Category: Books

It was a real pleasure to acquire this long out of print book. It is a hardback of 194 pages, with some fine black and white plates. The copy I acquired for £10 was in good condition. It was Ex Libris the University College of Wales Aberystwyth and presumably hadn’t been read there for some … Continue reading Review;The Channel Islands under Tudor Government 1485-1642; a Study of Administrative History by AJ Eagleston(1949) Assessment 9 out of 10

Current interpretations of Classical Athens are criticised, in particular their tendency to view non-modern Athenian demokratia as if it is a proto-modern democracy.  Rather, a more real view is advocated that Ancient Athens and Attica should be understood on their own terms. Harold Butterfield‘s “The Whig Interpretation of History”, written in 1931, made a similar … Continue reading Review: The Realness of Things Past; Ancient Greece and Ontological History by Greg Anderson Assessment 10 out of 10

Why review a book published over 50 years ago? It was on my bookshelf dating back to my undergraduate days. I reread it as part of a study of Jersey Parishes, which I suggest are places without being central places, so I felt I should know what a central place is.  It remains a very … Continue reading Review: Geography of Market Centers and Retail Distribution by Brian Berry (1967) Assessment 8 out of 10

I loved this Book, the biography of a literary giant. It was written by Maya Jasanoff, primarily a historian not a literary academic.  Jasanoff, herself, writes beautifully: “Estuaries are liminal spaces between the river and the sea, and up the estuaries of Borneo, Conrad encountered liminal figures, living between cultures, a European or two among … Continue reading Review: The Dawn Watch; Joseph Conrad in a Global World by Maya Jasanoff (2017) Assessment 9 out of 10

I both loved and felt belittled by this Book. The title has multiple meanings, the writer’s Journey along the Atlantic Edge and a Journey in which beliefs about past and present are challenged. The Frayed Edge implies both the deeply indented coast, with offshore islands, skerries and reefs, and the coastal communities and culture, variously … Continue reading Review: The Frayed Atlantic Edge; a Historian’s Journey from Shetland to the Channel by David Gange Assessment 8 out of 10

Tim Cresswell is Professor of Human Geography at the University of Edinburgh. He considers the meaning of place for geographers, philosophers, artists and architects. He explores radical ideas in geography, for instance “Queer Places” and the occupation of Tiananmen Square, Tahrir Square, Cairo and Wall Street as significant moments of protest at significant places. I … Continue reading Review: Place; an Introduction by Tim Cresswell second edition (2015) Assessment 9 out of 10

Laycock is a Cambridge classicist who, as an aid worker, saw state-break up at first hand in Bosnia and Kosovo. That experience clearly influenced his thesis that in Britain Romanization was only skin deep; there were continuing tribal divisions, which the Roman regime in Britain exacerbated as much as reduced. Rome introduced civil administration based … Continue reading Review: Britannia,the Failed State;Tribal Conflicts and the End of Roman Britain by Stuart Laycock (2008) Assessment 7 out of 10

Events, in 1946 and 1947, are described, culminating in British withdrawal and establishment of the new states of India and Pakistan. The book runs to 210 pages, plus maps, a list of abbreviations, a glossary, monochrome photographs, notes, a bibliography and index. For £12 it is good value. The book records both the negotiation of … Continue reading Review: The Great Partition; the Making of India and Pakistan by Yasmin Khan (2007) Assessment 9 out of 10

Climbing down a cliff, I broke my ankle. In the resulting period of enforced idleness, I signed up for an online course, for which this was the recommended text. It is a relatively big (21×27.5 cms), but short book of 252 pages, plus a glossary and index. Closely printed in two columns, there are numerous … Continue reading Review: Human Evolution ; an Illustrated Introduction by Roger Lewin (2004) Assessment 6 out of 10

Mithen’s central thesis is that the development of children’s minds mirrors development of the human brain and therefore the course of evolution. The text is 250 pages long, including numerous diagrams. These are followed by 50 pages of two column closely printed notes and further reading, a source to be plundered. The thesis is like … Continue reading Review: The Prehistory of the Mind; a Search for the Origins of Art, Religion and Science by Steven Mithen(1998) Assessment 9 out of 10