This book combines two things that I enjoy reading about very much: magic and espionage. And it does a good job with both — especially the magic. (One of the authors worked closely with Derren…Read more…
Did Labour win?
American astronauts did not set foot on the Moon in July 1969. In 2001, the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City were brought down by a controlled explosion, and not…Read more…
Review: Esperanto and Its Rivals – The Struggle for an International Language, by Roberto Garvía
In this well-written and fascinating short book, Roberto Garvía focusses almost entirely on Esperanto’s rivals among the other “international auxiliary languages”. There are two of these that matter Volapük and Ido, both long-forgotten except by…Read more…
Review: You Like It Darker, by Stephen King
Stephen King is a superb writer of short stories, even if he is better known as a novelist. And to call all the stories in this hefty, nearly 500 page book, “short” stories is a…Read more…
Review: How Not to Write a Novel, by Sandra Newman and Howard Mittelmark
A clever and witty book filled with examples of things NOT to do if you’re writing your first novel. And while the authors insist that unlike other writing books, they are telling you about sure-fire…Read more…
Review: The Wrong Hands, by Mark Billingham
This, the second book in Mark Billingham’s new Blackpool-based crime series, continues an unbroken trend of superb story-telling, mixed with humour and characters you actually care about. DS Declan Miller sounds at first like a…Read more…
Trump and the Teamsters
Last week Donald Trump made an extraordinary announcement on his Truth Social platform. Trump was announced that Sean O’Brien, president of the 1.3 million member Teamsters union, had agreed to address the Republic National Convention…Read more…
Review: Jack and Jill, by James Patterson
The third book in the long-running Alex Cross series seems a good place to take a break. While the story has a good beginning, by the end it becomes an excuse for the author to…Read more…
90 years later, a new Popular Front is born
It is exactly ninety years since the French Socialist and Communist parties began to create the Popular Front, which dominated French politics in the mid-1930s. The danger then was the threat of the far Right…Read more…
Review: Kiss the Girls, by James Patterson
The second Alex Cross novel was actually made into a Hollywood film before the first one was. And maybe that’s a good thing, because it’s a better, tighter book. Cross is becoming an increasingly interesting…Read more…
EU elections: The vaccine no longer works
The results of the European elections were, in some sense, more of the same. The dominant blocs in the incoming Parliament will remain the European People’s Party (moderate Right) and the Progressive Alliance of Socialists…Read more…
Review: Along Came a Spider, by James Patterson
A handful of observations about this book — the first in the long-running Alex Cross crime novels. First, it is a very long book, much longer than, for example, Roses are Red, the sixth book…Read more…
Review: Roses Are Red, by James Patterson
Years ago, when James Patterson was an author and not a brand, he wrote some terrific stories. This is one of them and I’ve read it at least twice. It’s a textbook example of how…Read more…
Review: Write a Bestselling Thriller, by Matthew Branton
This is a good, short introduction to the subject for anyone thinking about writing a thriller. While much of the text is formulaic (it’s part of the “Teach Yourself” series, so there are a lot…Read more…
The ILO and Russia: Global unions must choose sides
When Russia launched its unprovoked and illegal invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago, most trade unionists — like most people — looked on with horror. Unions around the world were swift to condemn…Read more…
Review: The American Revolution 1774 – 83, by Daniel Marston
This is a beautifully-illustrated, short history of America’s war for independence and the global war it triggered. But it is very much a work of “military history” focussed on the names of commanders and locations…Read more…
The Zinoviev Letter after 100 years
With only weeks to go before a general election, and with a Labour victory expected, I am reminded of events of a century ago. In 1924, the minority Labour government headed by Ramsay MacDonald was…Read more…
Review: In the Garden of Beasts – Love and terror in Hitler’s Berlin, by Erik Larson
At first, this did not look promising at all. Erik Larson, who always writes well and chooses some great subjects, took on the story of one American family who lived in Berlin during the first…Read more…
Nakba Day
Palestinians and their supporters around the world refer to 15 May as “Nakba Day” — a day marking the anniversary of the creation of the State of Israel. This year, the UK-based Palestine Solidarity Campaign…Read more…
Georgia at a crossroads
A year ago, the increasingly rightist, pro-Russian Georgian government proposed legislation that shocked the country. Under the new law, individuals or organisations that received money from foreign donors would have to declare themselves as “foreign…Read more…