A journal by Peter Hargreaves
Fleeing the Atlantic storms in January and February, Anne and I travelled extensively in SE Asia. Initially, we flew to Chiang Rai in NE Thailand, where we enjoyed a couple of tourist days. We had arranged to meet our friend, Jill, who joined us with two companions during a break in their course on yin … Continue reading South East Asia (mostly) by Bike Part 1 Chiang Rai to Luang Prabang
A work of reflection, in which the Chinese-American master, Yi-Fu Tuan, looks back on his life. He considers how ideas in, and the idea of, China and the United States have affected territory and landscape. In China there was both cosmos and hearth. Chinese élites looked down on the peasantry who were attached to their … Continue reading Review: Cosmos and Hearth, a Cosmopolite’s Viewpoint by Yi-Fu Tuan (1996) Assessment 10 out of 10
The Book was generally well received, although some took to Nietzsche more than others. Wendy said she found it easier to read after first reading “Nietzsche – A Very Short Introduction” by Michael Tanner on N’s philosophy, then returning to the Biography. She also found N misogynist, his constant change of genres frustrating, indicative of … Continue reading Discussion: I am Dynamite; a Life of Frederich Nietzsche by Sue Prideaux (2018)
An extended study in political and cultural history Cycling across the harsh and beautiful wilderness which is Namibia and the northern Cape Province of South Africa, you occasionally come across a well-maintained dorp, or small town. The remaining Afrikaner population found there, while very much in the minority, are tough, humorous and welcoming. These people … Continue reading Review: the Afrikaners; Biography of a People by Hermann Gilliomee (2003 expanded 2010) Assessment 9 out of 10
A work of great scholarship. Published over 30 years ago , it is a Book on which the authors had worked for the previous 30 years. It was produced in a limited print run. I had sought to acquire a copy, but this proved impossible. in 2017 the Societe Jersiase produced a Second Edition, which … Continue reading Review: Jersey Place Names: A Corpus of Jersey Toponymy Volumes 1 and 2 by C. Stevens, J. Arthur, J. Stevens and F. Le Maistre (1986) Assessment 9 out of 10
As much a work of journalism as an academic study. When you visit South Africa it is hard not to be enchanted. When you read this Book it is hard not to be depressed. The difference between South Africa and other African states is that the ANC inherited a relatively wealthy country with an effective … Continue reading Review: How long will South Africa survive?The Looming Crisis by RW Johnson (2015) Assessment 7 out of 10
A short Book, advancing significant theory for human evolution. Only 207 pages long, this book advances theory with significant implications for human evolution and paleo-anthropology. Raw food is not good for humans, they lose body mass, men virility and women menstruation, suggesting man evolved to eat cooked food, from which energy is absorbed quickly and … Continue reading Review: Catching Fire; How Cooking made us Human by Richard Wrangham (2010) Assessment 9 out of 10
Lewis-Williams is a South African archaeologist who studied the rock art produced by San hunter-gatherers. He applies ideas from there to the cave art of Upper Palaeolithic Europe. There are many good things about this lovely book, the colour plates, the large number of line drawings. There are interesting sections on the differences between Homo … Continue reading Review: The Mind in the Cave; Consciousness and the Origins of Art by David Lewis- Williams (2002) Assessment 7 out of 10
A remarkable Book This remarkable book addresses the puzzle that the island of Ithaca described in Homer’s “Odyssey” does not appear to correspond to the island in the Ionian Archipelago currently known as Ithaca. Like Schliemann, the 19th century discover of Troy and Mycenean civilisation, Bittlestone is an enthusiastic amateur. However unlike Schliemann, Bittlestone consulted … Continue reading Review: Odysseus Unbound; The Search for Homer’s Ithaca by Robert Brittlestone et al (2005) Assessment 9 out of 10
This is a model study of an obscure, but critical, historical period. The significance of its conclusions, and adoption of the research method followed, should extend beyond the Anglo-Saxon Fenlands. Following the Roman withdrawal, the established view is of Anglo-Saxon immigration and take over, particularly in the East of England. Germanic warriors carved out territories … Continue reading Review: The Anglo-Saxon Fenland by Susan Oosthuizen (2017) Assessment 9 out of 10
Of Books, Bikes & Islands 