Today, 31 March 2018, is the day of Stephen Hawking’s funeral. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-43582950). It says something about our culture and its deep religious heritage that the funeral should take place in Great St. Mary’s Church, Cambridge. It is conducted by churchmen of the Anglican fold. This in full acknowledgement of Hawking’s atheism (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2018/03/14/im-not-afraid-what-stephen-hawking-said-about-god-his-atheism-and-his-own-death/?utm_term=.1945c64ab9d0) Hawking’s ashes are […]

By 2050, 70% of the world’s population will live in cities. (https://www.fastcodesign.com/1669244/by-2050-70-of-the-worlds-population-will-be-urban-is-that-a-good-thing) (https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2009/aug/18/percentage-population-living-cities) There is a complex web of factors accounting for this staggering fact. If you want to understand the human future, then have a long hard think about cities. In this book, Jane Jacobs (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Jacobs), building on the work of her debut, The Death

If you’ve ever wondered what’s going on when you’re appreciating art and beauty, this could be the book for you. In theory of art and beauty Frank Sibley (1923-1996) is especially well known for his attempts to distinguish the domains of aesthetic and non-aesthetic. His 1959 paper ‘Aesthetic Concepts’ is referred to as one of the

China has achieved a staggering transformation in the last 30 years, and now stands on the threshold of becoming the world’s largest economy. It is flexing its military muscle in the South China Sea, whilst at the same time building transport links to the West which will allow rapid export for its vast manufacturing output.

This classic by Alan Moorehead (https://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/01/obituaries/alan-moorehead-73-writer-acclaimed-for-war-reporting.html) is one for your shelf of travel literature. Based on contemporary records, as well as character portraits, this is the exciting story of fifty years of African exploration and the attempt to reach the sources of the Nile. Across these pages we meet a mixed group of reckless and determined

This widely influential 1966 book by Mary Douglas (https://www.theguardian.com/news/2007/may/18/guardianobituaries.obituaries) should be on the shelves of anyone interested in cultural theory or anthropology. The line of inquiry in Purity and Danger traces the meaning of ‘dirt’ in different contexts. What is regarded as dirt in a given society is any matter considered out of place. Douglas clarifies the differences