Difference between revisions of "Newest Politics and Society Reviews"

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[[Category:Politics and Society|*]]
 
[[Category:Politics and Society|*]]
[[Category:New Reviews|Politics and Society]] __NOTOC__ <!-- Remove  -->
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[[Category:New Reviews|Politics and Society]]__NOTOC__ <!-- Remove  -->
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Jill Leovy
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|author=Virginie Despentes
|title=Ghettoside
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|title=King Kong Theory
|rating=3.5
+
|rating=4
 +
|genre=Autobiography
 +
|summary=''King Kong Theory'' is a hard-hitting memoir and feminist manifesto, which can be seen as a call to arms for women in a phallocentric society broken at its core. Originally written in French, the book is a collection of essays in which Virginie Despentes explores her experiences as a woman through the complex prism of her varied life: from rape to sex work and pornography. Though these discussions are intertwined, their placement within the book can feel somewhat disjointed, a reflection of their original form as independent essays.
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|isbn=191309734X
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}}
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=1009473085
 +
|title=The Conservative Effect 2010 - 2024
 +
|author=Anthony Seldon and Tom Egerton (Editors)
 +
|rating=5
 
|genre=Politics and Society
 
|genre=Politics and Society
|summary=There are enough LA rappers around to attest that living as a black man in South Central is no easy taskDismiss these urban lyricists at your peril, as crude they may be, but ''Ghettoside'' will soon inform the disbeliever that life on the streets of LA is hardWith a 40 times higher chance of being murdered than a white person in America, what made the LA of the 80s through to the late 2000s such a dangerous place to live for young black men?
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|summary=Sometimes it's simpler to explain a book by describing what it ''isn't'' and that applies to ''The Conservative Effect: 2010-2024 - 14 Wasted Years?''.  If you're looking for an easy read which will deliver the inside story about what ''really'' happened on certain occasions, then this isn't the book for youIf that's what you're looking for, I don't think Anthony Seldon's book, {{amazonurl|isbn=B0BH7SKG2S|title=Johnson at 10}}, can be bettered for those tumultuous years.  It's a compelling read and should be compulsory for anyone who thinks Johnson should return to politics.  ''The Conservative Effect'' is an entirely different beastIt's the seventh book in a series which looks at the impact a government has made and co-editor Sir Anthony Seldon regards this as the most important. This book follows the well-established format: a series of experts from various fields review the state of the nation when the coalition took over in 2010, the changes that occurred and the situation in 2024.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1784700762</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author= Ben Coates
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|author=Alastair Humphreys
|title= Why the Dutch are Different: A Journey into the Hidden Heart of the Netherlands
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|title=Local
|rating= 4
+
|rating=5
|genre= Travel
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|genre=Travel  
|summary= I know Holland in the way everyone does. Pancakes and windmills and Pot, oh my. But it's one of the few European countries I've never lived in for any period of time, and so I was intrigued to know more.
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|summary= Alastair Humphreys has walked and cycled all over the world. And then written about it.  For this book he walked and cycled very close to home and then wrote about it. As he says in his introduction, the book is an attempt ''to share what I have learnt about some big issues from a year exploring a small map. Nature loss, pollution, land use and access, agriculture, the food system, rewilding…''   One of the joys of the book for me was that the biggest thing he learned about all of these things was that there are no easy answers, no single 'right or wrong', that every upside is likely to have a downside for somebody and that there are some hard choices ahead.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>185788633X</amazonuk>
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|isbn=1785633678
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author= Emma Marriott
 
|title= I Used to Know That: History
 
|rating= 4
 
|genre= Politics and Society
 
|summary= I've picked up a few things over the years, most notably from English language text books while TEFLing abroad (there's nothing like an exciting lesson on Guy Fawkes to have a classroom of Mexicans wondering why we so love to celebrate a terrorist attack that didn't happen). But I have gaps, of this I am sure, and I thought to get a basic understanding of, well, the basics that we all should know, a quick read of this book wouldn't hurt.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1782434488</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author= Emma Marriott
 
|title= I Should Know That - Great Britain
 
|rating= 4.5
 
|genre= Politics and Society
 
|summary= I am a dreadful Brit. I'm better at the geography of Colombia than the UK (true story, I had to google where Essex was the other day). Despite 17 years of full time education in the UK, I probably wouldn't pass a simple citizenship test. Which is a little embarrassing, really. So when this book came up for review I thought I'd have it, both for interest and as a subtle way to brush up on my Britain.  
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1782434313</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Tony Wilkinson
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|author=Edel Rodriguez
|title=Capitalism and Human Values
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|title=Worm: A Cuban American Odyssey
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
|genre=Politics and Society
+
|genre=Graphic Novels
|summary=Tony Wilkinson has a first class honours degree in philosophy and has worked in government service and investment management - the ideal background for a consideration of capitalism and the human values which propel itIt's not too long ago - certainly within my lifetime - that religion largely dictated the values held by individuals, but true religious belief now seems to be the exception rather than the rule.  In its place we have a society for whom consumerism is the driving force - and a widening gap between those who can afford to consume and those who cannotAs Wilkinson says ''Getting and spending have come to define who we are.''
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|summary=We're in childhood, and we're in Cuba.  The revolution has happened, and Castro, first thought of as a saviour of the country, has proven himself a Communist, and not done nearly enough to create a level playing field for all.  Well, those hours-long speeches of his were kind of taking his time awayOur narrator's family weren't in the happiest of places here, an uncle refusing to be the good soldier the country demanded (especially as he would probably be shipped off to some minor pro-Communism skirmish, such as Angola) and the father being watched and watched, and not liked for his successful photography business, success being frowned uponThe mother gets the couple jobs with the party to ease some of the heat, but in this sultry island country, it remains the kind of heat forcing you out of the kitchen…
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1845407881</amazonuk>
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|isbn=1474616720
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Luke Gittos
+
|author=Sarah Wilson
|title=Why Rape Culture is a Dangerous Myth: From Steubenville to Ched Evans
+
|title=This One Wild and Precious Life: the path back to connection in a fractured world
 
|rating=3.5
 
|rating=3.5
|genre=Politics and Society
+
|genre= Lifestyle
|summary=It is said that we live in a rape culture.  Tabloid headlines scream that the number of rapes is on the increase and that the police and the courts are failing to deal with the problemThere's a belief that the rate of conviction is consistently lowIt's also said that sexism and misogyny have created a society in which rape is a regular occurrence, frequently not reported to the police and that society at large doesn't really careLuke Gittos, a solicitor practicing criminal law, argues that these claims are based on myths and misunderstandings of the statistics and that far from ''improving'' the way that rape and sexual assaults are dealt with it's actually working against the interests of victims.
+
|summary= My favourite Mary Oliver line is the one in which she asks ''What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?''  I get to love that line so much because my answer is ''This!  Precisely this.''  I'm lucky enough to be living my one wild and precious life the way I want to.  Sarah Wilson is equally luckyIn her book that takes Oliver's words as her title (though I can't see that she acknowledges the source) she pushes us to think about whether we really ''are'' living the life we want – the best life that we could be livingHer answer is an unequivocal ''no, we are not''.  Don't care what you're doing, she thinks you (we, I) could be doing more…And she's effing furious about the fact that we are not.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1845408373</amazonuk>
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|isbn=1785633848
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Anna Krien
+
|isbn=1785633457
|title=Night Games: A Journey to the Dark Side of Sport
+
|title=Charging Around: Exploring the Edges of England by Electric Car
|rating=4.5
+
|author=Clive Wilkinson
|genre=Sport
+
|rating=5
|summary=Mere mortals relax by having a game of footy of a weekend and a couple of drinks, but what does a professional sportsman do to cut loose?  What do they do when they go out en masse? Investigative journalist Anna Krien looks at a rape trial of an Australian Rules footballer, just into his twenties and follows the case as it goes to court, interviewing some of those directly or indirectly involved and digressing into related areas.  In deference to the fact that the woman had automatic anonymity she's chosen to give the man who was charged the name of 'Justin' in an attempt to level the playing field, so to speak.  You could Google the facts and come up with the correct name, but this isn't a book of gossip about particular people.  It's an investigation of a culture which has increasingly treated women as sexual commodities.
+
|genre=Travel
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0224100033</amazonuk>
+
|summary=Clive Wilkinson has a history of travelling by unconventional means with a preference for slow travel. As he neared his eightieth birthday the idea of exploring the edges of England in an electric car was not totally outrageous. In fact, it should be a pleasant holiday for Clive and his wife, Joan, shouldn't it?
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Ian McMillan
+
|isbn=1529153050
|title=Neither Nowt Nor Summat: In search of the meaning of Yorkshire
+
|title=Britain's Best Political Cartoons 2022
 +
|author=Tim Benson
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
|genre=Politics and Society
+
|genre=Humour
|summary=Ian McMillan, poet, radio presenter, poet in residence at Barnsley Football Club and professional Yorkshireman, is worried.  It has crossed his mind that he might not be ''Yorkshire enough'', given that his father was not from God's Own County, but was a Scot by birthIn a series of discursions on the subject of Yorkshire he attempts to distil the essence of the county and to understand what being a Yorkshireman means.  To this end we accompany him through towns and cities, the Cudworth Probus Club, Ilkley Moor and elicit contributions from Mad Geoff the barber, a kazoo-playing train guard and four Saddleworth council workers in search of a mattressAmongst others.  All of Yorkshire life is here.  Including Yorkshire puddings.
+
|summary=Seeking some light relief from the current political turmoil which is coming to seem more and more like an adrenaline sport, I was nudged towards ''Britain's Best Political Cartoons of 2022''.  Sharp eyes will have noted that we're not yet through the year: the cartoons run from 4 September 2021 to 31 August 2022Who can imagine what there will be to come in the 2023 edition?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0091959950</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author= Xinran
 
|title= Buy Me The Sky
 
|rating= 5
 
|genre= Politics and Society
 
|summary= I started reading Xinran thirteen years ago, and whilst I haven't read all of her books, every one that I have read has at some point had me in tears.  This one was no different.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846044715</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Ray Barron Woolford
+
|isbn=B0B7289HKQ
|title=Food Bank Britain
+
|title=Conversations Across America: A Father and Son, Alzheimer's, and 300 Conversations Along the TransAmerica Bike Trail that Capture the Soul of America
 +
|author=Kari Loya
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
|genre=Politics and Society
+
|genre=Travel
|summary=One morning Ray Barron Woolford watched as a smartly-dressed young man foraged in waste bins for food, less than a mile from the riches of the City of LondonIntrigued as to what was going on he went to askThe man explained to him that he'd just got a job after two years of being unemployed, but it would be five weeks before he was paidHe couldn't claim benefits as he was in work and had no savings, so the bins had to be his source of food and by the following week he would have to walk to work as he couldn't afford the fares.  That was the inspiration for the [http://www.wecarefoodbanks.co.uk/ We Care Food Bank].
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|summary=Kari (that rhymes with ‘sorry’, by the way) wanted to spend some time with his father and the period between two jobs seemed like a good time to do itThe decision was made to ride the Trans America Bike Trail from Yorktown, Virginia to Astoria, Oregon - all 4250 miles of it - in 2015They had 73 days to do it - slightly less than the recommended time - but there were factors which pointed this up as more of a challenge that it would be for most people who considered taking it onMerv Loya was 75 years old and he was suffering from early-stage Alzheimer's.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>099308091X</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Chloe Combi
+
|isbn=1739593901
|title=Generation Z: Their Voices, Their Lives
+
|title=22 Ideas About The Future
|rating=4
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|author=Benjamin Greenaway and Stephen Oram (Editors)
|genre=Politics and Society
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|rating=5
|summary=Generation Z, for anyone like me who didn’t know, is made up of those young people born between 1995 and 2001. It is one of the central contentions of Chloe Combi’s book 'Generation Z: Their voices, Their Lives' that these young people’s lives are unlike anyone else’s in British history. From the radical technological innovation which produced the internet and smart phones to multiculturalism, life for these children and teenagers is characterised by so much that was not experienced by their parents and grandparents. In 'Generation Z', then, Combi offers some glimpses into the worlds of young people today, in what she wishes to be 'a conversation starter between teenagers and adults'.  
+
|genre=Science Fiction
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0091958776</amazonuk>
+
|summary=''Our future will be more complex than we expected.  Instead of flying cars, we got night-vision killer drones and automated elderly care with geolocation surveillance bracelets to track grandma.''
 +
 
 +
I've got a couple of confessions to make.  I'm not keen on short stories as I find it easy to read a few stories and then forget to return to the book.  There's got to be a very compelling hook to keep me engaged.  Then there's science fiction: far too often it's the technology which takes centre stage along with the world-building. It's human beings who fascinate me: the technology and the world scape are purely incidental.  So, what did I think of a book of twenty-two science fiction short stories?  Well, I loved it.  
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Sarah Garland
+
|author=Jane Goodall and Douglas Abrams
|title=Azzi in Between
+
|title=The Book of Hope 
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=For Sharing
+
|genre=Politics and Society
|summary=Our story begins in a country at war.  Unfortunately you could probably put a name to it (although it isn't named) as it happens all too regularly. Our heroine is Azzi, a young girl whose life was not ''too'' affected by the war, but every day it came a little closer. Her father still worked as a doctor and her mother made beautiful clothes. Her grandmother wove warm blankets. Then the day came when they had to run, for their lives, and escape was by boat and they became refugees. The three of them - for Grandma had been left behind - had been luckier than most for they were accepted on a temporary basis into another country (again it's not named) and they had a home, although it was just one room.
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|summary= The done thing is to read a book all the way through before you sit down to review it. I’m making an exception here, because I don’t want to lose any of the experience of reading this amazing book, I want to capture it as it hits me. And it is hitting me. This beautiful book has me in tears.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847806511</amazonuk>
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|isbn=024147857X
 +
}}
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{{Frontpage
 +
|isbn=1788360737
 +
|title= Artivism: The Battle for Museums in the Era of Postmodernism
 +
|author=Alexander Adams
 +
|rating=2
 +
|genre= Politics and Society
 +
|summary= Can art ever be apolitical? All art is political because art is not made in a vacuum. It is made by people. Antonio Gramsci stated that ‘’Every man… contributes to modifying the social environment in which he develops’’. Therefore, all art must be political, even implicitly. Alexander Adams in his new book ‘Artivism: The Battle for Museum in the Era of Postmodernism’ is adamant that art is freer when it is art for art’s sake. The recent trend of so-called artivism has caused artists to become more overtly political (read: left wing). Their seemingly grass roots movements have been astroturfed by large “left-wing” donors and media elites hoping to create a more globalist and progressive regime. Or at least that’s what Alexander Adams believes.
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Barroux
+
|isbn=1398508632
|title=Where's the Elephant?
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|title=The Wilderness Cure
 +
|author=Mo Wilde
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=For Sharing
+
|genre=Lifestyle
|summary=We've all had great fun with books such as ''Where's Wally''haven't we? They appeal to children and adults and everyone who has seen ''Where's the Elephant?'' has jumped in with great enthusiasm, keen to show just how observant they are. We start off with a forest - actually it's the Amazon Rainforest - full of glorious colours and our three friends, who are hiding in there. Elephant is probably the easiest to spot, but Snake and Parrot are in there too and with a little concentration you'll find them.  When you turn the page you'll scan the trees again and discover their hiding placesYou even wonder if it might get a little ''boring'' if it goes on like this.
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|summary=It had been on the cards for a while but it was the week-long consumer binge which pushed Mo Wilde into beginning her year of eating only wild food.  The end of November, particularly in Central Scotland was perhaps not the best time to start, in a world where the normal sores had been exacerbated by climate change, Brexit and a pandemic. Wilde had a few advantages: the area around her was a known habitat with a variety of terrains. She had electricity which allowed her to run a fridge, freezer and dehydrator.  She had a car - and fuel.  Most importantly, she had shelter: this was not a plan to ''live'' wild just to live off its produce.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1405271388</amazonuk>
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}}
 +
{{Frontpage
 +
|isbn=1529149800
 +
|title=Things You Can Do: How to Fight Climate Change and Reduce Waste
 +
|author=Eduardo Garcia and Sara Boccaccini Meadows
 +
|rating=4
 +
|genre=Home and Family
 +
|summary=We begin with a telling story.  All the birds and animals fled when the forest fire took hold and most of them stood and watched, unable to think of anything they could do. The tiny hummingbird flew to the river and began taking tiny amounts of water and flying back to drop them into the fireThe animals laughed: what good was that doing.  ''I'm doing the best I can'', said the hummingbirdAnd that, really, is the only way that we will solve the problem of climate change – by each of us doing what we can, however small that might be.
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Jeremy Treglown
+
|isbn=1638485216
|title=Franco's Crypt: Spanish Culture and Memory Since 1936
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|title=Black, White, and Gray All Over: A Black Man's Odyssey in Life and Law Enforcement
|rating=3.5
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|author=Frederick Reynolds
|genre=History
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|rating=5
|summary=With ''Franco’s Crypt'' Jeremy Treglown has taken a highly charged subject – life in Spain under Franco – and placed it under what to some might appear a somewhat revisionist microscope. His aim appears to be twofold: to consider the nature of collective memory, particularly in the light of the exhumations of mass graves that commenced earlier this century, and, secondly, to examine – and celebrate - Spain’s cultural output during Franco’s years as dictator.
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|genre=Autobiography
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1784701157</amazonuk>
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|summary=''Corruption is not department, gender or race specific.  It has everything to do with character. Period.''
 +
 
 +
''One more body just wouldn't matter''.
 +
 
 +
The murder of George Floyd, a forty-six-year-old black man, on 25 May 2020 by Derek Chauvin, a forty-four-year-old police officer, in the US city of Minneapolis sent shock waves around the world.  We rarely see pictures of a murder taking place but Floyd's death was an exception.  The image of Chauvin kneeling on George's neck is not one which I'll ever forget and the protests which followed cannot have been unexpected.  There was a backlash against the police - and not just in Minneapolis: whatever their colour or creed they were ''all'' tarred by the Chauvin brush.
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=David Greene
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|author=Matthieu Aikins
|title=Midnight in Siberia: A Train Journey into the Heart of Russia
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|title=The Naked Don't Fear the Water
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Politics and Society
 
|genre=Politics and Society
|summary=It's no mistake that the cover of my edition of this book is a photo where the Trans-Siberian Railway is horizontal in the frame.  It's well known for going east-west, left to right across the map of the largest country by far in the world.  9,288 kilometres from Moscow to the eastern stretches of Russia, it could only be a long, thin line across the cover, as it is in our imagination of it as a form of transport and a travel destination in its own right.  So when this book mentions it as the spine or backbone of Russia a couple of times, that's got to be of a prone Russia one lying down, not upright or active.  David Greene, a stalwart of northern American radio journalism, uses this book to see just how active or otherwise Russia and Russians are and finds their lying down to be quite a definite verdict, as well as a slight indictment. It's no mistake either for this cover to have people in the frame alongside the train carriages, for the people met both riding and living alongside the tracks of the Railway are definitely the ribs of the piece.
+
|summary=It's easy to forget at times that The Naked Don't Fear the Water isn't actually fiction, because it reads very much like a well-paced thriller at times. This is not by any means a criticism, but rather a testament to how well Matthieu Aikins – a Canadian citizen who decided to accompany his friend as a refugee from Afghanistan through Europe recounts a vast and at times painful journey. There are tense moments and gripping accounts of border crossings which had me on edge the whole way through. But it's written with a haunting and almost lyrical quality that allows the reader to perfectly envisage the environments and people described.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846883709</amazonuk>
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|isbn= B09N9157T6
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes
+
|isbn=1785633074
|title=HRC: State Secrets and the Rebirth of Hillary Clinton
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|title=Staggering Hubris
|rating=4
+
|author=Josh Berry
|genre=Biography
+
|rating=4.5
|summary=Hillary Clinton initially came to our attention as First Lady and even then she might have faded into international obscurity had it not been for the way in which she managed to hold her head high during those unfortunate incidents with Bill - well, HRC wasn't ''involved'' but I'm sure you know what I'm talking aboutThen she re-emerged through the fog of the George W Bush presidency with her bid to gain the Democratic nomination, losing in a hotly contested series of primaries to Barack Obama - and went on to become his Secretary of StateNow the question is whether or not she will make another run for President in 2016.
+
|genre=Humour
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099594692</amazonuk>
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|summary=Members of Parliament like us to believe that the country is run by politicians, headed by the Prime minister - the ''primus inter pares'' (that's for those of you who are Eton and Oxbridge educated) but the reality is that the ''prime'' movers are the special advisers - the SPADS - who are the driving force behind the governmentWe are in the privileged position of having access to the memoirs of Rafe Hubris, the man who was behind the skilful control of the Covid crisis which was completely contained by the end of 2020You might not know the name now but he will certainly be the man to watch.
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Mike McIntyre and Chris Brinkley (narrator)
+
|isbn=1846276772
|title=The Kindness of Strangers: Penniless Across America
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|title=The End of Bias: How We Change Our Minds
 +
|author=Jessica Nordell
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
|genre=Travel
+
|genre=Politics and Society
|summary=In 1994 Mike McIntyre was a  thirty-seven-year-old journalist with a secret: he was frightened.  There were specific fears, but what it boiled down to was that he was frightened of life - and then there was a memoryHe remembered - with some shame - not stopping for a hitchhiker with a gas can in the desertIt was almost on a whim that he decided to cross America, from San Francisco in California to Cape Fear in North Carolina, which might sound like a great adventure, but McIntyre decides to do it without money - to be completely reliant on the kindness of strangersHe was confronting his own fears.
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|summary=Anyone who is not an able, white man understands bias in that they may no longer even recognise the extent to which they suffer from it: it's simply a part of everyday life.  White men will always come first.  The able will come before the disabledJobs, promotions, higher salaries are the preserve of the white manEven when those who wouldn't pass the medical become a part of an organisation it's rare that their views are heard, that their concerns are acknowledgedIt's personally appalling and degrading for the individuals on the receiving end of the bias but it's not just the individuals who are negatively impacted.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>B00PWMVWTY</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Stian Bromark and Hon Khiam Leong (translator)
 
|title=Massacre in Norway: The 2011 Terror Attack on Oslo and the Utoya Youth Camp
 
|rating=2.5
 
|genre=History
 
|summary=Anders Behring Breivik was 32 when he both planted a van bomb in Oslo's central government district to hit out at what he thought was 'Cultural Marxism', which killed 8, then left for an island in a lake 24 miles away, where a notably political youth gathering was enjoying itselfHe gunned down 69 people – more than one in ten of those at the camp – and wounded many scores more.  He also spammed countless people with another of his projects, a lengthy manifesto declaring his ideas about Islamisation and what he saw as a pernicious multiculturalism ruining his country.  His case was one of the more superlative events in modern Nordic history – as was the surprisingly lenient sentence for over 70 lives of just 21 years.  This is, as you'd expect, one of the many books to result from the case.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1612346685</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=John Campbell
+
|isbn=1529148251
|title=Roy Jenkins: A Well-Rounded Life
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|title=Misfits: A Personal Manifesto
 +
|author=Michaela Coel
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=Biography
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|genre=Politics and Society
|summary=It must be rare indeed that a British political figure who never became Prime Minister is the subject of or deserves a biography comprising 750 pages of textHowever, as John Campbell demonstrates in this volume, it is difficult to do justice to the life, times and career of Roy Jenkins in much less than that.
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|summary=''How am I able to be so transparent on paper about rape, malpractice and poverty, yet still compartmentalise?  It's as though I were telling the truth whilst simultaneously running away from it.''
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0224087509</amazonuk>
+
 
 +
Before you start reading ''Misfits'' you need to be in a certain frame of mind. You're not going to read a book of essays or a self-help book.  You're going to read writing which was inspired by Michaela Coel's 2018 MacTaggart Lecture to professionals within the television industry at the Edinburgh TV FestivalYou might be ''reading'' the book but you need to ''listen'' to the words as though you're in the lecture theatre.  The disjointedness will fade away and you'll be carried on a cloud of exquisite writing.
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Dan Jones
+
|isbn=0008350388
|title=Magna Carta: The Making and Legacy of the Great Charter
+
|title=We Need to Talk About Money
 +
|author=Otegha Uwagba
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=History
+
|genre=Politics and Society
|summary=For what do we – and by courtesy of a lengthy timeline in history, would the Americans likewise – most likely owe thanks to a spigurnel?  What is the most revered legal document in history, which sets out the rights of man – but also has time to talk about widows' rights, fish traps, and to be both sexist and to discuss the importance to people's estates to debts owed Jewish moneylenders?  What will probably be the only notable historical experience of Britain in 1215, when we finally get diverted from thinking about WWI and discuss the 800 years of something else, even though the authority of no less than the Pope declared it null and void within ten weeks of its being finished?
+
|summary=''To be a dark-skinned Black woman is to be seen as less desirable, less hireable, less intelligent and ultimately less valuable than my light-skinned counterparts...''  ''We Need to Talk About Money'' by Otegha Uwagba
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781858853</amazonuk>
+
 
}}
+
''0.7% of English Literature GCSE students in England study a book by a writer of colour while only 7% study a book by a woman.''  ''The Bookseller'' 29 June 2021
{{newreview
+
 
|author=Krishna Bhatt
+
Otegha Uwagba came to the UK from Kenya when she was five years old.  Her sisters were seven and nine.  It was her mother who came first, with her father joining them later.  The family was hard-working, principled and determined that their children would have the best education possibleThere was always a painful awareness of money although this did not translate into a shortage of anything: it was simply carefully harvestedWhen Otegha was ten the family acquired a car.  For Otegha, education meant a scholarship to a private school in London and then a place at New College, Oxford.
|title=The Royal Enigma
 
|rating=2
 
|genre=Historical Fiction
 
|summary=There is absolutely nothing wrong with books that cross genres.  The best historical novels are as much history as fictionHowever, it is a golden rule that a book must know who and what it isOne of the problems with The Royal Enigma is that it suffers from a serious identity crisis.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>B005Q8QCTY</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
 
|author=Adrian Hart
+
{{Frontpage
|title=That's Racist: How the regulation of speech and thought divides us all
+
|author=Richard Brook
 +
|title=Understanding Human Nature: A User's Guide to Life
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
|genre=Politics and Society
+
|genre=Lifestyle
|summary=Adrian Hart has a long history of campaigning against racism, not least because he was subjected to racial abuse when he was at school.  With jet-black hair and a complexion that was just ''slightly'' darker than was normal he was the closest that his school had to someone who might be of Pakistani origin. It was only name calling from a group of boys but the experience stuck and he's put much of his working life where his mouth is.  So, you might expect that he would be a devotee of the zero tolerance approach to racist speech, but he's far from certain that this is the right way to go and believes that this might be causing more divisions in society than racism itself.
+
|summary= I am a firm believer that sometimes we choose books, and sometimes books choose us.  In my case, this is one of the latter. Not so very long ago, if I had come across this book I'd have skimmed it, found some of it interesting, but it would not have 'hit home' in the way that it does now.  I believe it came to me not just because I was likely to give it a favourable review [ ''full disclosure The Bookbag's u.s.p. is that people chose their own books rather than getting them randomly, so there is a predisposition towards expecting to like the book, even if it doesn't always turn out that way'' ] – but also because it is a book I needed to read, right now.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1845407555</amazonuk>
+
|isbn=1800461682
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|title=Encyclopedia Paranoiaca
+
|isbn=1787332098
|author=Henry Beard and Christopher Cerf
+
|title=How to Love Animals in a Human-Shaped World
|rating=4
+
|author=Henry Mance
|genre=Popular Science
+
|rating=5
|summary=We're screwed.  Wherever we look, whatever we think of doing, there is a reason why we shouldn't be doing it, and people to back that reason up with scientific data.  Take any aspect of your daily life – what you eat, how you work, how you rest even, what you touch – all have problems that could provoke a serious illness or worse.  And outside that daily sphere there are economic disasters, nuclear meltdowns, errant AI scientists and passing comets that could turn our world upside down at the blink of an eye.  Perhaps then you better read this book first – for it may well turn out to be your last…
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0715649213</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|title=How To Be A Conservative
 
|author=Roger Scruton
 
|rating=3.5
 
 
|genre=Politics and Society
 
|genre=Politics and Society
|summary=Roger Scruton has been described by Jesse Norman as 'one of the few intellectually authoritative voices in British conservatism'. His central theme in this book is to defend and champion the value of the home, a society based on free association and the nation state. The simplest of biographical sections demonstrates that the author was brought up not from ‘privileged’ stock but within a Labour-voting, lower middle class family, to demonstrate that his conservatism was not inherited but a product of his own intellectual journey.
+
|summary=''When we do think about animals, we break them down into species and groups: cows, dogs, foxes, elephants and so on. And we assign them places in society: cows go on plates, dogs on sofas, foxes in rubbish bins, elephants in zoos, and millions of wild animals stay out there, ''somewhere,'' hopefully on the next David Attenborough series.''
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1472903765</amazonuk>
+
 
 +
I was going to argue.  I mean, cows are for cheese (I couldn't consider eating red meat...) and I much prefer my elephants in the wild but then I realised that I was quibbling for the sake of it.  Essentially that quote sums up my attitude to animals - and I consider myself an animal lover.  If I had to choose between the company of humans and the company of animals, I would probably choose the animals. I insisted that I read this book: no one was trying to stop me but I was initially reluctant.  I eat cheese, eggs, chicken and fish and I needed to either do so without guilt or change my choices.  I suspected that making the decision would not be comfortable.
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|title=The Wall Between Us
+
|isbn=1523092734
|author=Matthew Small
+
|title=A Women's Guide to Claiming Space
|rating=4
+
|author=Eliza Van Cort
 +
|rating=5
 
|genre=Politics and Society
 
|genre=Politics and Society
|summary=In this personal account of his visit to Israel and the West Bank, Small journals his time spent with people he meets along the way and attempts to make sense of the conflict that has dominated this area for many years. Small openly admits the issue there is not a simple one and his visit reinforces the fact that there are many complexities preventing peace from happening.
+
|summary=''She brings a hug-kick-thunderclap that every woman needs in her life. Again and again and again.'' (Alma Derricks, former CMO, Cirque du Soleil RSD)
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1910266302</amazonuk>
+
 
 +
''To claim space is to live the life of choosing unapologetically and bravely.  It is to live the life you've always wanted.''
 +
 
 +
Sometimes the reviewing gods are generous: at a time when violence against women is much in the news, ''A Women's Guide to Claiming Space'' by Eliza Van Cort dropped onto my desk.  Now - to be clear - this book is not a 'how to disable your attacker with two simple jabs' manual: it's something far more effective, but discussion at the moment seems to be about how women can be ''protected''.  I've always thought that women need to rise above this, to be people who don't need protection, people who claim their own space.  If all women did this, those few men who are violent to women would realise that we are not just an easy target to be used to prove that they are big men.
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Jonathan Shaw
+
|author=Polly Barton
|title=Britain in a Perilous World: The Strategic Defence and Security Review we need
+
|title=Fifty Sounds
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Politics and Society
 
|genre=Politics and Society
|summary=The 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review has stayed in the mind for the wrong reasons: rather than looking to develop a strategy, to examine the short and long term threats which the country faced, the emphasis was on cutting costs, with some cuts appearing ludicrous at first glanceIn the intervening years there have been occasions when it was difficult not to wonder if the United Kingdom was poorly equipped - and without clear-cut aims - as a result of the 2010 reviewThe opportunity to put this right comes in 2015 and Major General Jonathan Shaw looks not at what the Review should say, but at how it should be tackled.
+
|summary= Where do I start? I could start with where Barton herself starts, with the question ''Why Japan?'' Japan has been on my radar for a while and if the world hadn't gone into melt-down I would have visited by now. I may get there later this year, but I am not hopeful. And like Barton, I don't know the answer to the question ''why Japan?'' She explains her feelings in respect of the question in the first essay, which is on the sound ''giro' '' – which she describes as being, among other things, the sound of ''every party where you have to introduce yourself''.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1908323817</amazonuk>
+
|isbn=1913097501
 +
}}
 +
{{Frontpage
 +
|author=Stephen Fabes
 +
|title=Signs of Life
 +
|rating=5
 +
|genre=Travel
 +
|summary= I was brought up on maps and first-person narratives of tales of far away places. I was birth-righted wanderlust and curiosityUnfortunately, I didn't inherit what Dr. Stephen Fabes clearly had which was the guts to simply go out and do it.  I also didn't inherit the kind of steady nerve, ability to talk to strangers and basic practicality that would have meant that I would have survived if I had been gifted with the requisite 'bottle'In order words I'm not the sort of person who will get on a bike outside a London hospital and not come home for six years.  Fabes did precisely that.
 +
|isbn=1788161211
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=The Economist
+
|isbn=1504321383
|title=Pocket World in Figures 2015
+
|title=Single, Again, and Again, and Again
 +
|author=Louisa Pateman
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
|genre=Reference
+
|genre=Autobiography
|summary=There are people who don't understand the joy of raw data: no accompanying analysis (or spin) - just a collection of figures relevant to a particular circumstanceIf you're one of those people then this book will mean little to you, but if you want a pocket (well, certainly handbag or briefcase) work of reference then this book will be a treasureI once gave a copy to a diplomat and he kept his wife awake until the early hours as he came across another gem which she had to know without delayThe 2015 edition is the twenty fourth in the series - and diplomatic (and similar) spouses everywhere should prepare themselves for the onslaught.
+
|summary=''You can't be happy and fulfilled on your ownYou are not complete until you find a man''.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781252734</amazonuk>
+
 
 +
This was what Louisa Pateman was brought up to believeIt wasn't unkind: it was simply the adults in her life advising her as to what they thought would be best for herIt was reinforced by all those fairy tales where the girl (she's usually fairly young) is rescued by the handsome prince who then marries her so that they can live happily ever after.  Few girls are lucky enough to be brought up ''without'' the expectation that they will marry and have children.  It was a belief and it would be many years before Louisa would conclude that ''a belief is a choice''.
 
}}
 
}}
 +
 +
Move to [[Newest Popular Science Reviews]]

Latest revision as of 09:49, 29 September 2024

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Review of

King Kong Theory by Virginie Despentes

4star.jpg Autobiography

King Kong Theory is a hard-hitting memoir and feminist manifesto, which can be seen as a call to arms for women in a phallocentric society broken at its core. Originally written in French, the book is a collection of essays in which Virginie Despentes explores her experiences as a woman through the complex prism of her varied life: from rape to sex work and pornography. Though these discussions are intertwined, their placement within the book can feel somewhat disjointed, a reflection of their original form as independent essays. Full Review

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Review of

The Conservative Effect 2010 - 2024 by Anthony Seldon and Tom Egerton (Editors)

5star.jpg Politics and Society

Sometimes it's simpler to explain a book by describing what it isn't and that applies to The Conservative Effect: 2010-2024 - 14 Wasted Years?. If you're looking for an easy read which will deliver the inside story about what really happened on certain occasions, then this isn't the book for you. If that's what you're looking for, I don't think Anthony Seldon's book, Johnson at 10, can be bettered for those tumultuous years. It's a compelling read and should be compulsory for anyone who thinks Johnson should return to politics. The Conservative Effect is an entirely different beast. It's the seventh book in a series which looks at the impact a government has made and co-editor Sir Anthony Seldon regards this as the most important. This book follows the well-established format: a series of experts from various fields review the state of the nation when the coalition took over in 2010, the changes that occurred and the situation in 2024. Full Review

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Review of

Local by Alastair Humphreys

5star.jpg Travel

Alastair Humphreys has walked and cycled all over the world. And then written about it. For this book he walked and cycled very close to home and then wrote about it. As he says in his introduction, the book is an attempt to share what I have learnt about some big issues from a year exploring a small map. Nature loss, pollution, land use and access, agriculture, the food system, rewilding… One of the joys of the book for me was that the biggest thing he learned about all of these things was that there are no easy answers, no single 'right or wrong', that every upside is likely to have a downside for somebody and that there are some hard choices ahead. Full Review

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Review of

Worm: A Cuban American Odyssey by Edel Rodriguez

4star.jpg Graphic Novels

We're in childhood, and we're in Cuba. The revolution has happened, and Castro, first thought of as a saviour of the country, has proven himself a Communist, and not done nearly enough to create a level playing field for all. Well, those hours-long speeches of his were kind of taking his time away. Our narrator's family weren't in the happiest of places here, an uncle refusing to be the good soldier the country demanded (especially as he would probably be shipped off to some minor pro-Communism skirmish, such as Angola) and the father being watched and watched, and not liked for his successful photography business, success being frowned upon. The mother gets the couple jobs with the party to ease some of the heat, but in this sultry island country, it remains the kind of heat forcing you out of the kitchen… Full Review

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Review of

This One Wild and Precious Life: the path back to connection in a fractured world by Sarah Wilson

3.5star.jpg Lifestyle

My favourite Mary Oliver line is the one in which she asks What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? I get to love that line so much because my answer is This! Precisely this. I'm lucky enough to be living my one wild and precious life the way I want to. Sarah Wilson is equally lucky. In her book that takes Oliver's words as her title (though I can't see that she acknowledges the source) she pushes us to think about whether we really are living the life we want – the best life that we could be living. Her answer is an unequivocal no, we are not. Don't care what you're doing, she thinks you (we, I) could be doing more…And she's effing furious about the fact that we are not. Full Review

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Review of

Charging Around: Exploring the Edges of England by Electric Car by Clive Wilkinson

5star.jpg Travel

Clive Wilkinson has a history of travelling by unconventional means with a preference for slow travel. As he neared his eightieth birthday the idea of exploring the edges of England in an electric car was not totally outrageous. In fact, it should be a pleasant holiday for Clive and his wife, Joan, shouldn't it? Full Review

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Review of

Britain's Best Political Cartoons 2022 by Tim Benson

4star.jpg Humour

Seeking some light relief from the current political turmoil which is coming to seem more and more like an adrenaline sport, I was nudged towards Britain's Best Political Cartoons of 2022. Sharp eyes will have noted that we're not yet through the year: the cartoons run from 4 September 2021 to 31 August 2022. Who can imagine what there will be to come in the 2023 edition? Full Review

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Review of

Conversations Across America: A Father and Son, Alzheimer's, and 300 Conversations Along the TransAmerica Bike Trail that Capture the Soul of America by Kari Loya

4star.jpg Travel

Kari (that rhymes with ‘sorry’, by the way) wanted to spend some time with his father and the period between two jobs seemed like a good time to do it. The decision was made to ride the Trans America Bike Trail from Yorktown, Virginia to Astoria, Oregon - all 4250 miles of it - in 2015. They had 73 days to do it - slightly less than the recommended time - but there were factors which pointed this up as more of a challenge that it would be for most people who considered taking it on. Merv Loya was 75 years old and he was suffering from early-stage Alzheimer's. Full Review

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Review of

22 Ideas About The Future by Benjamin Greenaway and Stephen Oram (Editors)

5star.jpg Science Fiction

Our future will be more complex than we expected. Instead of flying cars, we got night-vision killer drones and automated elderly care with geolocation surveillance bracelets to track grandma.

I've got a couple of confessions to make. I'm not keen on short stories as I find it easy to read a few stories and then forget to return to the book. There's got to be a very compelling hook to keep me engaged. Then there's science fiction: far too often it's the technology which takes centre stage along with the world-building. It's human beings who fascinate me: the technology and the world scape are purely incidental. So, what did I think of a book of twenty-two science fiction short stories? Well, I loved it. Full Review

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Review of

The Book of Hope by Jane Goodall and Douglas Abrams

5star.jpg Politics and Society

The done thing is to read a book all the way through before you sit down to review it. I’m making an exception here, because I don’t want to lose any of the experience of reading this amazing book, I want to capture it as it hits me. And it is hitting me. This beautiful book has me in tears. Full Review

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Review of

Artivism: The Battle for Museums in the Era of Postmodernism by Alexander Adams

2star.jpg Politics and Society

Can art ever be apolitical? All art is political because art is not made in a vacuum. It is made by people. Antonio Gramsci stated that ‘’Every man… contributes to modifying the social environment in which he develops’’. Therefore, all art must be political, even implicitly. Alexander Adams in his new book ‘Artivism: The Battle for Museum in the Era of Postmodernism’ is adamant that art is freer when it is art for art’s sake. The recent trend of so-called artivism has caused artists to become more overtly political (read: left wing). Their seemingly grass roots movements have been astroturfed by large “left-wing” donors and media elites hoping to create a more globalist and progressive regime. Or at least that’s what Alexander Adams believes. Full Review

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Review of

The Wilderness Cure by Mo Wilde

5star.jpg Lifestyle

It had been on the cards for a while but it was the week-long consumer binge which pushed Mo Wilde into beginning her year of eating only wild food. The end of November, particularly in Central Scotland was perhaps not the best time to start, in a world where the normal sores had been exacerbated by climate change, Brexit and a pandemic. Wilde had a few advantages: the area around her was a known habitat with a variety of terrains. She had electricity which allowed her to run a fridge, freezer and dehydrator. She had a car - and fuel. Most importantly, she had shelter: this was not a plan to live wild just to live off its produce. Full Review

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Review of

Things You Can Do: How to Fight Climate Change and Reduce Waste by Eduardo Garcia and Sara Boccaccini Meadows

4star.jpg Home and Family

We begin with a telling story. All the birds and animals fled when the forest fire took hold and most of them stood and watched, unable to think of anything they could do. The tiny hummingbird flew to the river and began taking tiny amounts of water and flying back to drop them into the fire. The animals laughed: what good was that doing. I'm doing the best I can, said the hummingbird. And that, really, is the only way that we will solve the problem of climate change – by each of us doing what we can, however small that might be. Full Review

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Review of

Black, White, and Gray All Over: A Black Man's Odyssey in Life and Law Enforcement by Frederick Reynolds

5star.jpg Autobiography

Corruption is not department, gender or race specific. It has everything to do with character. Period.

One more body just wouldn't matter.

The murder of George Floyd, a forty-six-year-old black man, on 25 May 2020 by Derek Chauvin, a forty-four-year-old police officer, in the US city of Minneapolis sent shock waves around the world. We rarely see pictures of a murder taking place but Floyd's death was an exception. The image of Chauvin kneeling on George's neck is not one which I'll ever forget and the protests which followed cannot have been unexpected. There was a backlash against the police - and not just in Minneapolis: whatever their colour or creed they were all tarred by the Chauvin brush. Full Review

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Review of

The Naked Don't Fear the Water by Matthieu Aikins

4.5star.jpg Politics and Society

It's easy to forget at times that The Naked Don't Fear the Water isn't actually fiction, because it reads very much like a well-paced thriller at times. This is not by any means a criticism, but rather a testament to how well Matthieu Aikins – a Canadian citizen who decided to accompany his friend as a refugee from Afghanistan through Europe – recounts a vast and at times painful journey. There are tense moments and gripping accounts of border crossings which had me on edge the whole way through. But it's written with a haunting and almost lyrical quality that allows the reader to perfectly envisage the environments and people described. Full Review

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Review of

Staggering Hubris by Josh Berry

4.5star.jpg Humour

Members of Parliament like us to believe that the country is run by politicians, headed by the Prime minister - the primus inter pares (that's for those of you who are Eton and Oxbridge educated) but the reality is that the prime movers are the special advisers - the SPADS - who are the driving force behind the government. We are in the privileged position of having access to the memoirs of Rafe Hubris, the man who was behind the skilful control of the Covid crisis which was completely contained by the end of 2020. You might not know the name now but he will certainly be the man to watch. Full Review

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Review of

The End of Bias: How We Change Our Minds by Jessica Nordell

4.5star.jpg Politics and Society

Anyone who is not an able, white man understands bias in that they may no longer even recognise the extent to which they suffer from it: it's simply a part of everyday life. White men will always come first. The able will come before the disabled. Jobs, promotions, higher salaries are the preserve of the white man. Even when those who wouldn't pass the medical become a part of an organisation it's rare that their views are heard, that their concerns are acknowledged. It's personally appalling and degrading for the individuals on the receiving end of the bias but it's not just the individuals who are negatively impacted. Full Review

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Review of

Misfits: A Personal Manifesto by Michaela Coel

5star.jpg Politics and Society

How am I able to be so transparent on paper about rape, malpractice and poverty, yet still compartmentalise? It's as though I were telling the truth whilst simultaneously running away from it.

Before you start reading Misfits you need to be in a certain frame of mind. You're not going to read a book of essays or a self-help book. You're going to read writing which was inspired by Michaela Coel's 2018 MacTaggart Lecture to professionals within the television industry at the Edinburgh TV Festival. You might be reading the book but you need to listen to the words as though you're in the lecture theatre. The disjointedness will fade away and you'll be carried on a cloud of exquisite writing. Full Review

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Review of

We Need to Talk About Money by Otegha Uwagba

5star.jpg Politics and Society

To be a dark-skinned Black woman is to be seen as less desirable, less hireable, less intelligent and ultimately less valuable than my light-skinned counterparts... We Need to Talk About Money by Otegha Uwagba

0.7% of English Literature GCSE students in England study a book by a writer of colour while only 7% study a book by a woman. The Bookseller 29 June 2021

Otegha Uwagba came to the UK from Kenya when she was five years old. Her sisters were seven and nine. It was her mother who came first, with her father joining them later. The family was hard-working, principled and determined that their children would have the best education possible. There was always a painful awareness of money although this did not translate into a shortage of anything: it was simply carefully harvested. When Otegha was ten the family acquired a car. For Otegha, education meant a scholarship to a private school in London and then a place at New College, Oxford. Full Review

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Review of

Understanding Human Nature: A User's Guide to Life by Richard Brook

4.5star.jpg Lifestyle

I am a firm believer that sometimes we choose books, and sometimes books choose us. In my case, this is one of the latter. Not so very long ago, if I had come across this book I'd have skimmed it, found some of it interesting, but it would not have 'hit home' in the way that it does now. I believe it came to me not just because I was likely to give it a favourable review [ full disclosure The Bookbag's u.s.p. is that people chose their own books rather than getting them randomly, so there is a predisposition towards expecting to like the book, even if it doesn't always turn out that way ] – but also because it is a book I needed to read, right now. Full Review

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Review of

How to Love Animals in a Human-Shaped World by Henry Mance

5star.jpg Politics and Society

When we do think about animals, we break them down into species and groups: cows, dogs, foxes, elephants and so on. And we assign them places in society: cows go on plates, dogs on sofas, foxes in rubbish bins, elephants in zoos, and millions of wild animals stay out there, somewhere, hopefully on the next David Attenborough series.

I was going to argue. I mean, cows are for cheese (I couldn't consider eating red meat...) and I much prefer my elephants in the wild but then I realised that I was quibbling for the sake of it. Essentially that quote sums up my attitude to animals - and I consider myself an animal lover. If I had to choose between the company of humans and the company of animals, I would probably choose the animals. I insisted that I read this book: no one was trying to stop me but I was initially reluctant. I eat cheese, eggs, chicken and fish and I needed to either do so without guilt or change my choices. I suspected that making the decision would not be comfortable. Full Review

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Review of

A Women's Guide to Claiming Space by Eliza Van Cort

5star.jpg Politics and Society

She brings a hug-kick-thunderclap that every woman needs in her life. Again and again and again. (Alma Derricks, former CMO, Cirque du Soleil RSD)

To claim space is to live the life of choosing unapologetically and bravely. It is to live the life you've always wanted.

Sometimes the reviewing gods are generous: at a time when violence against women is much in the news, A Women's Guide to Claiming Space by Eliza Van Cort dropped onto my desk. Now - to be clear - this book is not a 'how to disable your attacker with two simple jabs' manual: it's something far more effective, but discussion at the moment seems to be about how women can be protected. I've always thought that women need to rise above this, to be people who don't need protection, people who claim their own space. If all women did this, those few men who are violent to women would realise that we are not just an easy target to be used to prove that they are big men. Full Review

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Review of

Fifty Sounds by Polly Barton

4.5star.jpg Politics and Society

Where do I start? I could start with where Barton herself starts, with the question Why Japan? Japan has been on my radar for a while and if the world hadn't gone into melt-down I would have visited by now. I may get there later this year, but I am not hopeful. And like Barton, I don't know the answer to the question why Japan? She explains her feelings in respect of the question in the first essay, which is on the sound giro' – which she describes as being, among other things, the sound of every party where you have to introduce yourself. Full Review

1788161211.jpg

Review of

Signs of Life by Stephen Fabes

5star.jpg Travel

I was brought up on maps and first-person narratives of tales of far away places. I was birth-righted wanderlust and curiosity. Unfortunately, I didn't inherit what Dr. Stephen Fabes clearly had which was the guts to simply go out and do it. I also didn't inherit the kind of steady nerve, ability to talk to strangers and basic practicality that would have meant that I would have survived if I had been gifted with the requisite 'bottle'. In order words I'm not the sort of person who will get on a bike outside a London hospital and not come home for six years. Fabes did precisely that. Full Review

1504321383.jpg

Review of

Single, Again, and Again, and Again by Louisa Pateman

4.5star.jpg Autobiography

You can't be happy and fulfilled on your own. You are not complete until you find a man.

This was what Louisa Pateman was brought up to believe. It wasn't unkind: it was simply the adults in her life advising her as to what they thought would be best for her. It was reinforced by all those fairy tales where the girl (she's usually fairly young) is rescued by the handsome prince who then marries her so that they can live happily ever after. Few girls are lucky enough to be brought up without the expectation that they will marry and have children. It was a belief and it would be many years before Louisa would conclude that a belief is a choice. Full Review

Move to Newest Popular Science Reviews