Review: An African History of Africa – by Zeinab Badawi

Zeinab Badawi’s book offers an Afrocentric perspective on African history, challenging colonial narratives and highlighting the contributions of African civilizations. It discusses figures like Mansa Musa and Shaka Zulu, emphasizing the region’s advanced cultures despite historical exploitation. The text encourages readers to explore a non-mainstream understanding of Africa’s rich heritage and contemporary issues.

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Massive Attack, Young Fathers – Voodoo In My Blood

The writer reflects on a song by their favorite trip hop band, Massive Attack, which has been stuck in their mind. They mention a disturbing video featuring Rosamund Pike and express admiration for the band’s innovative style amidst the current rise of AI. They encourage readers to relax and enjoy the music.

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Differences and Inequalities

Drawing on material from two out of the three strands of DD102 study materials, discuss some of the ways in which differences and inequalities can both change and persist over time. The two topics I have chosen from two strands are City Road, Cardiff from the introductory strand, which looks…

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Review: Our Man in Havana – by Graham Greene

Graham Greene delivers here a classic espionage novel, fiction, set in Cuba around the time of the revolution, Greene writes in his knowledgeable subject area of expertise a comedy account of a chance vacuum salesman being recruited by Mi6 as their ‘Man in Havana.’ Struggling lone parent Wormold runs a…

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Review: Track Record by Darren Campbell with Trystan Bevan

Darren Campbell is one of the fastest men in the world and has won Olympic Gold. I’m probably one of the slowest men in the world and know next to nothing about athletics. The Olympics though are unmissable, especially the mens’ sprints. Campbell achieved the zenith of his success in…

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Review: Gangster Warlords – Drug Dollars, Killing Fields and the New Politics of Latin America – by Ioan Grillo

This is the second of Ioan Grillo’s books that I have read and I found this volume equally as good as my first encounter with this talented British journalist. Gangster Warlords focuses on 4 separate crime gangs across the Americas. For each group we identify leaders, politics, often brutal and…

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Review: Kanaval – Vodou, Politics and Revolution on the Streets of Haïti – by Leah Gordon

Leah Gordon, a former punk artist and photographer, chronicles her experiences of Kanaval in Jacmel, Haiti, from 1995 to 2010. Through powerful black and white images and oral histories, she captures the vibrant street theater that blends Vodou and political commentary. The book includes critical essays reflecting on the significance of her work.

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the repeating island

Review: The Repeating Island – The Caribbean and the Postmodern Perspective – by Antonio Benítez-Rojo

The Cuban author offers a postmodern view of the Caribbean. It is a sociocultural study that encompasses aspects of history, economics, sociology, cultural anthropology, psychoanalysis, literary theory, and non-linear mathematics, incorporating chaos theory. The book’s aims and theories are laid out in a flowing introduction whereby Benítez-Rojo’s notion of the…

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Review: Cocaine Nation – How The White Trade Took Over The World – by Tom Feiling

This is an enthralling, well-researched book, that reveals many unknown new facts about the global cocaine industry. The book opens with a chapter focussing on the USA, the biggest market for the Cocaine industry, where 66% of Cocaine users exist. We then enter into the producing and transit phase of…

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