Contemporary Review articles from December 2002

Contemporary Review archives from December 2002

Fifty glorious legal years? English law during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II.
December 1, 2002... A LOT has happened in England over the last fifty years. And a lot has happened in the wider world too. England is less an island than it has ever been, and so it has been more affected by things in the wider world than ever before. The English...

The costly lessons of Central Europe's floods.
December 1, 2002... LESSONS learned from Central Europe's worst flooding for perhaps 150 years may well lead to improved land-use management and weather forecasting techniques as well as the establishment of a permanent disaster relief fund to cope with future...

India's nuclear decision.
December 1, 2002... FOR the most part, the evidence of the 1990s would seem to suggest that the stability and prosperity of Asia-Pacific have flowed in part from the widespread adherence by regional countries to the non-proliferation norms and regimes, the...

Walpole's pictures revisit England.(Sir Robert Walpole, Painting, Passion and Politics: Masterpieces from the Walpole Collection)
December 1, 2002... WE have misjudged Sir Robert Walpole. The prevalent image of Walpole, the 'first Prime Minister', is of an uncouth foxy squire (something like Sir Pitt Crawley in Thackeray's Vanity Fair) who managed the country for a total of twenty years by...

The Continental homelands of the Anglo-Saxons.
December 1, 2002... MUCH has been written about the Anglo-Saxons, their way of life, their laws, their language, poetry, methods of farming and so on but little, or nothing, is now written about their pre-British history. What, then, do we know about the...

Canada's railroads.
December 1, 2002... IN my childhood, as a boy growing up on a farm in western Canada, my greatest pleasure was to travel with my father to Neville, at that time a town of some 200 souls. What I looked forward to most was waiting for the train to make one of its...

Searching my own book on the Internet.(A. L. Rowse: A Bibliophile's Extensive Bibliography)
December 1, 2002... 'BOOKS are like children. You give them birth, and watch over them in their early years; but there comes a day when they leave home to stand on their own feet and you have no control over their subsequent history'. That quote comes from a...

Christians and Israel. .(Christian Attitudes Towards the State of Israel)(Book Review)
December 1, 2002... Christian Attitudes towards the State of Israel. Paul Charles Merkley. McGill-Queens University Press. [pounds sterling]22.95. 266 pages. ISBN 0-7735-2188-7. This book is one of a long series of studies in the history of religion from its...

Stafford Cripps and the Legacy of Austerity. .(The Cripps Version: The Life of Sir Stafford Cripps)(Book Review)
December 1, 2002... The Cripps Version: The Life of Sir Stafford Cripps. Peter Clarke. Penguin, [pounds sterling]25.00.574 pages. ISBN 0-713-99390-1. This reviewer is grateful to Sir Stafford Cripps. Thanks to his policy of cheap money, I was able to borrow to...

The Father of Tabloid Journalism. .(The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearst)(Book Review)
December 1, 2002... The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearst. David Nasaw. Gibson Square Books. [pounds sterling]20.00. 687 pages. ISBN 1-903933-07-2. William Randolph Hearst was, as the author of this magisterial study rightly says, a major force in...

The Fall of Berlin. .(Berlin: The Downfall)(Book Review)
December 1, 2002... Berlin: The Downfall. Antony Beevor. Viking. [pounds sterling]25.00. 490 pages. ISBN 0-670-88695-5. The most horrific battle in modern European history, with only one possible exception, the battle for Stalingrad a few years earlier, was...

Tom Stoppard and his First Biographer.(Double Act: A Life of Tom Stoppard)(Book Review)
December 1, 2002... Double Act: A Life of Tom Stoppard. Ira Nadel. Methuen. [pounds sterling]25.00. 621 pages. ISBN 0-413-73050-6. Tom Stoppard is arguably the world's greatest living playwright and surely there has never been a better time to publish the...

Hitler. (New and Noteworthy).(books on World War II)(Book Review)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Interest in the last World War continues apace and LONGMAN has brought out a second edition of Ian Kershaw's highly praised biography, Hitler ([pounds sterling]20.00), first published in 1991 as part of Longman's 'Profile in Power' series. In...

Cambridge University Press. (New and Noteworthy).(Cambridge Companion to Gothic Fiction )(Book Review)
December 1, 2002... CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS continues its series of companions with The Cambridge Companion to Gothic Fiction ([pounds sterling]40,00) edited by Jerrold E. Hogle, Professor of English in the University of Arizona. 'Gothic' fiction is usually...

The Language of Postcolonial Literatures. (New and Noteworthy).(includes review of 'Irish and Postcolonial Writing: History, Theory, Practice')(Book Review)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Two other new releases, both dealing with post-colonial literature, are Ismail S. Talib's The Language of Postcolonial Literatures: An Introduction ([pounds sterling]50.00) from ROUTLEDGE and Irish and Postcolonial Writing: History. Theory,...

Pushkin Press. (New and Noteworthy).(works from smaller publishing houses, including Hearing Eye)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... From two of London's smaller publishing houses we have a variety of works translated from the French. From PUSHKIN PRESS we have the first English translation (by Euan Cameron) of Julian Green's novella, The Other Sleep ([pounds sterling]10.00...

Cassell. (New and Noteworthy).(Cassell's Dictionary of Modern German History)(Book Review)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... CASSELL, whose reputation for dictionaries is almost as old as the firm itself, has recently added to its list of reference works Tim Kirk's Cassell's Dictionary of Modern German History ([pounds sterling]30.00). This volume, with over 1000...

The Essential Marc Chagall. (New and Noteworthy).(includes review of The Piero Della Francesca Trail )(Book Review)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... HARRY N. ABRAMS's series of 'essential' books is a highly popular one and the small volumes serve as useful introduction to the world's great artists. One of the latest releases is Howard Greenfeld's The Essential Marc Chagall ([pounds...

Aurum Press. (New and Noteworthy).(The Victorian Society Book of the Victorian House, plus The House: Its Origins and Evolution)(Book Review)(Brief Review)
December 1, 2002... Finally, we have two titles on the home. The first is comes from AURUM PRESS: Kit Wedd's The Victorian Society Book of the Victorian House ([pounds sterling]30.00). This is a beautifully presented book which combines a scholarly and well...

Vintage Classics. (The World of Paperbacks).(new edition of Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time )(Book Review)
December 1, 2002... VINTAGE CLASSICS has recently launched a complete, full revised and updated edition of Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time (A la recherche du temps perdu) in a handsome six volume set priced at [pounds sterling]8.99 each. The history of the...

Oxford University Press. (The World of Paperbacks).(England under the Norman and Angevin Kings 1075-1225; A Land of Liberty? England 1689-1727; The British Isles and the War of American Independence)(Book Review)
December 1, 2002... OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS has brought out paperback editions of two new titles in its New Oxford History of England: Robert Bartlett's England under the Norman and Angevin Kings 1075-1225 ([pounds sterling]14.99), a fresh and refreshing look at...

Prion Books. (The World of Paperbacks).(four new reprints in 'Lost Treasures' series)(Book Review)
December 1, 2002... PRION BOOKS continues its highly successful 'Lost Treasures' series with four new reprints. The first is Frances Donaldson's P. G. Wodehouse: A Biography ([pounds sterling]10.00). This was first published in 1982 and remains the definitive...

Routledge. (The World of Paperbacks).(The Selected Letters of Bertrand Russell )(Book Review)
December 1, 2002... ROUTLEDGE has republished both volumes of The Selected Letters of Bertrand Russell edited by Prof. Nicholas Griffin, Director of the Bertrand Russell Archive at Canada's McMaster University. The first is sub-titled The Private Years, 1884-1914...

Eland. (The World of Paperbacks).(The Caravan Moves On: Three Weeks among Turkish Nomads; Chantemesle: A Normandy Childhood )(Book Review)
December 1, 2002... From ELAND, the small independent publishing house that features reprints of famous travel books, we have two new titles, both handsomely presented. The first is Irfan Orga's The Caravan Moves On: Three Weeks among Turkish Nomads ([pounds...

Phoenix Press. (The World of Paperbacks).(new history titles and biographies by popular writers)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... PHOENIX PRESS has recently brought out a spate of history titles and biographies by some of our most popular writers. Following a roughly chronological approach, these include, first, Medieval Women. A Social History of Women in England...

Robinson. (The World of Paperbacks).(new releases)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... New releases from ROBINSON, part of the CONSTABLE-ROBINSON partnership, are also dominated by history and biography. On the history front we have: Gianni Gaudalupi and Antony Shugaar's Latitude Zero: Tales of the Equator which looks at those...

Henry and Mary Ponsonby: Life at the Court of Queen Victoria. .(Book Review)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Henry and Mary Ponsonby: Life at the Court of Queen Victoria. William M. Kuhn. Duckworth. [pounds sterling]20.00. 302 pages. ISBN 0-7156-3065-2. Sir Henry and Lady Ponsonby were at the heart of Queen Victoria's court: he was the Queen's private...

Dickens's England: Life in Victorian Times.(Book Review)
December 1, 2002... Dickens's England: Life in Victorian Times. R. E. Pritchard, editor. Sutton Publishing. [pounds sterling]18.99. (US$27.95). 284 pages. ISBN 0-7509-2741-0. All the great Victorian writers, whether Dickens, Trollope or George Eliot, tackled...

A History of the English Language. .(Book Review)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... A History of the English Language. Albert C. Baugh and Thomas Cable. Routledge. [pounds sterling]55.00. Fifth edition. 447 pages. ISBN 0-415-28098-2. This new edition replaces the fourth edition of 1993 which has had seven re-printings. This...

The Papin Sisters. .(Book Review)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... The Papin Sisters. Rachel Edwards and Keith Reader. Oxford University Press. [pounds sterling]45.00. 134 pages. ISBN 0-19-816010-0. In 1933, Christine and Lea, housemaids in their twenties stabbed and beat to death their employer, Madame...

History and Historians in the Twentieth Century. .(Book Review)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... History and Historians in the Twentieth Century. Peter Burke, editor. The British Academy (Oxford University Press). [pounds sterling]25.00. 253 pages. ISBN 0-19-726268-6. This collection, part of the British Academy's Centenary Monographs...

Jane Austen: A Companion. .(Book Review)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Jane Austen: A Companion. Josephine Ross. John Murray. [pounds sterling]16.99. 259 pages. ISBN 0-7195-5684-8. It is obvious that this is not an academic work of literary criticism as it is well written, enjoyable and full of sound sense...

The Travels of Marco Polo [The Venetian]. .(Book Review)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... The Travels of Marco Polo [The Venetian]. Manuel Komroff, editor. W. W. Norton. [pounds sterling]22.50. 370 pages. ISBN 0-87140-657-8. This edition of the thirteenth century Venetian merchant was first published in 1930 with thirty-two woodcuts...

Recovering from Conflict: Reconciliation, Peace and Development. .(Book Review)
December 1, 2002... Recovering from Conflict: Reconciliation, Peace and Development. Edward Newman and Albrecht Schnabel, editors. Frank Cass. [pounds sterling]45.00. 321 pages. ISBN 0-7146-5324-1. This study, edited by two teachers in the United Nations...

Transnational Capitalism and the Struggle over European Integration. .(Book Review)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Transnational Capitalism and the Struggle over European Integration. Bastiaan van Apeldoorn. Routledge. [pounds sterling]60.00. 224 pages. ISBN 0-415-25570-8. During the last two decades of the twentieth century Britain and western Europe were...

The Longest Night: A Military History of the Civil War. .(Book Review)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... The Longest Night: A Military History of the Civil War. David J. Eicher. Pimlico. [pounds sterling]20.00 p.b. 990 pages. ISBN 0-7126-6854-3. This 'Pimlico Original' was first published in the U.S. last year. The difficulty with another military...

National Anthems of the World.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... National Anthems of the World. W. L. Reed and M. J. Bristow, editors. Cassell. [pounds sterling]60.00. 613 pages. ISBN 0-304-36382-0. This is the tenth edition of a unique volume that was first published in 1960. While British people assume...

Roman Social History. .(Book Review)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Roman Social History. Susan Treggari. Routledge. [pounds sterling]40.00. 170 pages. ISBN 0-415-19521-7. This volume, part of Routledge's 'Classical Foundation' series, is an introduction aimed at helping a student 'make a start in specialised...

Getting Personal: A Biographer's Memoir.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Getting Personal: A Biographer's Memoir. Brian Masters. Constable. [pounds sterling]16.99. 313 pages. ISBN 1-84119-550-2. Brian Masters first came to widespread public attention with a small book on the dreams people have which feature the...

The Man Who Knew Too Much: The Strange and Inventive Life of Robert Hooke 1635-1703. .(Book Review)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... The Man Who Knew Too Much: The Strange and Inventive Life of Robert Hooke 1635-1703. Stephen Inwood. Macmillan. [pounds sterling]18.99. 485 pages. ISBN 0-333-78268-0. This biography is an attempt to put the historical record straight. Whilst...

The Years of Lyndon Johnson: Master of the Senate. .(Book Review)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... The Years of Lyndon Johnson: Master of the Senate. Robert A. Caro. Jonathan Cape. [pounds sterling]30.00. 1167 pages. ISBN 0-22406287-5. This massive volume is the third in Mr Caro's biography of President Lyndon Johnson. It is concerned with...

Michelangelo: The Frescoes of the Sistine Chapel. .(Book Review)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Michelangelo: The Frescoes of the Sistine Chapel. Marcia Hall, commentary and Takashi Okamura, photographs. Harry N. Abrams. [pounds sterling]27.00. 239 pages. ISBN 0-8109-3530-9. The photographs in this beautifully presented volume were taken...

A Reader's Guide to Writers' London. .(Book Review)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... A Reader's Guide to Writers' London. Ian Cunningham. Prion.[pounds sterling]20.00. 293 pages. ISBN 1-85375-425-0. This lavishly illustrated guide in part aims at helping readers visiting London to match the scenes they have read to the sights...

Kings in the North: The House of Percy in British History. .(Book Review)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Kings in the North: The House of Percy in British History. Weidenfeld and Nicolson. [pounds sterling]25.00. 578 Pages. ISBN 0-29781-860-09. Anyone with a mild knowledge of Shakespeare's history plays will recall the name of Percy. In this...

M. Edith Durham. Albania and the Albanians: Selected Articles and Letters, 1903-1944. .(Book Review)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... M. Edith Durham. Albania and the Albanians: Selected Articles and Letters, 1903-1944. Betjullah Destani, editor. Centre for Albanian Studies (albastudies@hotmail.com). [pounds sterling]9.99 p.b. 261 pages. ISBN 1-903616-09-3. Edith Durham is...

Athenais: The Real Queen of France.(Book Review)
December 1, 2002... Athenais: The Real Queen of France. Lisa Hilton. Little, Brown. [pounds sterling]17.99. 339 pages. ISBN 0-316-85878-1. In the long history of French royal mistresses the marquise de Montespan is perhaps the most famous. As a successor to Louise...

The Indian Mutiny 1857. .(Book Review)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... The Indian Mutiny 1857. Saul David. Viking. [pounds sterling]20.00. 504 pages. ISBN 0-670-91137-2. This is the book of the thesis, in this case a doctoral thesis for the University of Edinburgh. Lest anyone be put off by this statement he...

Art notes: the Fauves move into the Courtauld Gallery.
December 1, 2002... The latest exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery is unusual in that it has no closing date. The display of early twentieth-century pictures from private collections, presumably on long loan, have been confidently absorbed into the main display....