Reviews - Books
December 14, 2012 How to Handle a Witch (or Several): The Daylight Gate - Jeanette Winterson Lincoln Allison
December 06, 2012 Tom Holland's In the Shadow of the Sword is a great story, bravely told, but it leaves Richard D. North longing for old fashioned academic pedantry: In The Shadow Of The Sword - Tom Holland Richard D. North
July 23, 2012 Caro gives us Lyndon Johnson in a form which would have a Shakespeare richly intrigued. This is work worthy of Cicero – or a Robert Harris novel, says Richard D. North: The Passage of Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson, volume 4 - Robert A. Caro Richard D. North
October 14, 2011 Are Novels a Waste of Life? Lincoln Allison explains why he has fallen out of love with fiction Lincoln Allison
March 17, 2011 The Primacy of Foreign Policy in British History, 1660-2000: How Strategic Concerns Shaped Modern Britain - (ed.) William Mulligan and Brendan Simms Jeremy Black
October 13, 2010 An extraordinary book by an extraordinary man: A Journey - Tony Blair Richard D. North
October 11, 2010 Will Hutton's Them and Us isn't just big and rambling, it's not well thought through - argues Richard D. North: Them And Us: Changing Britain - why we need a fair society -Will Hutton Richard D. North
July 09, 2010 If finished, Laura could have been one last triumph of resource from the most resourceful of writers who in his lifetime had been so often thrown back on his own resources, argues David Womersley: The Original of Laura - Vladimir Nabokov David Womersley
June 25, 2010 Richard D. North asks, where is The Rational Optimist's back story: The Rational Optimist: How prosperity evolves - Matt Ridley Richard D. North
May 11, 2010 David Cameron would do best to ignore Phillip Blond - Red Tory is an ungenerous book which is hysterical in its diagnosis and unrealistic and un-Tory in its solutions, argues Richard D. North: Red Tory - Phillip Blond Richard D. North
March 18, 2010 William Trevor's prose approaches us in an unassuming way, only suddenly to lay hold on us with an enigmatic, undeniable grip: Love and Summer - William Trevor David Womersley
March 17, 2010 John Burrow's chose the sane face of Whiggism, argues David Womersley: Lord Macaulay's History of England: Introduced and Selected by John Burrow David Womersley
March 17, 2010 David Womersley asks, was the collapse of communism inevitable? The Rise and Fall of Communism - Archie Brown David Womersley
March 12, 2010 A first-rate book which doesn't do what it says on the tin: Abolition: A History of Slavery and Antislavery - Seymour Drescher Jeremy Black
February 23, 2010 The death of conservatism: Is "gut" conservatism really bad for the US and UK? Richard D North reflects on The Death of Conservatism - Sam Tanenhaus Richard D. North
February 12, 2010 Nothing stops this book being an irritating bore: The Black Swan: The impact of the highly improbable - Nassim Nicholas Taleb Richard D. North
February 11, 2010 Samuel Smiles would have loved this book: Outliers: The story of success Richard D. North
December 03, 2009 David Womersley shines a light on some of the less cuddly features of the man who became the nation's teddy-bear: Betjeman's England - John Betjeman David Womersley
December 02, 2009 David Womersley asks, has Sebastian Faulks plagiarised Joni Mitchell? And was it deliberate or unconscious? A Week in December - Sebastian Faulks David Womersley
December 02, 2009 David Womersley considers if drinking wine is fundamentally different from drinking anything else: I Drink Therefore I Am: A Philosopher's Guide to Wine - Roger Scruton David Womersley
October 15, 2009 The best one-volume general history of the Second World War now available: The Storm of War: A New History of the Second World War - Andrew Roberts William D. Rubinstein
August 12, 2009 Can Mary Tudor be rehabilitated? Fires of Faith: Catholic England Under Mary Tudor - Eamon Duffy David Womersley
July 27, 2009 Too many laws: William Blackstone: Law and Letters in the Eighteenth Century - Wilfrid Prest David Womersley
May 11, 2009 Just as with current aid policies, Dambisa Moyo's own solutions to Africa's problems would only work if Africa were better governed, argues Richard D. North: Dead Aid - Dambisa Moyo Richard D. North
April 27, 2009 Richard D. North argues that greater equality may not make us happier: The Spirit Level: Why more equal societies almost always do better - Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett Richard D. North
March 27, 2009 If today's economists could write as well as Keynes we might not be in the economic mess in which we find ourselves, argues David Womersley: The Economic Consequences of the Peace - J. M. Keynes David Womersley
March 06, 2009 Too much juxtaposing and not enough combining - David Womersley finds fault with Gordon Ramsay: Cooking for Friends - Gordon Ramsay David Womersley
March 04, 2009 Richard Holmes's The Age of Wonder gives us good life stories from a great age of science and exploration but, says Richard D. North, he does very little to support the Big Ideas he claims for his book: The Age of Wonder - Richard Holmes Richard D. North
February 25, 2009 The Future of Warfare - Richard D. North debates Jeremy Black: War Since 1990 -Jeremy Black Richard D. North
February 24, 2009 Re-affirming the uniqueness of the Holocaust: Hitler, the Germans, and the Final Solution - Ian Kershaw Jeremy Black
February 16, 2009 David Womersley asks, what can we learn from Kingsley Amis about drink and drinking? Everyday Drinking: The Distilled Kingsley Amis - Kingsley Amis David Womersley
February 06, 2009 Christie Davies has enjoyed Ffion Hague's book about Lloyd George's women both as a portrait of the land of his fathers and for the scandal: The Pain and the Privilege: The Women in Lloyd George's Life - Ffion Hague Christie Davies
January 09, 2009 What hope for Africa? Rather more than many think, argues Richard D. North: Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles - Richard Dowden Richard D. North
December 17, 2008 William D. Rubinstein on the Enigma of Franco: Churchill and Spain - Richard Wigg; The Spanish Right and the Jews - Isabelle Rohr William D. Rubinstein
December 02, 2008 An important and valuable book let down by too many errors: We Danced All Night: A social history of Britain between the wars - Martin Pugh William D. Rubinstein
December 01, 2008 Richard D. North argues, the 1930s were a good time to be British: We Danced All Night: A social history of Britain between the wars - Martin Pugh Richard D. North
November 27, 2008 Klaus Dodds's Geopolitics is high on partisan comment but low on historical analysis, argues Jeremy Black: Geopolitics: A Very Short Introduction - Klaus Dodds Jeremy Black
November 25, 2008 Hugh Trevor-Roper preferred the Scotch to cling to their myths even whilst destroying them, argues David Womersley: The Invention of Scotland: Myth and History - Hugh Trevor-Roper David Womersley
November 18, 2008 Defending America: it's only the "bad" bits of America which are worth defending, argues Richard D. North Richard D. North
November 07, 2008 An authoritative history of a country made up almost entirely of border strips – and thus shaped by European geopolitics: Croatia Through History: The making of a European state - Branka Magas Brendan Simms
September 12, 2008 Fareed Zakaria is a journalist not a guru - argues Richard D. North: The Post-American World - Fareed Zakaria Richard D. North
August 29, 2008 Rap is a megawatt samizdat - but it is doing immense harm, argues Richard D. North: All About the Beat: Why hip-hop can't save black America - John McWhorter Richard D. North
August 20, 2008 A Sight of the Taliban - Seamus Murphy's photographs reveal more about the evil of the Taliban than a thousand newspaper editorials, argues Christie Davies: A Darkness Visible: Afghanistan - Photographs by Seamus Murphy at Asia House, London Christie Davies
August 12, 2008 Hosting the Olympics on the cheap: Olympic Follies: The Madness and Mayhem of the 1908 London Games - Graeme Kent Harry Phibbs
August 11, 2008 An unrancourous memoir of rancourous times: A Political Suicide: The Conservatives' Voyage into the Wilderness - Norman Fowler Harry Phibbs
July 22, 2008 Fareed Zakaria's latest book illustrates why it is so difficult to write intelligently about the future, argues Jeremy Black: The Post-American World - Fareed Zakaria Jeremy Black
July 17, 2008 For Private Military Companies to flourish they may have to become much more boring and perhaps less effective enterprises, argues Richard D. North: War Plc: The rise of the new corporate mercenary - Stephen Armstrong Richard D. North
July 01, 2008 The fact that a book as bad as Human Smoke can get as much attention as it has tells us what is wrong with publishing today, argues Jeremy Black: Human Smoke: The Beginnings of World War II and the End of Civilization - Nicholson Baker Jeremy Black
June 27, 2008 We are lucky to have the Mittals living in London - the Mittal's choice makes one proud to be British, says Richard D. North: Cold Steel: Britain's richest man and the multi-billion dollar battle for a global empire - Tim Bouquet and Byron Ousey Richard D. North
June 12, 2008 Cryptozoology's Cryptic Creatures: William D. Rubinstein asks, why do seemingly sane people believe in Bigfoot and other mysterious creatures? William D. Rubinstein
June 11, 2008 The latest James Bond reminds Jeremy Black of the pleasures of a hot chocolate and not those of a strong drink on the edge: Devil May Care - Sebastian Faulks writing as Ian Fleming Jeremy Black
June 09, 2008 Harry Phibbs find it difficult to imagine a more charmless book: Speaking for Myself - Cherie Blair Harry Phibbs
June 04, 2008 Be careful where you sit when you are in the company of John Prescott, warns Harry Phibbs: Prezza: Pulling no Punches - John Prescott with Hunter Davies Harry Phibbs
June 02, 2008 Bato Tomasevic's life encapsulates the twentieth century in the Balkans, says Brendan Simms: Life and Death in the Balkans: A family saga in a century of conflict - Bato Tomasevic Brendan Simms
May 27, 2008 Robert Kagan does that all too rare thing - offer a popular history which does not ignore the complexities, argues Jeremy Black: Dangerous Nation: America and the World, 1600-1898 - Robert Kagan Jeremy Black
May 23, 2008 Harry Phibbs feels sorry for Lord Levy - but doubts that Tony blair is feeling the same: A Question of Honour - Michael Levy Harry Phibbs
May 22, 2008 The Benefit of Hindsight - Dominic Hilton explores his Max Moselyesque tendencies and gets to grips with Gordon Brown's collected speeches: Moving Britain Forward - Gordon Brown Dominic Hilton
May 19, 2008 A perfect present for a military buff: The Waterloo Companion - Mark Adkin Jeremy Black
May 16, 2008 Interesting book, boring thesis - Richard D. North finds that you can pull at Mr Rothkopf's rug at nearly any point and pull it out from under him: Superclass: The global power elite and the world they are making - David Rothkopf Richard D. North
May 02, 2008 Richard D. North asks, can Antony Flew's conversion convince? There is a God: How the world's most notorious atheist changed his mind - Antony Flew with Roy Abraham Varghese Richard D. North
April 24, 2008 David Womersley asks, is Stefan Collini Britain's most ecological critic? Common Reading: Critics, Historians, Publics - Stefan Collini David Womersley
April 23, 2008 Global warming may not matter as much as polite opinion claims - but it might matter a lot more than Nigel Lawson is willing to acknowledge, argues Richard D. North: An Appeal to Reason: A cool look at global warming - Nigel Lawson Richard D. North
April 22, 2008 Amis's The Second Plane is simply right: right in its stance towards its subject, right in its judgements, and right in its expression - says David Womersley: The Second Plane - Martin Amis David Womersley
April 17, 2008 Reading Steiner is like drawing up before an imposing mansion, being ushered through the main entrance, and then immediately finding yourself out at the back, with the dustbins, argues David Womersley: My Unwritten Books - George Steiner David Womersley
April 16, 2008 Jonathan Powell overplays Tony Blair's part in bringing peace to Northern Ireland - and underplays the part of world events, argues Richard D. North: Great Hatred, Little Room: Making Peace in Northern Ireland - Jonathan Powell Richard D. North
April 15, 2008 William D. Rubinstein on how the leading leftist Israeli historian changed his mind: 1948: The First Arab-Israeli War - Benny Morris William D. Rubinstein
April 14, 2008 Harry Phibbs uncovers the quiet conservatism of Brian Paddick: Line of Fire - Brian Paddick Harry Phibbs
April 07, 2008 David Womersley asks, is Hobbes finally losing his relevance? Hobbes and Republican Liberty - Quentin Skinner; Made with Words: Hobbes on Language, Mind, and Politics - Philip Pettit David Womersley
April 02, 2008 HB, then SB, then FB; ++: How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read - Pierre Bayard David Womersley
March 28, 2008 To read Creation is to have a glimpse into the richness and confusion of Peter Conrad's mind, argues David Womersley: Creation: Artists, Gods and Origins - Peter Conrad David Womersley
March 27, 2008 After reading Damian Thompson's Counterknowledge, Christie Davies is confirmed in his belief that the great struggle of the twenty-first century will be between truth and equality: Counterknowledge - Damian Thompson Christie Davies
March 17, 2008 Richard & Judy Book Club readers won't learn much about the Congo from Tim Butcher's own narrative - but they may learn from the people he quotes, argues Richard D. North: Blood River: a journey to Africa's broken heart - Tim Butcher Richard D. North
March 14, 2008 Dominic Hilton asks, is Ralph Miliband's Socialism for a Sceptical Age the worst book ever written? Socialism for a Sceptical Age - Ralph Miliband Dominic Hilton
March 13, 2008 William D. Rubinstein on Hugh Trevor-Roper's strange friendship with Bernard Berenson: Letters from Oxford: Hugh Trevor-Roper to Bernard Berenson - (Ed.) Richard Davenport-Hines William D. Rubinstein
March 11, 2008 Ambiguities all around Gangland: Gang Leader For a Day: A rogue sociologist crosses the line - Sudhir Venkatesh Richard D. North
March 06, 2008 Alex Singleton on the two Che Guevaras: Exposing the Real Che Guevara: And the Useful Idiots who Idolize him - Humberto Fontova Alex Singleton
March 05, 2008 The Task of Filling up the Blanks: They'd None of 'Em be Missed - Richard Suart and A. S. H. Smyth Lincoln Allison
March 04, 2008 Umberto Eco's On Ugliness offers many points of departure for the reader's own speculations but few conclusions, argues David Womersley: On Ugliness - Umberto Eco David Womersley
March 03, 2008 A silly and irritating book - which occasionally manages to be touching: Who Runs Britain? How the super-rich are changing our lives - Robert Peston Richard D. North
February 26, 2008 On the back of Roy Foster's portrait of the corruption of the Haughey years, Roy Foster should immediately be commissioned to write an unofficial history of the Blair years, argues David Womersley: Luck and the Irish - Roy Foster David Womersley
February 25, 2008 Humourist Christie Davies has so enjoyed Englishman Mike Parker's account of English abusiveness towards his own people that he has added in a few recent cases of Welsh abuse about the English: Neighbours from Hell? - Mike Parker Christie Davies
February 25, 2008 Nigella Lawson is a joy - she is one of the few people today willing to unabashedly celebrate pleasure, argues David Womersley: Nigella Express - Nigella Lawson David Womersley
February 20, 2008 Richard D. North asks, has our journalism really got any worse? Flat Earth News - Nick Davies Richard D. North
February 20, 2008 William D. Rubinstein on the trouble with Africa's rulers: The Trouble With Africa: Why Foreign Aid Isn't Working - Robert Calderisi William D. Rubinstein
February 19, 2008 We are still waiting for a useful book on the realities of climate change and climate change policy, argues Richard D. North: The Hot Topic: How to tackle global warming and still keep the lights on - Gabrielle Walker and Sir David King Richard D. North
February 12, 2008 John Buchan - the author of Thirty-Nine Steps, Greenmantle and Mr Standfast - has much to tell us about the problems facing the world today, argues Brendan Simms Brendan Simms
January 29, 2008 Richard D. North asks, would Robert Peel understand David Cameron's job? Robert Peel: A Biography - Douglas Hurd Richard D. North
January 24, 2008 The best book about chess since Alice Through the Looking Glass - Christie Davies finds another book about chess which he can enjoy: White King and Red Queen: How the Cold War was Fought on the Chess Board - Daniel Johnson Christie Davies
January 18, 2008 Like so much work on historiography, John Burrow's A History of Histories is a disappointment, argues Jeremy Black: A History of Histories - John Burrow Jeremy Black
January 17, 2008 Jeremy Black asks, what was Napoleon's legacy? Napoleon's Wars: An International History, 1803-1815 - Charles Esdaile Jeremy Black
January 16, 2008 Jeremy Black reviews recent work in Military and International History: The First Total War - David Bell; Great Power Strategy in Asia - Jonathan Bailey; Victory in War - William C. Martel Jeremy Black
January 15, 2008 Oliver James may be engaged in important work - but he has made a hash of it, argues Richard D. North: The Selfish Capitalist: Origins of Affluenza - Oliver James Richard D. North
January 14, 2008 Charles Nicholl's The Lodger will ensure that all future Shakespeare scholars associate sex with sweetmeats, argues David Wootton: The Lodger: Shakespeare on Silver Street - Charles Nicholl David Wootton
December 19, 2007 What books should your young children be reading this Christmas? Harry Phibbs makes his selection Harry Phibbs
December 11, 2007 Richard D. North counts the reasons to love Tesco: Tescopoly: How One Shop Came Out on Top and Why It Matters - Andrew Simms Richard D. North
December 07, 2007 After seeing Niall Ferguson's puff, Jeremy Black is surprised to find he likes and admires Bernard Wasserstein's history of Europe since 1914: Barbarism and Civilization: A History of Europe in our Time - Bernard Wasserstein Jeremy Black