Martin McGovern

Martin McGovern

About

The Octogenarian Ski-jumper is a celebration of the achievements of the famous and not-so-famous, arranged according to the age of the person at the time of the achievement. Chapters for those aged 20 to 69 are available here: the full book contains achievements of those ranging from newborns to centenarians. I've been writing nearly all of my professional life; the first piece I ever wrote was a travel article for a company magazine, when I visited in Albania in 1988. I also was the author of Microsoft's initial document on how to apply patches to computers; it made the top ten on their download site. 

A King Under Siege

A King Under Siege

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<p><span style="color:rgb(15,17,17);font-family:'Amazon Ember', Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;">Richard II found himself under siege not once, but twice in his minority. Crowned king at age ten, he was only fourteen when the Peasants' Revolt terrorized London. But he proved himself every bit the Plantagenet successor, facing Wat Tyler and the rebels when all seemed lost. Alas, his triumph was short-lived, and for the next ten years he struggled to assert himself against his uncles and increasingly hostile nobles. Just like in the days of his great-grandfather Edward II, vengeful magnates strove to separate him from his friends and advisors, and even threatened to depose him if he refused to do their bidding. The Lords Appellant, as they came to be known, purged the royal household with the help of the Merciless Parliament. They murdered his closest allies, leaving the King alone and defenseless. He would never forget his humiliation at the hands of his subjects. Richard's inability to protect his adherents would haunt him for the rest of his life, and he vowed that next time, retribution would be his.</span><br /><span class="a-text-bold" style="color:rgb(15,17,17);font-family:'Amazon Ember', Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-weight:700;">B.R.A.G. Medallion honoree!</span></p>

Story Behind The Book

On my wife's forty-fourth birthday, our son had chicken pox and we couldn't go to a party. Uncharacteristically, she was bemoaning this misfortune. &quot;And I'm forty-four&quot; she said. &quot;No-one ever achieved anything aged forty-four&quot;. This chapter is one of the results of that conversation.

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