Contemporary Review articles from November 2004

Contemporary Review archives from November 2004

Rural im and governmental cynicism: politics and hunting in Great Britain.
November 1, 2004... ON 15 September 2004 the British House of Commons passed a motion that would have the effect of banning hunting with dogs. It has happened before in Great Britain, but the House of Lords has always blocked the proposed legislation. The Lords...

China embarks on nuclear power construction.
November 1, 2004... THE dynamic new rulers of China have embarked on an environment-oriented industrial modernization programme that may well affect the energy economy of the world. The centrepiece of the plan is the construction of more than 30 large reactors...

Europe and the new constitution.
November 1, 2004... 'THE eurosceptic view of an all-powerful European superstate is a figment of the imagination. The EU is far from having the means or resources to form a European government', writes Fraser Cameron, the Director of European Studies at the...

Claus von Stauffenberg and the German Officers' Plot of 1944.(Biography)
November 1, 2004... AMONG the celebrations of the sixtieth anniversary of the liberation of France one other anniversary appears to have been overlooked, that of the German Officers' Plot of July 1944. The obvious reason is that it failed. But to Claus von...

Energised by war: the 'London' and 'New York Reviews'.(Critical Essay)
November 1, 2004... FIXATED on the exploits of the tabloid press, the media pages of Britain's broadsheets seldom report on the 'higher journalism'--or even deign to notice its existence. You would hardly guess from reading them that intellectual publications such...

Now and Benn.(Critical Essay)
November 1, 2004... TO fill an auditorium nowadays, whatever the event, you need impact. Stirring background music, lasers, lighting, a sense of ostentatious extravaganza. Strange, then, that a grey-haired seventy-eight-year-old man has an established record of...

Art from Copenhagen: two brewers' legacy at the Royal Academy.(Critical Essay)
November 1, 2004... 'WE are not here to sell a parcel of boilers and vats, but the potentiality of wealth beyond the dreams of avarice', proclaimed Dr Johnson when, as executor of Henry Thrale's will, he promoted the sale of his late friend's Southwark Brewhouse...

The indelible signature of Orson Welles's films.(Critical Essay)
November 1, 2004... 'A BLIND man', Orson Welles said, 'should be capable of appreciating a film'. He was referring to the contribution of sound in so visual a medium. Music certainly is, and always has been, quintessential in the nature of film. Experiments with...

The war against Saddam.(Book Review)
November 1, 2004... The Iraq War. John Keegan. Hutchinson. [pounds sterling]18.99. xi + 254 pages. ISBN 0-09-180018-8. The distinguished military historian, Sir John Keegan, believes that the recent war against Iraq was 'mysterious' in several respects. In...

The British body politic.(Book Review)
November 1, 2004... Who Runs This Place? The Anatomy of Britain in the 21st Century. Anthony Sampson. John Murray. [pounds sterling]20.00. xi + 418 pages. ISBN 0-7195-65642. Anthony Sampson's examination of Britain's institutions has itself become something...

The rule of the supermarket in British life.(Book Review)
November 1, 2004... Shopped: The Shocking Power of British Supermarkets. Joanna Blythman. Fourth Estate. [pounds sterling]12.99. xv + 368 pages. ISBN 0-00-715803. Imagine you had let into your house (a mansion) a group of new servants, who promised to enlarge...

From old to new Labour.(Book Review)
November 1, 2004... New Labour's Past. James E. Cronin. Longman. ix + 497 pages. [pounds sterling]25.00. ISBN 0-582-43827-6. If the writing of contemporary history is to be more than journalism with academic pretensions then it requires certain obvious...

Scotland's Parliament examined.(Book Review)
November 1, 2004... The Scottish Parliament: A Scandinavian-style Assembly? David Arter. Frank Cass. [pounds sterling]50.00. 298 pages. ISBN 0-7146-5567-8. This rather specialised, dauntingly erudite, but important assessment of the new Scottish Parliament is...

The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary.(Book Review)
November 1, 2004... The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary. Simon Winchester. Oxford University Press. [pounds sterling]12.99. xxv + 260 pages. ISBN 0-19-860702-4. As with all national institutions, one takes the OED for granted....

New and noteworthy.(Critical Essay)
November 1, 2004... Our first two titles are concerned with the history of the Victoria Cross. MACMILLAN has recently published Max Arthur's Symbol of Courage: A Complete History of the Victoria Cross ([pounds sterling]25.00), a moving and detailed account not...

The world of paperbacks.
November 1, 2004... SUTTON PUBLISHING, whose importance as a publisher of history titles continues to grow, has brought out new releases in its History Classics series. These include Christopher Hibbert's King Mob: The Story of Lord George Gordon and the Riots of...

James Joyce's Dublin: A Topographical Guide to the Dublin of Ulysses.(Book Review)
November 1, 2004... James Joyce's Dublin: A Topographical Guide to the Dublin of Ulysses. Ian Gun with Clive Hart and Harald Beck. Thames & Hudson. [pounds sterling]28.00. 160 pages. ISBN 0-500-51159-4. This guide was first published in 1975 and reprinted in 1981....

The Enlightenment and Religion: The Myths of Modernity.(Book Review)
November 1, 2004... The Enlightenment and Religion: The Myths of Modernity. S.J. Barnett. Manchester University Press. [pounds sterling]49.99. vii + 244 pages. ISBN 0-7190-6740-5. In this study of 'the broad intellectual manifestation of the years c. 1690-1790...

The National Army Museum Book of the Crimean War: The Untold Stories.(Book Review)
November 1, 2004... The National Army Book of the Crimean War: The Untold Stories. Alastair Massie. Sidgwick & Jackson. [pounds sterling]25.00. xxiv + 280 pages. ISBN 0-283-07355-1. Dr Massie, who is Head of the National Army Museum's Department of Archives,...

An Imperfect God: George Washington, His Slaves and the Creation of America.(Book Review)
November 1, 2004... An Imperfect God: George Washington, His Slaves and the Creation of America. Henry Wiencek. Macmillan. [pounds sterling]20.00. ix + 404 pages. ISBN 0-333-90487-7. This title, first published in the United States, looks at George Washington from...

Old Ironsides: The Military Biography of Oliver Cromwell.(Book Review)
November 1, 2004... Old Ironsides: The Military Biography of Oliver Cromwell. General Sir Frank Kitson. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. [pounds sterling]14.99. 239 pages. ISBN 0-297-84688-4. The author, formerly C in C of UK Land Forces and Commandant of the School of...

In Search of H. V. Morton.(Book Review)
November 1, 2004... In Search of H. V. Morton. Michael Bartholomew. Methuen. [pounds sterling]18.99. 248 pages. ISBN 0-413-77138-5. Full of admiration and respect, Michael Bartholomew set out in search of H. V. Morton, author of the immensely popular In Search--of...

The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide.(Book Review)
November 1, 2004... The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide. Peter Balakian. William Heinemann. [pounds sterling]18.99. xxi + 474 pages. ISBN 0-434-00816-8. This impressive study, first published last year in the U.S., is concerned with some of the worst...

Christina Queen of Sweden.(Book Review)
November 1, 2004... Christina Queen of Sweden. Veronica Buckley. Fourth Estate. [pounds sterling]20.00. xv + 494 pages. ISBN 1-84115-704-X. Christina remains one of the most fascinating of European sovereigns of any age. She was a highly intelligent and learned...

Medieval Mischief: Wit and Humour in the Art of the Middle Ages.(Book Review)
November 1, 2004... Medieval Mischief: Wit and Humour in the Art of the Middle Ages. Janetta Rebold Benton. Sutton Publishing. [pounds sterling]20.00. xiv + 161 pages. ISBN 0-7509-2773-9. This is one of the most delightful as well as enjoyable books on mediaeval...

St. Paul's: The Cathedral Church of London 604-2004.(Book Review)
November 1, 2004... St Paul's: The Cathedral Church of London 604-2004. Derek Keene, Arthur Burns and Andrew Saint, editors. Yale University Press. [pounds sterling]60.00. xvi + 538 pages. ISBN 0-300-09276-8. At first glance this might be taken as a 'coffee table...

Jersey 1204: The Forging of an Island Community.(Book Review)
November 1, 2004... Jersey 1204: The Forging of an Island Community. J.A. Everard and Sir James Holt. Thames & Hudson. [pounds sterling]19.95. 208 pages. ISBN 0-500-51163-2. This book celebrates the 800th anniversary of Jersey's link to the British Crown. It seeks...

The Handbook of Human Rights Law: An Accessible Approach to the Issues and Principles.(Book Review)
November 1, 2004... The Handbook of Human Rights Law: An Accessible Approach to the Issues and Principles. Michael Arnheim. Kogan Page. [pounds sterling]35.00. xxix + 274 pages. ISBN 0-7494-3498-8. Of the many changes to the British Constitution introduced by the...

British Politics Today, 7th Ed..(Book Review)
November 1, 2004... British Politics Today. Bill Jones and Dennis Kavanagh. Manchester University Press. [pounds sterling]35.00. x + 278 pages. ISBN 0-7190-6508-9. The seventh edition of this popular work, first published in 1979, is still based on the conferences...

John Fowles: A Life in Two Worlds.(Book Review)
November 1, 2004... John Fowles: A Life in Two Worlds. Eileen Warburton. Jonathan Cape. [pounds sterling]25.00. xvii + 510. ISBN 0-224-05951-3. John Fowles's fame as a writer is largely based on his novels, The Collector and The French Lieutenant's Woman, but of...

The Complete World of Greek Mythology.(Book Review)
November 1, 2004... The Complete World of Greek Mythology. Richard Buxton. Thames & Hudson. [pounds sterling]24.95. 256 pages. ISBN 0-500-251215. In this attractively presented introduction, the author, who is Professor of Greek Language and Literature in the...

A Little History of British Gardening.(Book Review)
November 1, 2004... A Little History of British Gardening. Jenny Uglow. Chatto & Windus. [pounds sterling]15.99. x + 342 pages. ISBN 0-701-16928-1. At 342 pages this 'little' history isn't quite as little as the title suggests. It traces the history of British...

The Cambridge Companion to John Calvin.(Book Review)
November 1, 2004... The Cambridge Companion to John Calvin. Donald K. McKim, editor. Cambridge University Press. [pounds sterling]45.00 (US$70.00). xvii + 352 pages. ISBN 0-521-01672-X. As the editor writes, Calvin stands, alongside Luther, 'as the premier...

Athens: A History from Ancient Ideal to Modern City.(Book Review)
November 1, 2004... Athens: A History From Ancient Ideal to Modern City. Robin Waterfield. Macmillan. [pounds sterling]25.00. xx + 411 pages. ISBN 0-333-98991-0. Ancient Athens as been as praised as modern Athens has been denounced. This book is intended to 'trace...

Soul Made Flesh: The Discovery of the Brain--and How It Changed the World.(Book Review)
November 1, 2004... Soul Made Flesh: The Discovery of the Brain--and How It Changed the World. Carl Zimmer. William Heinemann. [pounds sterling]17.99. xii + 367 pages. ISBN 0-434-01046-4. This study, which was first published in the U.S., is concerned with Thomas...

The Origins of the Final Solution: The Evolution of Nazi Jewish Policy, September 1939-March 1942.(Book Review)
November 1, 2004... The Origins of the Final Solution: The Evolution of Nazi Jewish Policy, September 1939-March 1942. Christopher R. Browning with contributions by Jurgen Matthaus. William Heinemann. [pounds sterling]25.00. xiii + 616 pages. ISBN 0-434-01227-0....

Edward VII and the Entente Cordiale.(Book Review)
November 1, 2004... Edward VII and the Entente Cordiale. Ian Dunlop. Constable. [pounds sterling]25.00. xv + 315 pages. ISBN 1-84119-530-8. Despite the title, this book is really a popular history of Anglo-French relations between the 1830s and the outbreak of war...

London's Thames.(Book Review)
November 1, 2004... London's Thames. Gavin Weightman. John Murray. [pounds sterling]14.99. x + 150 pages. ISBN 0-7195-6411-5. This is the author's second book on the Thames and is designed to survey 'the river and its historical significance in the rise and growth...

Inside Hitler's Bunker: The Last Days of the Third Reich.(Book Review)
November 1, 2004... Inside Hitler's Bunker: The Last Days of the Third Reich. Joachim Fest. Margot Bettauer Dembo, translator. Macmillan. [pounds sterling]16.99. xiii + 191 pages. ISBN 1-4050-4590-6. This short history which was originally published in Germany was...

Think Tank Traditions: Policy Research and the Politics of Ideas.(Book Review)
November 1, 2004... Think Tank Traditions: Policy Research and the Politics of Ideas. Diane Stone and Andrew Denham, editors. [pounds sterling]18.99 p.b. Manchester University Press. xiv + 322 pages. ISBN 0-7190-6479-1. This collection is an expanded, second...

The Collapse of the Soviet Union, 1985-1991.(Book Review)
November 1, 2004... The Collapse of the Soviet Union, 1985-1991. David R. Marples. Pearson Longman. [pounds sterling]9.99. p.b. xxii + 170 pages. ISBN 0-582-50599-2. This title is part of Longman's Seminar Studies in History and therefore combines analyses with...

The Stories of English.(Book Review)
November 1, 2004... The Stories of English. David Crystal. Allen Lane. [pounds sterling]25.00. viii + 584 pages. ISBN 0-713-99752-4. Prof. Crystal's title points to this book's task: to tell the history not just of 'standard' English and how it developed over...

Coffee: A Dark History.(Book Review)
November 1, 2004... Coffee: A Dark History. Antony Wild. Fourth Estate. [pounds sterling]18.99. xi + 323 pages. ISBN 1-84115-649-3. The author, who worked for many years in a speciality coffee roaster company, writes with inside knowledge of his subject. His aim...

Flunkeys and Scullions: Life Below Stairs in Georgian England.(Book Review)
November 1, 2004... Flunkeys and Scullions: Life Below Stairs in Georgian England. Pamela Horn. Sutton Publishing. [pounds sterling]20.00. vii + 328 pages. ISBN 0-7509-2955-3. The author has deservedly earned a name for herself as a social historian of domestic...

SOE in France: An Account of the Work of the British Special Operations Executive in France 1940-1944.(Book Review)
November 1, 2004... SOE in France: An Account of the Work of the British Special Operations Executive in France 1940-1944. M.R.D. Foot. Frank Cass. [pounds sterling]55.00. xxxix + 526 pages. ISBN 0-7146-5528-7. The author, himself part of SOE during the war, has...

Tommy: The British Soldier on the Western Front, 1914-1918.(Book Review)
November 1, 2004... Tommy: The British Soldier on the Western Front 1914-1918. Richard Holmes. HarperCollins. [pounds sterling]20.00. xxxi + 717 pages. ISBN 0-00-713751-6. Debates over the Great War have raged since its end. Here Prof. Holmes, a tele-don who...

The Harold Nicolson Diaries, 1907-1963.(Book Review)
November 1, 2004... The Harold Nicolson Diaries, 1907-1963. Nigel Nicolson, editor. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. [pounds sterling]25.00. 460 pages. ISBN 0-297-84764-3. [pounds sterling]25. Nigel Nicolson has produced another edition of his father's justly celebrated...

The Italian Boy: Murder and Grave-Robbery in 1830 London.(Book Review)
November 1, 2004... The Italian Boy: Murder and Grave-Robbery in 1830 London. Sarah Wise. Jonathan Cape. [pounds sterling]17.99. xix + 347 pages. ISBN 0-224-07176-9. The pathetic savoyard waif, Carlo Ferrari, who begged pennies in the streets of William IV's...