Gabriel Allon has gotten older since the last time I read a Daniel Silva novel. The legendary art restorer / assassin is now the head of the Mossad (not called the Mossad in the book)…Read more…
The BBC, Barry the Owl and the death of a union leader
Last Friday, the BBC News website ran a story with this headline: “A beloved owl who became a well-known resident in New York’s Central Park has died.” The story went on to say that “Barry…Read more…
Review: A Covert Life: Jay Lovestone: Communist, Anti-Communist, and Spymaster, by Ted Morgan
Jay Lovestone, who is largely forgotten today, led an extraordinary life – much of it in the shadows. He was one of the founders of the Communist Party in the US, and rose to become…Read more…
Review: Into the Drowning Deep, by Mira Grant
Mermaids are lovely, aren’t they? I’m thinking the 1989 Walt Disney cartoon or Daryl Hannah in the 1984 comedy ‘Splash’. Well, Mira Grant, the author of staggering number of…Read more…
From Vostok to laughing stock: Billionaires in space
On 12 April 1961, the first human blasted off into space. It was an amazing achievement and was a display not only of the remarkable technological prowess of those who designed and built the…Read more…
Review: Why the Germans Do it Better, by John Kampfner
First of all, they don’t. It’s a provocative title for a book, but ultimately a silly one — and it’s not what the book is really about. John Kampfner offers a wide-ranging…Read more…
It’s time for Georgia to choose
Two weeks ago, far-right thugs attacked the LGBTI community’s ‘March for Dignity’ in Tblisi, Georgia. Dozens of people, mostly journalists, were badly beaten. It was a tragedy that could easily have…Read more…
Review: Red Milk, by Sjón
This is the second book I’ve read by this Icelandic author, the first being Moonstone: The boy who never was (2016). These are both very short books (novellas, actually) and both tell the…Read more…
Atomic Habits, by James Clear
As I write this, Atomic Habits has spent 85 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list in the category ‘Advice, How-To and Miscellaneous’. This is extraordinary, and out of curiosity I…Read more…
Review: A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal, by Ben Macintyre
Ben Macintyre is a great storyteller, but to be fair, this is a great story just waiting to be told. Kim Philby is certainly a contender for the title of ‘most successful spy of all…Read more…
Cuba: Time for real solidarity from the British left
If you’re a British trade unionist or a member of the Labour Party, where might you go to find news about Cuba? An obvious choice is the Morning Star, a newspaper largely funded by trade…Read more…
What is the purpose of socialist organisations?
Two news stories from the USA this week grabbed my attention. The first was the astonishing victory of a woman named India Walton in a Democratic Party primary in the city of Buffalo. With no…Read more…
Review: A Meal in Winter, by Hubert Mingarelli
Three German soldiers — all middle-aged reservists — set out from their base in occupied Poland during the Second World War. Their job is to capture a Jew, any Jew, and return him to…Read more…
Review: The People, No: A Brief History of Anti-Populism, by Thomas Frank
Thomas Frank is best known as the author of What’s the Matter with Kansas?, which was a brilliant analysis of why working class people in America — and not only in Kansas — so…Read more…
Review: Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir
Andy Weir’s first published book, The Martian, was a sensation – and rightly so. For me, it reawakened an interest in science fiction. His second book, Artemis, sold well but had mixed…Read more…
Barbarossa and the Left after 80 years
This week marks the eightieth anniversary of the Nazi German invasion of the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941. It was one of the most successful military operations of modern times. German forces…Read more…
Review: V2, by Robert Harris
Robert Harris is back. Having made his reputation with Second World War thrillers such as Enigma and Fatherland, Harris is on familiar territory here and knows how to tell a good story. I read the…Read more…
The statue wars
Some people – and by that I mean some Tories – have whipped themselves up into a frenzy over the issue of statues. The pages of newspapers like the Daily Mail and Daily Express are…Read more…
Review: Stalin’s War: A New History of the Second World War, by Sean McMeekin
Sean McMeekin is an interesting historian and has written some fascinating books encouraging the rest of us to take a new look at things like the Russian Revolution or the Communist International….Read more…
Qatar: The strange case of Malcolm Bidali
Last summer, the international trade union movement was celebrating the news from Qatar. The country which is slated to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup had come under enormous pressure to respect the…Read more…