16th Century
Stories from the Age of Sail
I was going to call this article ‘Wooden Ships and Iron Men’ but then I discovered that Avalon Hill beat me to it about fifty years ago, so ‘Stories from the Age of Sail’ will [more…]
Books
Book Review
Book Review: I Survived, by Victoria Cilliers
The recent tragic suicide by parachute jump of experienced skydiver Jade Damarell, widely reported in the media, brought to mind the Cilliers case of a few years ago, which Victoria Cilliers goes into in this [more…]
Book Review
East West Street
In 2022 I reviewed a book called “The Ratline” by Philippe Sands (Book Review: The Ratline). A book which taught me so much about Nazi Germany and the general history of WWII in Europe. East [more…]
20th Century
Book Review: On top of the world – Mallory and Irvine
With the somewhat macabre discovery of Andrew ‘Sandy’ Irvine’s foot, still in its boot, on Everest last October – Mallory’s body having been found some years before – my interest was awakened in the vast [more…]
Arts
Book Review, ‘Karla’s Choice’ by Nick Harkaway
The children have a WhatsApp group where they conspire to buy me useful things for Christmas and birthdays. This is a big improvement on the old scattergun approach, where everyone either bought me the same [more…]
Literature
The cult of victimhood
It has recently emerged that Raynor Winn (NHRN), whose trip with her husband Moth (also NHRN) along the SW Coastal Path inspired her book ‘The Salt Path’ (followed by the film of the same name [more…]
Book Review
Book Review: The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton
The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton is a masterful blend of dystopian sci-fi and classic murder mystery. Set on an idyllic Greek island, the last refuge in a world [more…]
Book Review
Book Review: An Immigrant’s Love Letter to the West, by Konstantin Kisin
When you live in a country, it is all to easy to see all its faults and shortcomings in horribly clear HD, and much of the national conversation can revolve round these points – what [more…]
20th Century
Book Review: Concorde by Mike Bannister
Introduction In response to Swiss Bob’s lack of articles, I have dashed this out, instead of a fuller version I had planned. In short, I heartily recommend Mike Bannister’s book ‘Concorde’, which I listened to [more…]