Their SWP and ours
The massacre of Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics in 1972 caused genuine shock and horror around the world. There was considerable sympathy for Israel in the wake of the tragedy. But not so for…
Review: Be Useful: Seven tools for life, by Arnold Schwarzenegger
This book got a surprisingly good review from The Guardian and as one who likes to read the occasional personal productivity / self-help books, I thought – why not give the Terminator a go? Here’s…
Review: Lenin’s Last Struggle, by Moshe Lewin
Moshe Lewin was certainly one of Lenin’s admirers. Though this short book is anti-totalitarian and sympathetic to Trotsky, it is surprisingly uncritical of Lenin on key issues. But it is clear from reading it that…
Stalin in London
Stephen May’s Sell Us The Rope is a new novel about the London congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party of 1907. Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin and Rosa Luxemburg play leading roles in the story….
Review: The Seventh Son, by Sebastian Faulks
Sebastian Faulks is a brilliant writer. His First World War novel Birdsong might even be a masterpiece. But his most recent book is, sadly, a dud. It’s a near-future science fiction story full of cliches…
Six thoughts on Gaza and Israel
“I got a head full of ideas, that are drivin’ me insane,” sang Bob Dylan. I know the feeling. It’s been more than a week now, and with an extended family and close friends living…
Last month, I visited Kyiv. This is what I learned.
Here are all the articles I wrote about my visit to Ukraine, published around the world in socialist and labour publications: Australia: Green Left Weekly Canada: Our Times (link coming soon) Germany: Jungle World Germany:…
Review: Colditz: Prisoners of the Castle, by Ben Macintyre
I often like to say that Ben Macintyre can take any bit of history and turn it into a fascinating story. It’s a gift. But in this case, I think he had a rather easier…
Hamas attack reveals a battle for the soul of social democracy
This blog was published on the Times of Israel website. The war unleashed by Hamas on Saturday morning has shone a spotlight on political movements across the world. In the movement I consider home —…
Ukraine’s labour movement defiant – and in need of our solidarity
As I walked around Kyiv last month on a beautiful, sunny morning, I began to notice the scaffolding in the city’s squares. I asked Tristan Masat what was going on. Tristan runs the Solidarity Center…