Campaign lit
Reviewed by John Barron
A Nation Like No Other: Why American Exceptionalism MattersBy Newt GingrichRegnery PublishingWashington DC 2011… more»
Fast flat world
Reviewed by Judith Sloan
I must admit to being a fan of this type of book—a sweeping and self-confident examination of long periods of economic history. Given the need for generalisation and simplification, the end-result is often a take-it-or-leave-it option for the reader. I particularly admired Gregory Clark’s A Farewell to Alms, which investigated… more»
Double Bloom
Reviewed by Peter Craven
Harold Bloom is a marvel of a critic who is also the kind of walking mystery who seems an absolutely familiar character of the literary and critical worlds, a ham in search of his shadow. The explanation of the Bloom phenomenon and the fact that he is, since the death of… more»
A celebration of restraint
Reviewed by Tom Switzer
In July 1956, the Egyptian dictator Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalised the Suez Canal, which was run by a company controlled by Egypt’s former colonial masters, Britain and France. This sparked a chain of events that led to the brink of war. Meanwhile, the US president who could influence the course… more»
Worth noting
Reviewed by Peter Coleman
An Unwinnable War: Australia in AfghanistanBy Karen MiddletonMelbourne University PressMelbourne 2011… more»
