Subtitled ‘Humanist Ideas and Philosophies to Live By’, this collection of thoughts from thirty-one intelligent, experienced, and fascinating people has been compiled from Andrew Copson’s podcasts with over sixty such individuals between 2020 and 2024. It was initially inspired by essays from Bertrand Russell in 1925 and E.M. Forster in 1938, and a separate collection …
Continue reading What I Believe, Edited by Andrew Copson #BookReview.
Our planet, the only one we have, has been around for 4.54 billion years (4,540,000,000,000 years). The very first proto-humans emerged around 2,000,000 years ago, and human civilisation (such as it is) has been around for under 6,000 years. Only for 0.00001% of the history of the Earth have modern humans been around. And look …
Continue reading Our Fragile Moment, by Michael Mann #BookReview.
Here is the statement from the back cover of this amazing book: ‘We still have a chance to live better than ever on Planet Earth. But, as humans become ever more powerful, how can we avoid blundering into disaster?’And this book does its level best to answer that question with positive ideas, suggestions, and examples.Anyone …
Continue reading There Is No Planet B, by Mike Berners-Lee: #BookReview.
Subtitled ‘The Secret History of Neoliberalism (& How It Came to Control Your Life)', and providing 57 pages of bibliography indicating the sources of research, this small book may be counted as one of the most important pieces of work to arise in the current situation.It’s clear most people remain unaware of the threat posed …
Continue reading The Invisible Doctrine, by George Monbiot & Peter Hutchinson #BookReview.
The mere mention of Greta’s name here may prevent the climate deniers and nay-sayers reading further. Such is the nature of the closed mind. The shame is that these are precisely the people who need to hear the message.The book is small and short, 106 pages of accessible text. These are the speeches Greta made …
Continue reading No One is Too Small to Make a Difference, by Greta Thunberg #BookReview.
Ray Bradbury was one of my earliest writer heroes. I read a lot of his work when I was a teenager and young man. Along with Asimov, Clarke, Aldiss, Heinlein and Wyndham he was one of the authors who created my love of science fiction.This is my second reading of this book. It has been …
Continue reading Zen in the Art of Writing, by Ray Bradbury: #Book Review.
I’ve enjoyed most of the books by William Golding I’ve read, despite one being a text for my ‘A’ level English Lit GCE.This one, however was tough to enjoy. It was difficult to engage with most of the characters, and the need for a personal familiarity with the times portrayed rather diminished the enjoyment that …
Continue reading The Scorpion God, by William Golding #BookReview.
At a little over 600 pages of fascinating text, this book by Bill Bryson kept me turning those leaves. That there are, in addition, 32 pages of bibliography, suggests the author has done his research, and done it thoroughly.The Book is subtitled ‘A Short History of Private Life’ and takes the form of an inspiring …
Continue reading At Home, by Bill Bryson: #BookReview.
Much more archaeology has been done since this book was published in 1999, and that will inevitably render some of the observations here less certain, but the bulk of the text is clearly based on sound academic research. One thing I must question, however, is the title. It’s either favouring the wealthy landowners or perhaps …
Continue reading The Golden Age of Roman Britain, by Guy de la Bédoyère: #BookReview.
Subtitled ‘Legends & Traditions from Around the Shores of Britain and Ireland’ the 510 pages of this weighty tome reveal the origins of many a dark tale and some amusing stories.The place of superstition in forming and embellishing folk tales and traditions is illustrated in this well researched book. It is fascinating how many tales …
Continue reading The Fabled Coast, by Sophia Kingshill & Jennifer Westwood: #BookReview.
Subtitled ‘How we can rethink, repair and rebuild society’ this book deals comprehensively with issues and problems of our current political systems. It is essentially written about the situation in the UK but has a pretty universal application.I’d like to have all our current, and potential, politicians made to sit down and read this manual …
Continue reading Change Everything, by Natalie Bennett: #BookReview.
I have no memory of acquiring this book, which is considered a children’s classic. I wonder if the mystery of its origin in my home was a factor in keeping me reading it since I found it hard work.Generally, I need to empathise with at least one character in a book to give it any …
Continue reading The Owl Service, by Alan Garner: #BookReview.
I love it when a new book comes my way by a serendipitous route. This one was a present from my daughter’s mother-in-law, with us for a short while over the Xmas period. She’d finished it so handed it to me rather than take it back on that long flight to Tasmania. It’s an absorbing …
Continue reading Spirits of the Ghan, by Judy Nunn: #BookReview.
For some reason, lost in the dark clouds of obfuscating age-related memory, although I reviewed this book on Goodreads way back in the mists of time, I seem to have failed to have placed that review here. I now correct that missed opportunity. # As just one of the seventy-two poets featured in this remarkable …
Continue reading Epitaphs, by Anthological Poets: #BookReview.
I’m finally managing to read some neglected books I’ve had on my shelves for years. Having had so many books either recommended by reading and writing friends, or attracting my attention by different types of promotional material over the years, it’s a pleasure to get to those hardbacks and softbacks that have patiently waited on …
Continue reading Debt of Bones, by Terry Goodkind: #BookReview.
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