Review: Medea, by Euripides
I bought this book and read it just before seeing the play in London last week (starring the amazing Sophie Okonedo). Reading it and then seeing it made it absolutely clear to me why a…
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Review: Bullshit Jobs: A Theory, by David Graeber
Five years after buying this book, I finally sat down to read it. It is very good. Unfortunately, the author passed away in the meanwhile and we will hear no more of his incisive —…
The tragedy of Clara Zetkin
As International Women’s Day approaches (8 March) some mainstream media will run their usual articles about the day and its history. Some may point out that the original name was International Working Women’s Day and…
Arming Ukraine: Lessons from history
Everyone knows that the only way to end the war in Ukraine — to really end it — is to ensure a Ukrainian military victory over the Russian aggressor. A decisive victory by the Ukrainians…
“Delilah” and domestic violence
The Ed Sullivan Show was a weekly television programme which was watched by millions. It helped define popular culture for decades to come by introducing groups like the Beatles to an American audience. In 1967,…
Review: Final Girls, by Mira Grant
Mira Grant has written post-apocalyptic books about zombies, a couple of novels about killer mermaids, and the like. Her stories are often (always?) about empowered women, contain lots of blood and gore, and healthy doses…
A spectre is haunting Putin
A spectre is haunting Vladimir Putin — the spectre of Andrei Sakharov. Sakharov was a physicist and the father of the Soviet hydrogen bomb. He later became a world-famous campaigner for peace, democracy and human…
Review: Just One Thing: How simple changes can transform your life, by Dr Michael Mosley
Dr Michael Mosley’s latest best-seller (or soon-to-be bestseller) is one of a number of new books that promise massive improvements in your life — if you just do one tiny little thing. And yet —…
The Tories, Russia and Lord Palmerston’s Ghost
Nearly 170 years ago, Britain was at war with Russia and Karl Marx was convinced that the Prime Minister, Lord Palmerston, was colluding secretly with the enemy. During his research in the British Museum Marx…
Review: Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper – Case Closed, by Patricia Cornwell
Patricia Cornwell is a very good writer of crime fiction. I have enjoyed several of her novels featuring Dr Kay Scarpetta. But I think she should have stuck to the fiction. This 365-page tome is…