In 1980 I read ‘The Problem of Pain‘ (1940) by C.S. Lewis. It is essentially a defence of Christian doctrine – and the assertion of a loving God – in the face of ubiquitous suffering. It left many unresolved questions in my mind about the nature and existence of pain. Why, for example does pain have […]
The Story of Pain by Joanna Bourke Read More »
This month I’m only going to make one suggestion. It is Tom Devine’s (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Devine)(http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/history-classics-archaeology/about-us/staff-profiles?cw_xml=profile_tab1_academic.php?uun=tdevine) monumental 720 page history of Scotland – ‘The Scottish Nation‘. As I write there are 23 days to the referendum which will decide if Scotland remains in a union with the rest of the UK. This will unquestionably be the most historic
The Scottish Nation Read More »
Described by Glamour Magazine as the ‘doyenne of the modern blockbuster’, Penny Vincenzi (http://pennyvincenzi.com/) has a large and loyal readership. She is now onto her 17th book and nearly died last year from the rare disorder cryoglobulinemia. The summary of her latest is as follows. We’re introduced to ‘The House of Farrell’ a cosmetics firm
A Perfect Heritage Read More »
Plants have profoundly moulded the Earth’s climate and the evolutionary trajectory of life. Far from being ‘silent witnesses to the passage of time’, plants are dynamic components of our world, shaping the environment throughout the past as much as the environment has shaped them. In The Emerald Planet, Professor David Beerling of Sheffield University (https://www.shef.ac.uk/aps/staff-and-students/acadstaff/beerling) puts plants centre stage,
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The Fisher Professor of Natural History and Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard University takes us on a tour of the first 3 billion years of evolutionary history. Australopithecines, dinosaurs, trilobites -such fossils conjure up images of lost worlds filled with vanished organisms. But in the full history of life, ancient animals, even the
Life on a Young Planet Read More »
Without our Sun in (the relatively) close proximity of 93 million miles it would be a cold and dark world indeed. It is the source of all our light and heat. The object is a massive ball of gas and plasma. Thanks to the nuclear fusion reactions taking place at its core, the Sun has been shining
Karin Slaughter (http://www.karinslaughter.com/) has published 16 fiction titles since 2001 and has a dedicated following. She has sold more than 30 million copies of her books, and is published in 32 languages. I wonder if you’ll take to her particular style of crime fiction. The summary of her latest, ‘Cop Town’ (24 Jun 2014) is as
Have you ever wondered how the 3.3 pounds of gelatinous material inside your skull generates the amazing magic lantern show that humans call ‘consciousness’? This, in philosophy, is known as the ‘hard problem of consciousness’ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_problem_of_consciousness). Experimental science, undaunted, is having a go at finding out the answer. You may be surprised to learn just how long
Headhunters by Ben Shephard Read More »
Belatedly canonized on 7 October 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI, Christian mystic and visionary Hildegard of Bingen (1098 – 1179) (http://www.hildegard-society.org/faq.html) had been revered in the Roman Catholic Church for centuries. Apart from her work as an abbess of a Benedictine convent, and for her scholarship, Hildegard is one of the earliest known composers in the Western
Hildegard of Bingen by Sabina Flanagan Read More »
