tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10970428Sat, 24 Jun 2017 17:21:21 +0000modern historysocialistmarxismSF and Fclimate and environmentfictionpoliticsancient historysciencebiographyagriculturemedieval historyrussiaWW2Germanyculturearchaeologytravelcrime fictionlondonLatin AmericaFranceegyptEarly Modern HistoryWW1ChinaEnglish Civil WarScotland1917ResoluteReaderOne man's odyssey through the world of bookshttp://resolutereader.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Resolute Reader)Blogger771125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10970428.post-7628467375762135903Sat, 24 Jun 2017 17:19:00 +00002017-06-24T17:21:21.610+00:00climate and environmentmarxismscienceIan Angus - A Redder Shade of Green: Intersections of Science and SocialismThis new collection of essays from one of the world's leading Marxist environmentalists is an important contribution to discussions about how we can fight for a sustainable world, one where, as Ian Angus says quoting Marx, we live as "a society of good ancestors". More than this however the book is an important reassertion of how to approach questions of science and politics that strengthen our http://resolutereader.blogspot.com/2017/06/ian-angus-redder-shade-of-green.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Resolute Reader)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10970428.post-6620219214620452561Fri, 23 Jun 2017 19:07:00 +00002017-06-23T19:07:06.157+00:00marxismmodern historypoliticsJonathan Martineau - Time, Capitalism and AlienationThe way that humans have understood and related to the universe around them has varied dramatically throughout history. One aspect to this, is the question of time. One of the points that Jonathan Martineau makes in this interesting book, is that we tend to think of our modern time system as being the only way of understanding, measuring and experiencing time. Other societies, specifically http://resolutereader.blogspot.com/2017/06/jonathan-martineau-time-capitalism-and.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Resolute Reader)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10970428.post-7679986647964741202Sun, 18 Jun 2017 09:56:00 +00002017-06-18T09:56:28.220+00:00SF and FPhilip Pullman - The Subtle KnifeThe Subtle Knife is where Philip Pullman's Dark Materials trilogy moves from a slightly foreboding children's fantasy to a truly dark, frightening story. The story moves rapidly between worlds; initially we encounter Will in our own Earth, then we move to the world Lyra has escaped too, but this is haunted by phantoms that prey on adults and children on the cusp of puberty. Despite its http://resolutereader.blogspot.com/2017/06/philip-pullman-subtle-knife.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Resolute Reader)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10970428.post-6193393790549306900Tue, 13 Jun 2017 21:39:00 +00002017-06-13T21:43:32.596+00:00agriculturebiographymodern historypoliticsPamela Horn - Joseph Arch The life of Joseph Arch, agricultural labourer, Methodist preacher, trade union leader and liberal MP, is a fascinating one that Pamela Horn tells with her usual readable and engaging style. Horn notes that Arch was prone to over emphasise his own importance, particularly in terms of the founding and development of the National Agricultural Labourers Union that he helped found. So it is useful http://resolutereader.blogspot.com/2017/06/pamela-horn-joseph-arch.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Resolute Reader)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10970428.post-4295470805376359083Thu, 08 Jun 2017 21:33:00 +00002017-06-08T21:33:02.850+00:00biographytravelFrancis Parkman, Jr. - The Oregon TrailThis fascinating account of North America in the mid 19th century is a description of Francis Parkman's expedition into lands remote from the eastern "settlements". Parkman initially accompanies the settlers' heading west towards Oregon, and his accounts are fascinating insights into how the settlers viewed the world, and how they themselves were seen. It's notable, in this description how http://resolutereader.blogspot.com/2017/06/francis-parkman-jr-oregon-trail.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Resolute Reader)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10970428.post-5123828417550163223Tue, 06 Jun 2017 17:20:00 +00002017-06-06T17:20:34.465+00:00agriculturemodern historyJoyce Marlow - The Tolpuddle MartyrsJoyce Marlow's history of The Tolpuddle Martyrs is a classic of its period. It tells the story of the Martyrs well, allowing for occasional bits of speculation by the author. The problem for those writing about the Martyrs is two-fold. Firstly there have been numerous books, plays and articles. Secondly the material itself is relatively thin. The primary source for most authors are the pamphletshttp://resolutereader.blogspot.com/2017/06/joyce-marlow-tolpuddle-martyrs.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Resolute Reader)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10970428.post-618788251169085470Sun, 04 Jun 2017 12:14:00 +00002017-06-04T12:14:40.613+00:00SF and FPhilip Pullman - Northern LightsAhead of Philip Pullman releasing the companion books to the His Dark Materials trilogy I've been re-reading the original novels, ones that I last read nearly 15 years back and have held a special place in my heart since then. As Heraclitus famously said, you cannot stand in the same river twice. And the same is true of favourite novels. They might be enjoyed just as much, but the context is http://resolutereader.blogspot.com/2017/06/philip-pullman-northern-lights.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Resolute Reader)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10970428.post-3977051513394648222Wed, 31 May 2017 21:55:00 +00002017-05-31T21:55:56.956+00:00climate and environmentmarxismmodern historypoliticsChristophe Bonneuil & Jean-Baptiste Fressoz - The Shock of the AnthropoceneI found The Shock of the Anthropocene a very interesting book that has a lot to say about the multiple environmental crises that we are currently facing. But simultaneously I was left deeply unsatisfied by it, in particular its critique of the Marxist approach to the Anthropocene, and its lack of a clear strategy for solving the problem. That said, it has a lot to offer the careful reader. It http://resolutereader.blogspot.com/2017/05/christophe-bonneuil-jean-baptiste.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Resolute Reader)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10970428.post-1859158064775196793Tue, 30 May 2017 21:26:00 +00002017-05-30T21:26:25.891+00:00agriculturebiographymodern historypoliticsAndrew Norman - The Story of George Loveless and the Tolpuddle MartyrsThis short and readable account of the Tolpuddle Martyrs focuses on the life of the key figure in their struggle, George Loveless. Loveless was a Methodist minister and Andrew Norman locates his radicalism in the context of that branch of Christianity's break from the staid, pro-government, pro-system approach of the Anglican Church. But whatever George Loveless' religious beliefs he was http://resolutereader.blogspot.com/2017/05/andrew-norman-story-of-george-loveless.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Resolute Reader)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10970428.post-1257078551190702380Thu, 18 May 2017 17:00:00 +00002017-05-18T17:01:05.270+00:00SF and FStephen Baxter and Alastair Reynolds - The Medusa ChroniclesBloody terrible. This novel is intended as a tribute to Arthur C. Clarke, extending his classic tale A Meeting With Medusa. But it combines Clarke's inability to portray characters as anything other than cliched wooden extras from a bad 1950 film with a terrible plot-line that fizzles out in an unbelievable ending. Don't bother, even if you are an enormous fan of these authors' other works. http://resolutereader.blogspot.com/2017/05/stephen-baxter-and-alastair-reynolds.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Resolute Reader)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10970428.post-5282684059448960494Wed, 17 May 2017 22:29:00 +00002017-05-17T22:29:45.810+00:00ancient historyarchaeologyMartin Green - A Landscape Revealed: 10,000 Years on a Chalkland FarmWhile seemingly a rather specialised topic, Martin Green's history of the neolithic, bronze and iron ages as understood through studies of the pre-history of his farm in Cranborne Chase contains a wealth of information. The Chase, an area roughly north-east of Blanford Forum in Dorset contains hundreds of locations of archaeological interest. Many of these are part of what should be understood ashttp://resolutereader.blogspot.com/2017/05/martin-green-landscape-revealed-10000.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Resolute Reader)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10970428.post-1318259508295704846Wed, 10 May 2017 20:14:00 +00002017-05-10T20:14:22.767+00:001917russiaS.A. Smith - Russia in Revolution: An Empire in Crisis 1890-1928S.A. Smith's Red Petrograd is one of the best books I've ever read in the Russian Revolution, so I had high expectations of this one. Sadly I was disappointed, even though there is much that I found of interest in it, and even for people like myself who have read widely on the subject there is significantly new material. This review is not the place to rehearse the story of the Revolution itselfhttp://resolutereader.blogspot.com/2017/05/sa-smith-russia-in-revolution-empire-in.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Resolute Reader)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10970428.post-7070405588757250237Fri, 05 May 2017 18:08:00 +00002017-05-05T18:08:51.188+00:00agriculturemodern historypoliticsCarl J. Griffin - The Rural War: Captain Swing and the Politics of ProtestThis is the most recent serious book on the Captain Swing movement. Its author is keen to present it as the definitive work that surpasses two other earlier book lengths treatments. These are the Hammond's Village Labourer and Hobsbawm and Rudé's Captain Swing. Griffin's certainty of his works' improvement on its predecessors irked me somewhat as I don't think it's fair to say that neither book http://resolutereader.blogspot.com/2017/05/carl-j-griffin-rural-war-captain-swing.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Resolute Reader)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10970428.post-2900552686499856179Sun, 30 Apr 2017 11:02:00 +00002017-04-30T11:02:20.869+00:00agriculturemarxismmodern historyE.J. Hobsbawm & George Rudé - Captain SwingHobsbawm and Rudé's Captain Swing is one of those books that dominates a particular historical field. Their examination of the 1830 Captain Swing movement was the first attempt to systematically understand the causes of that agrarian revolt and the nature of the movement itself. Written in the late 1960s it was the first real full length account of Swing. Prior to that, only the Hammonds in theirhttp://resolutereader.blogspot.com/2017/04/ej-hobsbawm-george-rude-captain-swing.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Resolute Reader)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10970428.post-1470249553923698661Wed, 26 Apr 2017 10:44:00 +00002017-04-26T10:44:39.221+00:00modern historysocialistJ.L. Hammond & Barbara Hammond - The Skilled Labourer: 1760-1832The Hammonds begin their account of the changes to "skilled labourers" in this period by saying it reads "like a civil war". With similar themes to those covered in the first volume of their historical trilogy, they argue that the period saw a profound transformation in social relations between worker and boss: The industrial changes that occurred at this time destroyed this social economy with http://resolutereader.blogspot.com/2017/04/jl-hammond-barbara-hammond-skilled.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Resolute Reader)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10970428.post-2818980355360357831Tue, 25 Apr 2017 09:55:00 +00002017-04-25T09:55:32.716+00:00culturefictionNeil Gaiman - Norse MythologyWhen I was about 10 my grandfather gave me a huge book of world mythology. Many of the accounts inside gave me real insights into the culture and religion of my classmates who came from a wide variety of backgrounds. But I was always most taken by the Norse myths. For a young boy these were fantastically dramatic - full of fighting, quests, drama, love and bravery. So for me, Neil Gaiman's http://resolutereader.blogspot.com/2017/04/neil-gaiman-norse-mythology.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Resolute Reader)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10970428.post-1024788804640779406Thu, 20 Apr 2017 21:41:00 +00002017-04-20T21:43:43.763+00:00archaeologyegyptJohn Romer - A History of Ancient Egypt: Volume 2The first volume of John Romer's history of Ancient Egypt is a brilliant examination of the rise of the Egyptian state from hunter-gatherer communities. So I was excited to read the follow up volume some four years later. Here Romer looks at more familiar periods, yet unlike the first volume this history covers the period when there are written records, on the monuments, tombs and papyrus remainshttp://resolutereader.blogspot.com/2017/04/john-romer-history-of-ancient-egypt.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Resolute Reader)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10970428.post-2704703637857556478Thu, 13 Apr 2017 14:06:00 +00002017-04-13T14:22:05.433+00:00biographyWW2Robert Leckie - Helmet for my PillowHaving recently read Ian W. Toll's excellent histories of World War Two in the Pacific, I decided to seek out some of the personal accounts that he uses as material for his accounts. One of these is this classic book by Robert Leckie, which forms some of the source material for the TV series Pacific. Viewers of that will recognise many of the scenes from the Leckie's account. Leckie begins with http://resolutereader.blogspot.com/2017/04/robert-leckie-helmet-for-my-pillow.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Resolute Reader)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10970428.post-29518245930724801Mon, 10 Apr 2017 17:08:00 +00002017-04-10T20:39:08.479+00:00agricultureclimate and environmentpoliticsPhilip Lymbery - Dead Zone: Where the Wild Things WerePhilip Lymbery's Dead Zone is a highly readable, if frightening examination of the impact of industrial agriculture on the environment, and particularly biodiversity. Lymbery's style is part travel-book, part autobiography and part ecological critique. There's a lot in it, and this review cannot hope to highlight all of the fascinating content - my copy is covered in pencil markings just from a http://resolutereader.blogspot.com/2017/04/philip-lymbery-dead-zone-where-wild.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Resolute Reader)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10970428.post-4442607189117541619Tue, 04 Apr 2017 21:26:00 +00002017-04-04T21:26:58.712+00:001917russiasocialistV.I. Lenin - Will the Bolsheviks Maintain Power?Written just a few days before the October Revolution of 1917 when the Provisional Government was finally evicted from office and Soviet Power became the sole ruling body across Russia, this is a powerful and fascinating read. Lenin writes polemically with the confidence and authority that comes from being the leader of a mass revolutionary organisation numbering more than 250,000 members and http://resolutereader.blogspot.com/2017/04/vi-lenin-will-bolsheviks-maintain-power.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Resolute Reader)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10970428.post-7887405958357980298Fri, 31 Mar 2017 10:49:00 +00002017-03-31T10:49:58.464+00:00SF and FLiu Cixin - Death's EndAny review of Liu Cixin's Death's End has to simultaneously be a review of the whole of his trilogy. These are three interconnected works that rely on each other, despite their self-contained stories. The trilogy deals with humanity's first contact, but it is a first contact in a deeply hostile universe. The three books look then at how humanity through hundreds of years goes through various http://resolutereader.blogspot.com/2017/03/liu-cixin-deaths-end.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Resolute Reader)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10970428.post-6929262839933223903Wed, 22 Mar 2017 19:57:00 +00002017-03-22T19:57:05.210+00:00modern historyRobert Reid - Land of Lost Content: The Luddite Revolt 1812This is a far more accessible and better written than the previous book I reviewed on this subject, Malcolm Thomis' The Luddites. It also benefits from better analysis of events and people. That said they are quite different books - Robert Reid is writing for a wider, more popular audience who might not know the history of the period, and as such he links the story of the Luddites to historical http://resolutereader.blogspot.com/2017/03/robert-reid-land-of-lost-content.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Resolute Reader)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10970428.post-8688972033400042537Sat, 18 Mar 2017 13:11:00 +00002017-03-18T17:29:41.251+00:00agriculturemodern historyMalcolm I. Thomis - The Luddites: Machine-Breaking in Regency EnglandDestruction of property - the burning of ricks, maiming or killing of animals, the breaking of machinery or the burning of buildings - was long a part of the resistance by rural labourers in the late 18th and early 19th century. Today the practice is most commonly associated with the movement known as the Luddites which peaked in 1812, and has wrongly become associated with an irrational hatred http://resolutereader.blogspot.com/2017/03/malcolm-i-thomis-luddites-machine.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Resolute Reader)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10970428.post-2759023826234322067Thu, 16 Mar 2017 17:00:00 +00002017-03-16T17:00:31.874+00:00fictionFranceAnatole France - The Gods Will Have BloodThe title of Anatole France's 1912 novel of the French Revolution reflects a common theme for discussion of that historical event. Reading the book in the centenary year of the Russian Revolution its easy to spot some parallels with commentators on 1917. The idea that revolutions devour their children is a common one for those seeking to defend the status quo, and Anatole France was certainly nothttp://resolutereader.blogspot.com/2017/03/anatole-france-gods-will-have-blood.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Resolute Reader)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10970428.post-2577006391494348277Tue, 14 Mar 2017 18:59:00 +00002017-03-15T13:35:25.541+00:00crime fictionJohn le Carré - A Small Town in GermanyFirst published in 1968, John le Carré's novel A Small Town in Germany is one of the tightest spy thrillers I've ever read. Very little happens - most of the action is in the claustrophobic corridors of the British Embassy in Bonn, or in the homes of the diplomats who live in the towns nearby. Bonn is the "Small Town" in Germany of the title, but it's also a small town in that everyone knows http://resolutereader.blogspot.com/2017/03/john-le-carre-small-town-in-germany.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Resolute Reader)0
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