Contemporary Review articles from February 2004

Contemporary Review archives from February 2004

Narrative in systems of religion.
February 1, 2004... RELIGION deals with the big questions of life. Among these questions are: Why was I created? Why am I here? What happens to me after I die? Each person at various times in life (unless one dies as a very young baby) will ask these...

The American character.
February 1, 2004... THE American character has some strongly-marked traits that people from other countries find very noticeable, sometimes admirable, sometimes puzzling, sometimes bothersome. Knowing something of the American character is therefore important for...

Islam: facing two ways with Dr Mahathir part II.
February 1, 2004... THE sting in Dr Mahathir's sensational speech to the Organisation of Islamic Conference was truly reserved for the tail. Having deplored a pattern of futile struggle against Israel, he concluded as follows: 'We are actually very strong....

Teenage pregnancy in Jamaica.
February 1, 2004... TEENAGE girls account for nearly one quarter of all births in the West Indian island of Jamaica--a fact that leads to collective worry, sermons, finger-pointing and, occasionally, over-the-top demands by anxious politicians. Sharon Hay-Webster,...

Sir Arnold de Montmorency Bt.(Brief Article)(Obituary)
February 1, 2004... Sir Arnold died at the end of December 2003, aged 95. He was for many years the Literary Editor of Contemporary Review and then became its Life President. His guiding hand ensured the independence and future of Contemporary Review. We send...

Thomas Jones: an eighteenth-century welsh artist in Italy.(Biography)
February 1, 2004... THE artist Thomas Jones (1742-1803) was unhappy when in his fifties he wrote in his Memoirs, 'the prospect of Employment in my Profession was dark and gloomy'. At twenty-six, he had already surmised, 'throughout almost every Occurrence in life,...

Catalonia and the Scots.
February 1, 2004... SOME tour-operators claim that Barcelona has usurped Paris's place as Britain's most popular 'short-break destination'. The trend could change if Catalonia's popularity with foreigners forced prices up to Parisian levels or, more seriously,...

Indian cricket--more than a game.
February 1, 2004... WHAT is it that makes people think of their nation as a nation? It is a question to which politicians, philosophers, sociologists, democrats and dictators have been applying their minds for centuries and have never come up with anything like...

The Northern Renaissance in miniature.
February 1, 2004... ILLUMINATING the Renaissance: the Triumph of Flemish Manuscript Painting at the Royal Academy is at the same time less sparkling and more memorable than Gothic: Art for England, 1400-1547, the recent exhibition at the Victoria and Albert...

A personal journey from Islam to Christianity.
February 1, 2004... THE events of September 11, 2001, and the later atrocities in Bali and Istanbul have shocked the world. While the American-led War on Terrorism continues, I have been fighting my own 'war' since the age of fourteen when I converted from Islam...

A treatise on terrorism.(No End to War: Terrorism in the Twenty-First Century)(Book Review)
February 1, 2004... No End to War: Terrorism in the Twenty-First Century. Walter Laqueur. The Continuum International Publishing Group. US$24.95. 288 pages. ISBN 0-8264-1435-4. The aftermath of 11th September 2001 was a missed opportunity by the media to...

Celebrated Elizabethans in the television age.(The Shadow of a Nation: The Changing Face of Britain)(Book Review)
February 1, 2004... The Shadow of a Nation: The Changing Face of Britain. Nick Clarke. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. [pounds sterling]20.00. 277 pages. ISBN 0-297-60770-7. Nick Clarke, voted Radio Broadcaster of the Year in 2000, presents BBC Radio Four's lunchtime...

Insights into the creative process.(On Creativity: Interviews Exploring the Process)(Book Review)
February 1, 2004... On Creativity: Interviews Exploring the Process. John Tusa. Methuen. [pounds sterling]14.99. 256 pages. ISBN 0-413-77299-3. The creative speaks to a sensitive awareness which is the aesthesis of culture. It seeks to engage one's unspoken,...

Chopin's life and times.(Chopin's Funeral)(Book Review)
February 1, 2004... Chopin's Funeral. Benita Eisler. Little, Brown. [pounds sterling]16.99. 231 pages. ISBN 0-316-86021-2. When Frederic Chopin's funeral took place on 30 October 1849 at the Madeleine, the music critic of The Times suspected that of the four...

The right to speak out.(The First Freedom: A History of Free Speech)(Book Review)
February 1, 2004... The First Freedom: A History of Free Speech. Robert Hargreaves. Sutton Publishing. [pounds sterling]20.00. 320 pages. ISBN 0-7509-2923-5. Whilst reading this erudite and thought-provoking book, this reviewer visited Speaker's Corner, a...

South Africa: a history of missed chances.(The Lion and the Springbok: Britain and South Africa since the Boer War)(Book Review)
February 1, 2004... The Lion and the Springbok: Britain and South Africa since the Boer War. Ronald Hyam and Peter Henshaw. Cambridge University Press. [pounds sterling]45.00. 379 pages. ISBN 0-521-82453-2. Without Britain there would of course never have been...

A hard look at the Resurrection.(The Resurrection of God Incarnate)(Book Review)
February 1, 2004... The Resurrection of God Incarnate. Richard Swinburne. Oxford University Press. [pounds sterling]45.00. 224 pages. ISBN 0-19-925745-0. This earnest, powerful, and rather austere book on the Resurrection of Christ is offered not only for...

New and noteworthy.
February 1, 2004... This month's column is devoted to reference works, the first five of which are published by OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS. The first edition of the Oxford Dictionary of Literary Quotations was published in 1997. In a new edition, priced at [pounds...

The world of paperbacks.
February 1, 2004... From PENGUIN BOOKS we have a variety of new titles. The first is a paperback edition of Mark Tully's India in Slow Motion ([pounds sterling]8.99), a first-hand account of India's 'bad governance' and of the reasons behind it. Next we have...

World War Two: A Military History.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
February 1, 2004... World War Two: A Military History. Jeremy Black. Routledge. [pounds sterling]50.00. 299 pages. ISBN 0-415-30535-7. In this title Prof. Black writes about the military aspects of the Second World War and for undergraduates. His approach is...

Power Without Responsibility: The Press, Broadcasting and New Media in Britain.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
February 1, 2004... Power Without Responsibility: The Press, Broadcasting and New Media in Britain. James Curran and Jean Seaton. Routledge. [pounds sterling]16.99 p.b. 459 pages. ISBN 0-415-24390-4. This now venerable analysis was first published in 1981 and the...

Great Tales from English History: Cheddar Man to the Peasants' Revolt.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
February 1, 2004... Great Tales from English History: Cheddar Man to the Peasants' Revolt. Robert Lacey. Little, Brown. [pounds sterling]14.99. 254 pages. ISBN 0-316-72674-5. The author has built this book on the success of his earlier study, The Year 1000. Here...

A Traveller's History of New Zealand and the South Pacific Islands.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
February 1, 2004... A Traveller's History of New Zealand and the South Pacific Islands. John H. Chambers. Phoenix. [pounds sterling]8.99 p.b. 400 pages. ISBN 1-84212-689-X. The latest in this highly successful series is based not just on the author's own...

The Stuart Court in Rome: The Legacy of Exile.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
February 1, 2004... The Stuart Court in Rome: The Legacy of Exile. Edward Corp, editor. Ashgate. [pounds sterling]52.50. 190 pages. ISBN 0-7546-3324-1. This title, part of the Varie series, reflects cooperation among Scotland's National Galleries, the National...

The Struggle for Mastery: Britain 1066-1284.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
February 1, 2004... The Struggle for Mastery: Britain 1066-1284. David Carpenter. Allen Lane. xxiv + 616 pages. ISBN 0-713-99065-1. This latest volume in The Penguin History of Britain covers the period from the Norman Conquest to Edward I's final victory over the...

The A-Z Guide to Modern British History.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
February 1, 2004... The A-Z Guide to Modern British History. Mark Garnett and Richard Weight. Jonathan Cape. [pounds sterling]20.00. ix + 518 pages. ISBN 0-224-06388-X. The authors' aim here is to 'provide information and argument for those with an interest in the...

The Poor in England 1700-1850: An Economy of MakeShifts.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
February 1, 2004... The Poor in England 1700-1850: An Economy of Makeshifts. Steven King and Alannah Tomkins, editors. Manchester University Press. [pounds sterling]47.50. x + 285 pages. ISBN 0-7190-6159-8. This collection of seven essays, preceded and summarised...

Drink and British Politics since 1830: A Study in Policy-Making.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
February 1, 2004... Drink and British Politics since 1830: A Study in Policy-Making. John Greenaway. Palgrave Macmillan. [pounds sterling]50.00. xii + 271 pages. ISBN 0-333-91782-0. This important study is about 'the high politics of social policy-making' as they...

The Collected Letters of Mary Wollstonecraft.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
February 1, 2004... The Collected Letters of Mary Wollstonecraft. Janet Todd, editor. Allen Lane. [pounds sterling]30.00. xxxiii + 478 pages. ISBN 0-713-99600-5. Mary Wollstonecraft is famous for her radical politics, her 1792 book, A Vindication of the Rights of...

Good As Her Word: Selected Journalism.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
February 1, 2004... Good As Her Word: Selected Journalism. Lorna Sage. Sharon Sage and Victor Sage, editors. Fourth Estate. [pounds sterling]16.99. xxii + 361 pages. ISBN 0-00-715779-7. Lorna Sage was, until her death in January 2001, Professor of English in the...

Elizabeth's Wars: War, Government and Society in Tudor England, 1544-1604.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
February 1, 2004... Elizabeth's Wars: War, Government and Society in Tudor England, 1544-1604. Paul E. J. Hammer. Palgrave-Macmillan. [pounds sterling]47.50. xiv + 324 pages. ISBN 0-333-91942-4. The defeat of the Armada was only one in a long list of engagements...

A View from the Sidelines.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
February 1, 2004... A View from the Sidelines. Michael Shea. Sutton Publishing. [pounds sterling]17.99. xviii + 189 pages. ISBN 0-7509-3245-7. The author of these reminiscences was for ten years Press Secretary to The Queen and before that, a career diplomat. In...

Tobias Smollett.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
February 1, 2004... Tobias Smollett. Jeremy Lewis. Jonathan Cape. [pounds sterling]20.00. xii + 316 pages. ISBN 0-224-06151-8. Smollett today is as much remembered for his famous travel book, Travels through France and Italy as for novels such as Roderick Random...

Lady Jane Grey: Nine Days Queen.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
February 1, 2004... Lady Jane Grey: Nine Days Queen. Alison Plowden. Sutton Publishing. [pounds sterling]18.99. ix + 182 pages. ISBN 0-7509-2816-6. The author has made a name for herself as a reliable biographer of royal ladies of the sixteenth and seventeenth...

The Storyteller's Daughter.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
February 1, 2004... The Storyteller's Daughter. Saira Shah. Michael Joseph. [pounds sterling]16.00. ix + 309 pages. ISBN 0-718-14562-3. The author of this book is the daughter of Afghan exiles and is best known for her television documentary, Beneath the Veil, in...

The Great War: An Imperial History.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
February 1, 2004... The Great War: An Imperial History. John H. Morrow, Jnr. Routledge. [pounds sterling]25.00. xvi + 352 pages. ISBN 0-415-20439-9. How to write about the Great War when so much has been written by so many is a problem facing military historians....

The Complete Roman Army.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
February 1, 2004... The Complete Roman Army. Adrian Goldsworthy. Thames & Hudson. [pounds sterling]24.95. 224 pages. ISBN 0-500-05124-0. The author, an acknowledged expert on the Roman army, uses his knowledge to give readers an introduction to the one body which,...

Our Street: East End Life in the Second World War.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
February 1, 2004... Our Street: East End Life in the Second World War. Gilda O'Neill. Viking. [pounds sterling]16.99. xiv + 300 pages. ISBN 0-670-89690-X. This book may be seen as a natural successor to, or, indeed, the direct result of, the author's earlier and...

The Affair of the Poisons: Murder, Infanticide and Satanism at the Court of Louis XIV.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
February 1, 2004... The Affair of the Poisons: Murder, Infanticide and Satanism at the Court of Louis XIV. Anne Somerset. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. [pounds sterling]20.00. xxii + 377 pages. ISBN 0-297-84216-1. The Court of Louis XIV is known for its glamour,...