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…
I was just chatting away to Ionutz a security nurse in the local mental hospital and he’s Romanian. I passed through Bucharest a few years ago en route to Istanbul on a train journey traversing Eastern Europe. Romania seemed quite rural, poor and quite different to the Europe with which…
View More Review: Red Horizons – The True Story of Nicolae & Elena Ceausescus’ Crimes, Lifestyle, and Corruption – by Lt. Gen. Ion Mihai Pacepa
Elaine Sciolino is a female New York Times journalist who had the good fortune of being present in Paris with the exiled future leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khomenei. When he seized power from the Shah in the Islamic Revolution of 1979, Sciolino was one of the first Western journalists on…
View More Review: Persian Mirrors – The Elusive Face of Iran – by Elaine Sciolino
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
China Road: A Journey Into The Future Of A Rising Power by Rob Gifford My rating: 4 of 5 stars This book is a thoroughly absorbing study of modern China and its vast population. The author embarks on a pilgrimage along Route 312, China’s Route 66, heading West from Shanghai,…
View More Review: China Road: A Journey Into The Future Of A Rising Power – by Rob Gifford
The Cosmic Serpent: DNA and the Origins of Knowledge by Jeremy Narby My rating: 4 of 5 stars I eagerly anticipated this book as I had heard it mentioned as a classic on Ayahuasca and as a good reference point in a number of other books and Ayahuasca and shamanism.…
View More Review: The Cosmic Serpent: DNA and the Origins of Knowledge – by Jeremy Narby