All human cultures that we know of, literate and non-literate, have constructed stories about their own origins. It’s a perfectly natural thing to do. At an individual level the child asks ‘Where did I come from, Mummy?’ So, it’s equally compelling for a tribe or civilisation to ask ‘Where did we come from? The answers, […]
Origins by Jim Baggott Read More »
If you’ve ever thought the social class system in Britain was a thing of the past, think again. Professor Mike Savage of The London School of Economics (http://www.lse.ac.uk/sociology/whoswho/academic/savage.aspx) shows in this book, Social Class in the 21st Century, that it is as entrenched as ever. The author, with a team of sociologists responsible for the
Social Class in the 21st Century by Mike Savage Read More »
Michael Connelly (http://www.michaelconnelly.com/ and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Connelly ) is back to entertain us with another detective thriller featuring Hieronymus (‘Harry’) Bosch. Bosch is named after the 15th century early Dutch painter known for his fantastic imagery. He painted detailed landscapes and illustrations of moral and religious narratives. Bosch is also the name of my washing machine, and I must say it’s been solid
Perhaps at this very moment you are lusting after an iPhone 12 Pro? How about a new BMW Series 7 in Ruby Black Metallic finish? A new luxury fitted kitchen? Expensive holidays in exotic locations that take a huge amount of jet fuel to get to? The very latest designer label clothes, handbags, shoes? The
Prosperity without Growth by Tim Jackson Read More »
We think of ‘the countyside’ as a place of nature into which we can escape for refreshment. It offers a break from the dismal treadmill of our ant like endeavours in urban life. Yet there is practically nothing left of pristine wilderness in these, our British Isles. Humans have for so long been hunting, chopping,
Landmarks by Robert Macfarlane Read More »
Here’s the perfect read for Halloween 2015. It’s time for ghosts, witches, things that go bump in the night, and for your blood to run cold. Turn to The House on Cold Hill by Peter James (http://www.peterjames.com/). The summary is as follows. Moving from the heart of Brighton to the Sussex countryside is a big
The House on Cold Hill Read More »
Professor Clay Shirky (http://web.archive.org/web/20110102195231/ http://www.shirky.com/bio.html and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay_Shirky) of NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program offers us this analysis of a phenomenon which has rapidly become a feature of modern life – social media. Shirky argues that Web tools are now flexible enough to match and shape human social relationships. He shows we are flattening organisational cultures while assembling “rungs
Here Comes Everybody by Clay Shirky Read More »
Vasili Grossman (12 December 1905 – 14 September 1964, http://grossmanweb.eu/en/home.asp/) was a Soviet Russian writer and journalist. A Ukrainian Jew, he was trained as an engineer and worked in the Donets Basin, but changed his career in the 1930s and published short stories and several novels. At the outbreak of the Second World War, he became
Life and Fate by Vasili Grossman Read More »
Margaret Atwood (http://margaretatwood.ca/ and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Atwood) is a hugely respected and loved writer, having been shortlisted for The Booker Prize five times. Her novel of 2003, Oryx and Crake displays her accomplished style, and profound meditations, to good effect. The summary is as follows. Snowman may be the last man on earth, the only survivor of an unnamed apocalypse. Once he
