Like all the best books, this can be read chronologically or dipped into.
Read Morereviews
Review: Things Seen, by Annie Ernaux
in Bookshelf, Reviews, On this day
At times beautiful, at times cynical, at times hard-hitting, Things Seen is an endearing and accurate portrayal of a modern city.
Read MoreReview: The Queen’s Atlas: Saxton’s Elizabethan Masterpiece -- two reviews in one!
in Bookshelf
I submitted my review of this book to Teach Secondary magazine, an educational magazine in the UK. The first review below is what the magazine published. The second one is what I actually wrote! In substantive terms there is little difference between the two, but you may find it interesting to see what the editor altered.
Read MoreReview: Tradecraft: Writers on John le Carré -- two reviews in one!
Review: Tradecraft: Writers on John le Carré -- two reviews in one!
Read MoreReview: Seven Brief Lessons on Physics: Anniversary Edition -- two reviews in one!
in Reviews
I submitted my review of this book to Teach Secondary magazine, an educational magazine in the UK. The first review below is what the magazine published. The second one is what I actually wrote!
Read MoreReview: How Yiddish changed America and how America changed Yiddish
I bought this book two or three years ago, and it has given me a huge amount of pleasure.
Read MoreReview: Vermeer: A Life Lost and Found -- Two reviews in one
I submitted my review of this book to Teach Secondary magazine, an educational magazine in the UK. The first review below is what the magazine published. The second one is what I actually wrote!
Read MoreReview: The Many Lives of Anne Frank
You could be forgiven for thinking that all that has been said, or needed to be said, about Anne Frank had already been said, given the number of books, articles and even a play that have been written about her. And yet in some ways she has never been more relevant.
Read MoreReview: Stranger than Fiction
At first glance, this book's table of contents seems puzzling. Despite running to nearly 500 pages, Frank seems to be using fewer than 50 different novels to represent a hundred years of literary evolution — but appearances can be deceptive.
Read More“The style is plain and simple, and all the more powerful for that, and I like the sense of foreboding.”
Quick look: Hard Rain Falling, by Don Carpenter -- Progress report
in Bookshelf, Quick looks, Reviews
The style is plain and simple, and all the more powerful for that, and I like the sense of foreboding.
Read More
Quick look: The many lives of Anne Frank
in Bookshelf, Quick looks, Reviews
The structure of this book is very interesting.
Read More
Quick look: Hard Rain Falling, by Don Carpenter
in Bookshelf, Quick looks, Reviews
The style is plain and simple, and all the more powerful for that.
Read MoreNonfiction notebook: Paragraphs I’ve enjoyed writing
Most of my reviews are very positive, and I frequently conclude by recommending the book in question despite my criticisms. However, I do think it’s important to be honest about a book’s or an exhibition’s downsides. I also like to open a review, where possible, with a personal, perhaps humorous, observation.
Read MoreCompare and contrast: A Town Without Time reviewed
in Bookshelf, Journalism, Reviews
The book includes the obituary writer who can hardly wait for his subjects to drop dead so that he can at last see his work in print.
Read More
Compare and contrast: Pen Names reviewed
Once again I am presenting you with two very slightly different reviews of the same book.
Read MoreCompare and contrast: The Library of Ancient Wisdom reviewed
Once again I am presenting you with two different reviews of the same book.
Read More
Compare and contrast: Adaptable reviewed
Once again I am presenting you with two very slightly different reviews of the same book. The first is the review I sent in to the editor of Teach Secondary magazine. The second is what was actually published.
Read More
Quick looks: The Great Exchange: Making the news in early modern Europe
in Bookshelf, Quick looks, Reviews
The real history of news is not about a chronology of technological inventions.
Read MoreQuick look: The Penguin Book of Polish Short Stories
in Bookshelf, Quick looks
The stand-out aspect of this collection for me is the way it has been organised into categories, a brave choice I think.
Read MoreQuick look: The Penguin Book of Bengali Short Stories
in Quick looks, Bookshelf
These stories really provide a short glimpse into a culture of which I am almost completely ignorant.
Read More