A journal by Peter Hargreaves
Assessment 9 or 10 out of 10 This is a great book with good maps (often the weakness of military histories), a glossary, dramatis personae and wonderful photos. It was an easy read. If it had a fault, it was that it was so fast moving, you wanted it to be longer. Lloyd explains how … Continue reading The Eastern Front by Nick Lloyd (2025)
I liked the title, “Scoff” meaning both “referring to someone in a way that shows you have a low assessment of what they think or have to say” and “eating food quickly and with enthusiasm, gulping it down”. The author’s name, Pen Vogle, also seemed singularly appropriate for a writer. However, I found the book … Continue reading “Scoff; a History of Food and Class in Britain” by Pen Vogel (2021) Assessment 5 out of 10
AJ Liebling (1904-1963) was a journalist. This homage to France and French cooking is both an autobiography and a history of his times. It was published posthumously in 1959 by his Estate based on his articles for the New Yorker, which recalled his life in Paris in the 1920s. He was married three times, the first two … Continue reading Between Meals; an Appetite for Paris (1959) by AJ Liebling Assessment 9 out of 10
This is a wide-ranging book covering in 275 pages (before notes, index etc) a long view and where we may go from here. Runciman raises a number of questions, each of which justify further investigation. Those include: They are artificial, non-natural automatons created by humans, but which are given or develop (apparent) agency of their … Continue reading The Handover; How We Gave Control of Our Lives to States, Corporations and AIs by David Runciman (2023) Assessment 8 out of 10
Tracey reviewed the reviews. Unusually there were two books to review, “The Book of Eels” and “the Gospel of Eels”. She had read both. The choice between the two eel books was an accident. Leonard had intended to read The Book of Eels, but ended up ordering The Gospel of Eels. Both books were well … Continue reading Discussion of “The Book of Eels” by Tom Fort and “The Gospel of Eels” by Patrik Svensson
“Metaphysics is what exists beyond the objective; there is something metaphysical about the eel; living at the intersection between knowledge and faith”. Eels present a metaphor for the questions, “Who am I? Where do I come from? Where am I going?” The Eel Question arises as the eel is ”uncommonly difficult to observe, due to … Continue reading The Gospel of the Eels by Patrik Svensson (2019) translated by Agnes Broome (2020) Assessment 9 out of 10
“The sufferance of evil has endured only in consequence of being removed out of site” Wilberforce Emancipation can happen “if comparable with the safety of the colonies and with a fair and equitable consideration of the interests of private property” Canning “To excite exaggerated expectations in those who are the objects of benevolence would be … Continue reading Review: The Interest; How the British Establishment Resisted the Abolition of Slavery by Michael Taylor (2020) Assessment 8 out of 10
Despite its length (650 pages plus notes, plates & index), this is a very concise and readable book, which you sail through at a rate of knots. Mediterranean History is divided into five periods by times of disruption when there was significant change, the late Bronze Age Collapse, the end of the Roman Empire in … Continue reading Review:The Great Sea; A Human History of the Mediterranean by David Abulafia (2011) Assessment 9 out of 10
It was generally thought a very good book, which stimulated debate, Wendy noting that if you are looking to be titillated, this wasn’t the book for you. Ruth highlighted the lack of chronology and timeline. She and Peter both thought Dabhhiwola in writing on the 18th Century media revolution, went beyond his subject of attitudes … Continue reading Discussion of The Origins of Sex by Faramerz Dabhoiwala
The Reviews fell into groups. Peter, Ruth, Tracey and Chantal all rated it 8 or 9 out of 10. All were members of the Canoe Club and all had their own reasons for liking it, having travelled &/or paddled in some of the locations described, and interests in landscape & jurisdictional history and islands. All … Continue reading Discussion: The Frayed Atlantic Edge; a Historian’s Journey from Shetland to the Channel by David Gange (2019)
Of Books, Bikes & Islands 