The Way I See It
The shipyard painter, political activist and razor-sharp cartoonist Bob Starrett has just written a new book The Way I See It on his eventful life and times. Below we reprint one of his stories and review an essential read
La Boheme
ENO's production of La Boheme is a triumph,
Books
Questions Of Travel
Tuesday 19 March 2013
Any book which weighs in at over 500 pages needs to be able to more than justify the time and effort taken to read it by hard-pressed working people, including home workers and those seeking work.
Gods And Beasts
Tuesday 19 March 2013
Since the publication of her first novel Garnethill in 1998, Denise Mina has been one of the leading lights in contemporary Scottish crime fiction, producing a string of consistently high-quality works featuring strong female characters and painting a vivid picture of the dark side of Glasgow.
Geordie's Story
Monday 18 March 2013
On the run from the Cameron Highlanders, in which he had impulsively enlisted at the age of 16, George Dickie - the "Geordie" of the title - changed his name to Jack Brent as he passed through the London area of that name.
A Short History Of China
Monday 18 March 2013
Considering how alien Chinese culture seems to many Western eyes, coherently condensing 4,000 years of its complex past into a 160-page book may seem like an unlikely prospect, particularly when the country's recent complex economic and political upheavals are factored in.
Reagan And Thatcher: The Difficult Relationship
Monday 18 March 2013
Personalities certainly influence the course of history but this book gives the two leaders US president Ronald Reagan and Britain's prime minister Margaret Thatcher more of a determining role than is their due.
Bleakonomics
Monday 18 March 2013
An invaluable guide to the malignant impact of neoliberalism on global economics
Living In China
Sunday 10 March 2013
Almost certainly Taschen do not set a social agenda when producing their coffee table flick-throughs.
Soldiers, Spies and Statesmen: Egypt's Road To Revolt
Sunday 10 March 2013
If you want to understand the underlying forces and mechanisms of Egypt's recent revolutionary turmoil, you couldn't find a more informative book than this.
Why Tolerate Religion?
Sunday 10 March 2013
Brian Leiter's book asks probing questions about why in the tolerance stakes the religious is elevated above the secular
Can Russia Modernise? Sistema, Power Networks And Informal Governance
Sunday 03 March 2013
Modernisation in the West's political parlance can mean almost anything from the unhindered plundering of another country's natural resources to the much in vogue "regime change."