Our Book Report

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

A politician addicted to spin

Arts & Books
19 May 2007

Nothing quite became John Major as much as the moment, 10 years ago, when he packed in politics for cricket. Unceremoniously booted out of Downing Street after the biggest defeat in his party’s modern history, Major took himself off to the Oval for a... read more...

‘These are the days after’

Arts & Books
19 May 2007

Our disbelief at the enormity of what we saw on our screens, over and over again, as the planes hit, and the Twin Towers burned and fell, was compounded by the fact that it looked, as it was surely intended to, just like a Hollywood disaster movie.... read more...

The biggest little country in the world

Arts & Books
19 May 2007

Ever wondered why Genghis Khan ruled the largest empire the world has ever seen? Steppe-hardened, blood-drinking warriors? Innovative use of cavalry? No, apparently it was his enlightened tax policy. According to a source in In Search of Kazakhstan,... read more...

Monday, May 14, 2007

‘Write late and write well’

The Guardian
12 May 2007

Politicians manufacture and consume huge quantities of words every day of their lives. Words are both their diet and their product. When their political career ends there must be a feeling of frustration unless somehow they can find a market for their... read more...

Thursday, May 10, 2007

‘Classic’ and other misblurbs
Henry Alford The New York Times
Hindustan Times
07 May 2007

I T HAPPENED to the Time magazine book critic Lev Grossman last October. Grossman says he was “quite taken aback” when he saw a fullpage newspaper advertisement for Charles Frazier’s novel Thirteen Moons that included a one-word quotation — “Genius” —... read more...