The content outlines China’s historical journey from the late Ming dynasty to the modern era under President Xi Jinping. It emphasizes key events such as the Qing dynasty, opium wars, rise of communism, and China’s transformation into a global superpower. The book serves as an accessible introduction to understanding China’s contemporary significance.
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…
View More Review: Before Bletchley Park – The Codebreakers of The First World War – by Paul Gannon
Silvio Berlusconi has died today at the age of 86. It has been said that not a day has gone by in Italian news media over the past 50 years without him making headlines of some sort. He certainly was a larger than life character and a major figure on…
View More Riposa In Pace Silvio Berlusconi
At the end of World War 2, after, in particular, the disaster of the Holocaust becoming apparent, many leading Nazis were hunted down and brought to trial to face justice for war crimes. One of the main international trials, indeed the biggest international trial to date, occurred at Nuremburg in…
View More The Nuremburg Code 1947
Henry Kissinger, a prominent figure in U.S. foreign policy, celebrated his 100th birthday on May 27, 2023. Known for his role as National Security Advisor and Secretary of State, he is credited with pivotal moments like U.S.-China relations renewal and criticized for human rights issues in Latin America. His insights remain relevant in contemporary geopolitics.
View More Happy 100th Birthday Henry Kissinger
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…
View More Review: MI9: A History of the Secret Service for Escape and Evasion in World War Two – by Helen Fry
What’s a grown 45 year old male doing reading a little Bosnian girl’s diary you might ask yourself. Well, it cropped up as a recommendation in a documentary on the war in the former Yugoslavia, a subject to which I have passionately researched from its genesis. The Balkans conflict is…
View More Review: Zlata’s Diary – A Child’s Life in Sarajevo – by Zlata Filipović
‘War and Peace’ needs no introduction. It holds its place in the minds of contemporary society as a literary classic. One cannot pick up a newspaper article on great books without a passing mention of Leo Tolstoy’s masterpiece. Like other classical works such as the Bible, I think that their…
View More Review: War and Peace – by Leo Tolstoy
This is a weighty tome (800 plus pages) and the authoritative history of perhaps the least glamorous of the U.K.’s principal security services. However, the facts illustrated in this book clearly demonstrates the critical role GCHQ plays in national security and perhaps one could argue is more relevant and more…
View More Review: Behind The Enigma – The Authorised History of GCHQ – Britain’s Secret Cyber-Intelligence Agency – by John FerrisThis detailed 800 page book covers fifty years of MI6, the UK’s foreign espionage service. From relatively humble beginnings during the second world war, MI6 grew to become a leading foe of Soviet Russia and its notorious KGB. The book documents in detail issues that affected the service from the…
View More Review: MI6 – Fifty Years of Special Operations – by Stephen DorrilCharlie Richardson was an important figure in the London Underworld during the 1960s. The Krays often overshadow The Richardsons in terms of their notoriety as London gangsters but, as is clear from the revelations in this book, The Richardson family were certainly equally as important in the capital’s underworld. Whereas…
View More Review: The Last Gangster – My Final Confession – by Charlie Richardson
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
Lost in the sky, traversing the globe, a record box in the baggage hold high above you; an air steward whinges about the weight of your records and forces you to shift your hand luggage to a safer place. While you’re getting a ticking off from some jumped up trolley…
View More Wez G – Remote Desert Runway (DJ Set 64)
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is a 20th century classic novel I had to read. It is a fascinating story of the Second World War which grows ever more absurd as Yossarian proceeds on his quest to return home. The characters are fantastic, especially…
View More Review: Catch-22