Few works of economic and political analysis are worth reading 60 years after publication. The Opium of the Intellectuals (1955), by French intellectual Raymond Aron (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Aron) is one of them. The author shows how noble ideas can slide into the tyranny of secular religion and emphasizes how political thought has the profound responsibility of telling the […]
The Opium of the Intellectuals by Raymond Aron Read More »
One of my favourite contemporary philosophers is Simon Blackburn (http://www2.phil.cam.ac.uk/~swb24/). A lot of this is to do with his willingness to address his books to a popular audience. He is never less than lucid and informative. I feel a wry but honest smile behind much of his commentary. His is a cool, powerful, analytical mind.
Mirror, Mirror by Simon Blackburn Read More »
Journalist and polemicist Rod Liddle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_Liddle) likes to ‘mix it up’. I heard about Selfish Whining Monkeys (2014) on Radio 4’s ‘Start the Week’ on Monday. It sounded enjoyably provocative. Here is the trade description: ‘With a sharp eye for the magnificently absurd, Rod Liddle sets light to modern-day Britain. In the western world, on
Selfish Whining Monkeys by Rod Liddle Read More »
In ‘Whispers of Immortality‘ by T.S. Eliot we find the following lines: ‘Webster was much possessed by death, And saw the skull beneath the skin, And breastless creatures underground, Leaned backward with a lipless grin’. Peter James might equally be described as ‘possessed by death’ because the word dead appears in the title of all ten
This is one for the fantasy fans. Australian writer Trudi Canavan (http://www.trudicanavan.com/) has embarked on a new trilogy entitled ‘Millenniums Rule’ , and Thief’s Magic is the opener. The summary is as follows. In a world where an industrial revolution is powered by magic, Tyen, a student of archaeology, unearths a sentient book called Vella. Once
John Carey (http://www.johncarey.org/about.html), English professor at Oxford, controversial commentator, book critic and beekeeper, reflects on a life immersed in literature, from grammar school beginnings to the Oxford establishment. Best-known for his provocative take on cultural issues in The Intellectuals and the Masses and What Good Are the Arts?, John Carey describes in this warm and
The Unexpected Professor Read More »
The screen writer of hit television crime series Prime Suspect, Lynda La Plante (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/3562219/Lynda-La-Plantes-life-story-will-be-vicious.html) is back with another thriller. The summary is as follows. ‘Please don’t let anything bad have happened to her, please don’t let anything have happened to my baby…’ Marcus and Lena Fulford are the envy of their friends. Wealthy, attractive and successful,
Proud Yorkshireman, gardening expert, TV presenter and charity promoter, Alan Titchmarsh (http://www.alantitchmarsh.com/) has found time between 2001 and 2011 to write eleven novels. He is regarded by many as a sort of minor national treasure, and was awarded an MBE in 2000. Does any of this make him a decent writer? Only you can judge by
Tom Winter is a British writer living in Berlin. His debut novel, Lost & Found, was published in five languages, with an English audio book to follow. Arms Wide Open (2014) is his second book. The Daily Mail said of him that he was “Witty, off-beat and moving … Tom Winter delights with a deadpan
