Telling the remarkable story of Kim Philby, who was probably the most effective spy in history, this book reads fast and furiously, a real page-turner. The book focuses on the dramatic relationship between two friends, both rising stars in the world of British espionage, Nicholas Elliott and Kim Philby. The…
Month: July 2016
Review: Comandante – Inside Hugo Chavez’s Venezuela – by Rory Carroll
Hugo Chavez, Bolivarian Revolutionary, Presidente, Comandante. After a failed military coup in 1992, Hugo Chavez managed to democratically come to power in Venezuela in 1999. This book from the Guardian’s chief South America correspondent, Irishman Rory Carroll, based in Venezuela, explores the intricacies of the Miraflores Palace. Inside the opulent…
View More Review: Comandante – Inside Hugo Chavez’s Venezuela – by Rory CarrollReview: Hotel K – The Shocking Inside Story of Bali’s Most Notorious Jail – by Kathryn Bonella
This is a true account of life in Hotel Kerobokan, Bali’s notorious prison. The story is told through a series of interviews with current prisoners and former prisoners who have been released. The inmates are a myriad of internationals and local Indonesians. Most of the Westerners inside are there for…
View More Review: Hotel K – The Shocking Inside Story of Bali’s Most Notorious Jail – by Kathryn BonellaReview: We – by Yevgeny Zamyatin
This science-fiction classic was written in 1920s Russia and was cited by George Orwell as a key inspiration for his seminal 1984. We are in the 26th century and following victory in a 200 year war, society has reached its apogee in a walled off universal nation called OneState. All…
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Review: The Edge – Is the Military Dominance of the West Coming to an End – by Mark Urban
Only a short volume, this well-written work documents the weakening of the West in the geopolitical arena. The book first focuses on the reductions in military power of Western nations, both in terms of their military budgets and also their matériel. Despite modern weapons being produced, the volume of forces…
View More Review: The Edge – Is the Military Dominance of the West Coming to an End – by Mark Urban
Review: Voices from S-21 – Terror and History in Pol Pot’s Secret Prison – by David Chandler
Tuol Sleng or S-21 was the secret prison of the communist Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. Comrade Duch and his workers put to death in S-21 over 14000 enemies of the State. These enemies of the party centre were treated like they were subhuman and animals and eventually all prisoners were…
View More Review: Voices from S-21 – Terror and History in Pol Pot’s Secret Prison – by David Chandler
Review: Winter Is Coming – Why Vladimir Putin and the Enemies of the Free World Must Be Stopped – by Garry Kasparov
Garry Kasparov, former world chess champion, is clearly an intelligent man. Having retired from the game he has entered the world of politics and is a key human rights activist. The book explores his frustrations with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. It is a study of Putin and the way in…
View More Review: Winter Is Coming – Why Vladimir Putin and the Enemies of the Free World Must Be Stopped – by Garry Kasparov
Review: The Art Of Betrayal – Life and Death in the British Secret Service – by Gordon Corera
They say that truth is often stranger than fiction and this book that I have given a 5 star rating reads very fluently and tells the real story of British secret service agents as they engage in the art of espionage across the globe. True heroes and heroines emerge as…
View More Review: The Art Of Betrayal – Life and Death in the British Secret Service – by Gordon Corera
Review: Spain 1812-2004 – by Christopher J Ross
I have read this book as I am doing a university course next year on Spanish History in the Modern Period. The book is devised for language students and at the end of each chapter excerpts in Spanish are provided, with translations, which are really useful. The book has some…
View More Review: Spain 1812-2004 – by Christopher J Ross
Review: Cartels At War – by Paul Rexton Can
The author is a military expert and the phrase he coins to determine Mexico’s narcotics problem is a ‘mosaic cartel war’. This book analyses in detail the various cartels that are present in Mexico that operate in a highly competitive, highly profitable, highly illegal, immensely violent global industry. The Mexican…
View More Review: Cartels At War – by Paul Rexton Can
Review: The Rise Of Islamic State – by Patrick Cockburn
This is an excellent introductory text for those wishing to better understand the complex details of the rise of Islamic State, ISIS or ISIL. From its arrival due to the Syrian Civil War and its cancerous spread into post-war Iraq, this extremist-terrorist Sunni Islamic (Wahhabi) nation/fundamentalist organisation, has been indefatigable.…
View More Review: The Rise Of Islamic State – by Patrick Cockburn
Review: Women and the Second World War in France, 1939-1948: Choices and Constraints – by Hanna Diamond
This book focuses on the role of French women during World War 2 and the immediate aftermath. It is clear that the women of France bore the brunt of dealing with the occupier, very often their men away, detained as prisoners of war or, for example, sequestered to work abroad…
View More Review: Women and the Second World War in France, 1939-1948: Choices and Constraints – by Hanna Diamond