitting down, immersed in Most Secret."


From W. Mills Dyer, Jr.

Just for the heck of it, I searched Amazon for "A Town Like Alice" to see if anyone had ever put out a DVD of the 1981 A Town Like Alice miniseries. At the bottom of the page was a link:

Town Like Alice 1981 DVD

Starring Bryan Brown & Helen Morse Rare Miniseries now on DVD

Does anyone know anything about this DVD produced by Lost TV Classics and/or has anyone watched it? The link provides very little information about the company; the phone number is 207 area code which is in Maine!! For example, is this DVD just a copy of the old VHS video? Or has it been generated from the original film? At one of the reunions, the film's Director said that he had no idea what had happened to the film and several other Shutists said that they had searched for it and been unable to locate it. Seems like the Shute Estate would have had to approve / license it.


From John Lorenz

Note 3rd paragraph-Nevil Shute Road!!!

www.insidermedia.com/insider/south-east/44307-funding-deal-propels-proptech/

By webmaster - this road is in Portsmouth, UK, and is quite near the old airport where Nevil Shute's factory Airspeed was located


From Charles D

I thought this might interest Shutists

www.asme-mn.org/ Wednesday, January 12, 2011

"Planes, Trains and Automobiles:A Review of Fatigue and Fracture mechanics"
A historical understanding of fracture mechanics and fracture Damage Tolerant Design.
This presentation will cover the topics of fatigue and fracture mechanics presented in a unique manner. Until recent years, fatigue behavior and prediction was based on empirical data dating back 150 years. It worked well but gave way to research that has developed the science of the behavior of materials under cyclic loading and high strain relative to the materials properties.
Professor Kelso will present this science by looking at the historical developments and then presenting the current science. The presentation will be bolstered by examples and applications.
Presenter:
Professor Frank M. Kelso, Ph.D.
Department of Mechanical Engineering
University of Minnesota


From Laura Schneider

Conference Update

Nevil Shute's Seattle is less than 10 months away!

Conference information is at www.seattle2011.info . You'll find The Red Lion on 5th Avenue's hotel reservation link, which is ready to take your reservation. Conference Registration will be ready to access by March 1, 2011 and the link will be on our official conference web site. There's a lot to do in and around Seattle and I encourage everyone to plan extra time either before or after the conference. Questions? Please contact me at Lauraschneider1@aol.com . Happy New Year! Laura

From The EDITOR

Now a very long newsletter this months, although I think that there are some very interesting items in it. Remember, you make the newsletter, I just edit it. So please send me something to edit.

From the Netherlands, where it is finally not freezing anymore, but where we still have a lot of snow, wishing you all a Happy New Year, and see you next month.