Įvery morning at dawn, one of the priests leads the acolytes and novices in prayer, as they kneel around the black pool. There acolytes will strip and wash the bodies, which are then taken to a lower sanctum where only the priests may go. When a body is found, it checked to see if the person is completely dead, and then serving men will take the body down into the vaults. Some alcoves, called "dreaming couches", have special candles that bring visions of the past, for a sweet and gentle death. This is sometimes referred to as "the gift" of the Many Faced God. The religious order refills the fountain with a poison, so that drinking from the fountain leads to a painless death. Some visiting worshippers light candles to their god, then drink from the pool using a stone cup, then go lie in one of the alcoves. The guild's House of Black and White in Braavos has a large sanctuary that contains a pool of black water, idols of many death gods and altars with candles, and small alcoves along the walls that contain stone beds. They claim he is called the Black Goat in Qohor, the Lion of Night in Yi Ti, and the Stranger in the Faith of the Seven. According to the guild, the god is present in many religions, under different names. As one of America's most distinguished politicians - and one who knows the back rooms of power as well as anyone could - he remains in voice and values both a Man of the House and a man of the people." - from the inner front and rear jacket flaps.A Faceless Man on the rooftops, by Lin Bo © Fantasy Flight Gamesįollowers of Him of Many Faces consider death to be part of the natural order of things and a merciful end to suffering. O'Neill's story ends with a moving affirmation of his faith in old-fashioned liberalism, particularly the need to help those less fortunate.
Never one to hold back, O'Neill is remarkably candid as he assesses our leaders, and his final portraits of Carter and Reagan are as blunt and vivid as any ever offered about our chief executives. He also takes us behind the scenes to poker games with Richard Nixon in the fifties, and to Sam Rayburn's private "Department of Education," where congressional decisions were made over bourbon and branch water. He examines the turbulent Watergate years, including Gerald Ford's startling explanation of why he pardoned Richard Nixon, and explains his decision to break with Lyndon Johnson on Vietnam, becoming the first major Democrat to do so. He confides his dislike for Bobby Kennedy ("a self-important upstart") and his doubts about the Kennedy assassination and the Warren Commission's conclusions. He describes his complex ties with the Kennedys - his early encounters with old Joe Kennedy, whose formidable political machine bought a congressional seat for JFK, then a "pasty-faced kid," whom Tip later replaced in the House.
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The narrative stretches from O'Neill's humble background in Cambridge.to his tenure as the nation's top-ranking Democrat. These memoirs feature everyone from Boston politicos - unforgettable characters like Ralph Granara, Paddy Hynes, and Up-Up Kelly - to America's biggest political names - the Kennedys, every president since FDR, greats in Congress like Sam Rayburn, and legendary personalities like James Michael Curley, the mayor of Boston immortalized in The Last Hurrah. First elected to the Massachusetts legislature in 1936, O'Neill has had an extraordinary political career spanning fifty years, including a decade as Speaker of the House. "Tip O'Neill, one of America's most colorful public figures, is a master politician - and a master storyteller, a man of wit and wisdom. Illustrated with black-and-white photographs. Includes Acknowledgments Prologue Epilogue: What I Believe and Index. Fine condition red boards/black cloth spine/gold front cover and spine lettering with red decorations, contained in a fine condition non price-clipped color photographic dust jacket.