Word: martyrdom
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...thousands. Internationally prominent novelists like Kobo Abe (Woman in the Dunes) and Kenzaburo Oe regularly sell 150,000 copies of each book. Other novelists, like Hisashi Inoue, 47, have enjoyed even greater success (see box). Shusako Endo's spare and elegant studies of Christian faith and martyrdom (Silence; The Samurai) have brought the 60-year-old author the title of the Japanese Graham Greene and made him one of the nation's most widely translated writers...
...typical of these angry tunes. The country's decade-long moratorium on capital punishment ended in 1977 when Gary Gilmore dared Utah to shoot him and, six years ago this week, Utah obliged. Five men have been executed since. One shared Gilmore's flashy passion for martyrdom: Jesse Bishop, who gunned down a newlywed during a casino holdup, practically volunteered for Nevada's gas chamber. Three were electrocuted: John Spenkelink in Florida...
There are indications, however, that the spirit of martyrdom that infused Iran's previous offensives is deteriorating. Iranians are shunning military service, and the Khomeini regime has had to take drastic measures to fill the army's ranks. On Nov. 1, Khomeini told all students and civil servants to report to conscription centers and join up. "Where they are needed," the Ayatullah said, "combat duty takes precedence over everything else." Even childhood. Khomeini also issued an edict that no longer requires children to obtain parental consent before going to war. Regular troops have been telling of "tearful boys...
Until this time, those opposing the Shah had been fragmented. Now an identifiable leader was emerging. Perhaps because of his remoteness and air of martyrdom enhanced by 15 years of exile, his constant and unswerving opposition to the Shah, his religious beliefs bordering on fanaticism and his militant attitude in demanding action and violence, Khomeini had gained increasing influence over the anti-Shah forces. Although he was still in Paris, Khomeini was calling for general strikes, the overthrow of the Shah and the establishment of a republic...
...name is Knott. My parents wanted to call me Bill or Billy, but because there's no Saint Bill or Billy, I was named William. They insist no joke was intended. By third grade at school, I was Will Knott. I learned to live with it, my private martyrdom. So I was more or less prepared to grit it out again in the army, Willingly or Knott (Ha!). What I wasn't ready for was the conglomeration of certified wise guys and punsters called the I and R platoon. They decided my nickname must be Wont...