Author: Peter Hargreaves

This is a difficult book to score. Let’s start with the weaknesses before focusing on its strengths. Translated from the French, it is not the easiest read. By the sections and chapters covering social, political, cultural & economic topics in turn there is inevitable repetition.  It could be rewritten to be half as long. There … Continue reading Review of French Emigration to Jersey 1850-1950 by Michel Monteil (Société Jersiaise 2015 French original 2005) Assessment 6 out of 10

Assessment 8 out of 10 The book really did view history from another perspective.   Travelling in northern Scandinavia you still see cod drying on racks. Kurlansky thinks the Vikings crossed to Greenland & on to Vinland dependent on dried cod. The Basques, unlike the Vikings. had salt. Cod has very little fat and therefore … Continue reading Cod; A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World by Mark Kurlansky

Why I chose it: The two top topic suggestions for the book club to read around were Scottish history followed by witchcraft. Review I have given the book a high score as it is both illuminating and very readable. This book is a collection of academic essays on the Scottish witch-hunts covering the period from … Continue reading The Scottish Witch-Hunt in Context Editor Julian Goodare (2002) Assessment 9 out of 10 Review by Wendy Kinnard

This is a detailed book running to 644 closely printed pages, before the glossary, bibliography, and index, to be read if it is a subject you are interested in, a complex story reflecting the complexity of the sources and for many of us unfamiliarity with the subject. In 1500 the Imperial Estates consisted of 7 … Continue reading Germany and the Holy Roman Empire Volume I 1493-1648 by Joachim Whaley (2012) Assessment 8 out of 10

Aly’s thesis is persuasive. It confirms that wars are as much about propaganda, what people think and how wars are financed as they are about fighting. The book was repetitive with conclusions at different points in the text. However, that they were so important, they bore repetition. Maybe the faults were those of translation. However, … Continue reading Review of Hitler’s Beneficiaries;Plunder, Racial War and the Nazi Welfare State by Gotz Aly (2016) Assessment 7 out of 10

Hrdy considers how Humans evolved their large brain size and prolonged childhood. She suggests a key factor was that Hominins were cooperative breeders as are 9% of bird species, generally those which are non-migratory, and 3% of mammals.  Australian fairy-wren females are attracted to a male with its own territory. They are joined by up … Continue reading Mothers and Others; The Evolutionary Origins of Mutual Understanding by Sarah Blaffer Hrdy (2009) Assessment 8 out of 10

This biography explores a man whose life was critical to the disjunction between Medieval and Early Modern Europe.  Luther was a theologian and linguist.  Roper describes his greatest achievement as the translation of the Bible into German, significantly influencing the creation and development of the German language. What Roper doesn’t say is that he was … Continue reading Review of Martin Luther; Renegade and Prophet by Lyndal Roper (2016) Assessment 9 out of 10