Book Review
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Review: Architectures of Violence – The Command Structures of Modern Mass Atrocities – by Kate Ferguson
I discovered this book at Chatham House library. The front cover image of Arkan with his trademark white tiger gave away a lot of the subject detail of the book. It focuses on the war of the former Yugoslavia. Later in the work we touch upon the mass atrocities in other wars such as in… Continue reading
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Review: Moscow Rules: What Drives Russia To Confront The West – by Keir Giles
I am a new member of Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs, in London. On a recent visit, I made use of the vast resources of a very well-stocked library at Chatham House and this book is the first of the loans that I have finished reading. It is apt as Keir Giles… Continue reading
Arab, Armageddon, autocracy, Baltic States, Baltics, border, Brezhnev, buffer, buffer state, Catherine the Great, Chatham House, Christian Missionaries, cold war, Communism, Communist, democracy, diplomat, Europe, foreign policy, geoplotics, Gorbachev, hitler, Keri Giles, KGB, Khrushchev, Kyiv, Little Russia, Mad, middle east, Mikhail Gorbachev, miltary, Moscow, Mother Russia, Napoleon, NATO, Nazi, North America, nuclear war, oligarch, peace, Peter the Great, Propaganda, psychology, Putin, Revolution, Russia, Russia and Eurasia, Russian Revoluution, Soviet Union, the west, thinktank, Tsar, USA, USSR, Vladimir Putin, war -
Review: Before Bletchley Park – The Codebreakers of The First World War – by Paul Gannon
I have previously read a lot of material on World War 2 codebreakers and the likes of Alan Turing and their critical work against Enigma and the invention of modern computing during that period. Of course, codebreaking and cryptography is not a new science and has been a critical part of both war and diplomacy… Continue reading
aircraft war, Alan Turing, Allies, AMerica, Atlantic, Before Bletchley Park, Bletchley Park, Britain, British Navy, cables, Caesar cipher, codebreakers, codebreaking, computers, crossword, cryptanalysis, cryptography, cybersecurity, decryption, Enigma, ENigma Machine, espionage, Four Four Cyber, GCHQ, German, German Codebooks, German military, German Navy, Germany, Horseguards Parade, inteeligence, Israel, Italian, Kaiser, Latin America, London, Lusitania, machine guns, Madrid, Marconi, Masterschool, merchant shipping, Mexico, Military, modern computing, Paul Gannon, peace, punch cards, Room 40, ROyal Navy, spies, spy, submarines, substitution, tanks, Tel Aviv, telegraph, The First World War, transposition, U-Boats, U.K.United Kingdom, UK, USA, victory, war, World War 1, World War 2, Zimmerman, Zimmerman telegram -
Review: Queens of the Crusades – by Alison Weir
I had previously read Alison Weir’s most excellent book specifically on Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine many years ago so the author was familiar to me. I chanced upon this title in my local library (Caldicot) and thought I’d give it a go. It covers the lives of several British Queens, or rather the historical period… Continue reading
1215, Alienor of Provence, Alison Weir, Aquitaine, barons, battle, Berengeria of Navarre, British Empire, British History, British Hostory, British Queens, Brittany, Caernarfon, Caernarfon Castle, Caldicot, Cardiff, Chepstow, consanguinity, Constantinople, constitution, Continental Europe, Cross, dominions, Edward I, Ekleanor of Castile, Eleanor of Aquitaine, English Queens, Europe, European Royal, France, French, Gerald of Wales, Geraldus Cambrensis, Henry II, Holy LAnd, hometown, Isabelle of Angoulême, King Edward I, King John, legislation, Llywellyn ap Gruffydd, Magna Carta, Military, monarch, monarchy, Normandy, Plantagenet, Pope, Prince of Wales, Queens, Queens of the Crusades, religion, Richard The Lionheart, Richhard I, royal, royal bloodlines, Royal Couple, Royal Family, St. Davids, taking the Cross, The Cross, Thomas Bek, U.K., UK, United Kingdom, US consitution, USA, Vatican, Wales, war, Welsh Independence -
Review: MI9: A History of the Secret Service for Escape and Evasion in World War Two – by Helen Fry
I randomly found this book on the shelves of Caldicot library. I read a lot of books on U.K. Intelligence services: MI5, MI6 and GCHQ. During the war…. Mt grandfather (GaGa) was in 618 Squadron RAF and 143 Coastal Command. He didn’t really speak to me much about World War 2 itself until quite late… Continue reading
#centuryofgaga, 100th birthday, 143 COastal COmmand, 618 Squadron, Alan Turing, army, Asia, Belgium, Bletchley Park, Brexit, Britain, Burma, Caldicot, Caldicot Library, Colditz, Comet Line, computers, D-Day, Dédée, Enigma Code, Esacape and Evasion, Escape from Colditz, Escape to Victory, espionage, France, gadgets, Gaga, GCHQ, Germany, God, Helen Fry, HighFlight, Holland, Ian Fleming, intelligence, IS9, James Bond, Japanese, John Gillespie Magee Jr., jungle, Kim Phily, library, Luftwaffe, MI5, mi6, MI9, Military, Naga, Naga Hills, Naga Queen, Nazi, Nazis, Paris, poem, poetry, POWs, Q, RAF, Rat Lines, Room 900, Royal Air Force, secrecy, secret, secret service, Sir Ian Fleming, SOE, South East Qasia, spies, spy, United Kingdom, veterans, war, war poem, war poet, war poetry, wigwam, William Gordon Gerrard, World War 2, World War 3, WW2 -
Review: Defending The Realm – MI5 and The Shayler Affair – by Mark Hollingsworth and Nick Fielding
This is just another one of the many books I’ve read on the security services / spies / intelligence agencies in general. I guess I have a morbid fascination. Non-fiction throws up some pretty weird stuff – Life itself is a lot stranger than fiction. This tale from a turncoat ex MI5 employee David Shayler,… Continue reading
Afghanistan, Beijing, Belmarsh, betrayal, Birtish Empire, Britain, British, British Empire, British Press, brokenbritain, bureaucracy, Capitalism, Chiona, CIA, City of London, civil service, cold war, Colonel Gadaffi, Commonwealth, Communism, commusit, computers, corporation, crime, criminal, Daily Mail, Dame Stella Rimington, David Shayler, Davy Jones' Locker, death penalty, Defending The Realm, DOnald Trump, DPRK, enemy of the state, espionage, execution, France, GCHQ, Government, Great Britian, Human rights, hung, hung drawn and quartered, injustice, intelligence, INTERPOL, IRA, Isalmic, Islam, Islamic Terror, Israel, IT, jail, James Bond, justice, KGB, kim philby, Kremlin, liberty, Libya, Lockerbie, London, management, Mark Hollingsworth, MI5, mi6, Microsoft, Military, Moscow, Mossad, national security, Nick Fielding, Nicrosoft Windows 95, non-fiction, North Korea, Official Secrets Act, parliament, Politics, poltics, Prince Harry, prison, Pyongyang, red top, Robert Maxwell, Rupert Murdoch, Russia, Russians, Scandal, security, security services, Shayler, SHayler Affair, spies, spy, tabloid journalism, tech, terrorism, Thatcher, treachery, treason, Twitter, U.K., United Kingdom, USA, war, whistelblower, Windows, Windows 95 -
Review: The Assault On Truth – Boris Johnson and the Emergence of a New Moral Barbarism – by Peter Oborne
I think everyone that has ever heard of Boris Johnson associates him with lies. Oborne, who is an established veteran political journalist, in this relatively brief text, exposes the extent of the former Conservative Prime Minister’s almost total aversion to the truth. He reckons Johnson has told over thousands of lies and although the scope… Continue reading
Angela Merkel, Atlantic, Bill Clinton, Boris Johnson, British society, Code of Conduct, Conservative, Conservatives, DOnald Trump, East German, East Germany, ethics, Eton, Etonian, false, Germany, Government, integrity, Iraq, Iraq War, journlaist, liar, lies, media, Military, Ministerial Code, morality, parliament, Peter Oborne, politician, politicians, Politics, poltiics, President, science, society, Tony Blair, U.K., UK, United Kingdom, USA, values, war, Washinton -
Review: Adventure Everywhere – Pablo Picasso’s Paris Nightlife – by Dave Haslam
I like the art of Picasso, I like the city of Paris, and I like the books of Dave Haslam. I was therefore pleased to hear of the release of this book which studies the life and art of famous Spanish artist, Pablo Picasso, in particular his séjour in the vibrant cultural capital of France,… Continue reading
absinthe, alcohol, Apollinaire, Art, Art Decades, Ballets Russes, Belle Époque, Café, chauvinistic, Cirque Medrano, clubs, Configo Publishing, Cubism, culture, Dave Haslam, DJ, erotic, famous artist, feminist, France, French, Hacienda, Love, Manchester, Montmartre, narcotics, nightclubs, nightlife, Nijinsky, opium, Pablo Picasso, Paris, Parisian, Picasso, Pigalles, prostitutes, prostitution, romance, Sacré Couer, séjour, sex, SoHo, Spanish, Spanish Art, toxins, Velasquez, waitresses, World War 1, World War I -
Review: We May Win We May Lose – by Jim ‘Shaft’ Ryan
Jim ‘Shaft’ Ryan is a famous house music DJ from Birmingham who along with his brothers, Mick and Dermot, and their mate Lee, responsible for the seminary U.K. and global nightclub brands, Miss Moneypennys and Chuff Chuff. Jim is also my mate. I knew that Jim had trained as a Catholic priest before becoming entangled… Continue reading
12" single, acid house, anthology, birmingham, Black Country, Black COuntry Radio, Brum, Brummie, catholic, Chuff Chuff, Clubbing, DJ, Fear Panic and Chaos, House Music, Irish, jim shaft ryan, meter, Miss Moneypennys, modern life, morality, music, nightclubs, philosophy, poem, poet, poetry, promoter, religion, rhyme, U.K., We May Win We May Lose -
Review: Turkish Awakening – A Personal Discovery of Modern Turkey – by Alev Scott
Alev Scott is a young female Brit whose mother has Turkish Cypriot roots and in this great study of modern turkey she relocates to Istanbul and immerses herself as much as possible in Turkish society Long time leader Erdogan, has done a lot to change Turkey in the past couple of decades in which he… Continue reading
Alev Scott, Armenia, Armenian, Asia, Atatürk, Business, camel wrestling, Cyriot, East, economics, Erdogan, Europe, Football, Gezi Park, headscarves, Islam, Islamic State, istanbul, Kemal Ataturk, Kurd, Kurdish, Kurds, London, middle east, Muslim, New York, PKK, Politics, prostitution, secular, secularism, transexxual, Turk, Turkey, Turkish, Turkish barber, Welsh, west
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