A World History of Architecture
‘A World History of Architecture’ (2nd Edition) by Michael Fazio, Marian Moffett and Lawrence Wodehouse; Laurence King, 2008. 692pp Reviewed by Austin Williams | 3 August 2008 This is a scholarly work that is thoroughly researched, beautifully presented and genuinely fascinating. The authors pull off a difficult balancing act: presenting highbrow ideas in a readable manner while ensuring that it is neither an academic text book nor a...
The Meaning of (Terry Eagleton’s) Life
‘The Meaning of Life’ by Terry Eagleton; Oxford University Press, 2007. 128pp Reviewed by Dennis Hayes | 8 May 2008 We discover at the end of this short book that the ‘meaning of life’, for Eagleton, can be expressed in the metaphor of a jamming jazz band. This form of ‘collectivity’ is both a replacement for lost forms of radical social and political tradition and an offer of something seemingly positive in our atomised...
‘The Islamist’
‘The Islamist’ by Ed Husain; Penguin, 2007. 288pp Reviewed By Robin Walsh | April 2008 Ed Hussein’s tale of his time as a member of Hizb ut Tahrir is part memoir of misspent radical youth, part post-911 exploration of Islamic extremism. But despite falling between two genres known for their tendency towards the hysterical, Hussein’s book is both engaging and quite revealing about a number of aspects of contemporary...
The Craftsman
‘The Craftsman’ by Richard Sennett; Allen Lane, 2008. 304pp Reviewed by Martin Earnshaw | April 2008 The roots of The Craftsman, the first book in a forthcoming three volume work, go deep into the belly of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Richard Sennett recalls a conversation he had with his old teacher Hannah Arendt about the relationship between material innovation and politics. The relevance of such a conversation at the...
Dictionary of Environment and Conservation
‘Oxford Dictionary of Environment and Conservation’ by Chris Park; Oxford University Press, 2008. 522pp. Reviewed by Austin Williams | March 2008 The first word in the Oxford Dictionary of Environment and Conservation is “aa” – a Hawaiian word, pronounced “ah-ah”, defined here as volcanic lava rock. This opening definition seems to be there solely to distract the reader from the banality of...
Transforming New York
‘Robert Moses and the Modern City: The Transformation of New York’ edited by Hilary Ballon and Kenneth T. Jackson; Norton, 2008. 336pp Reviewed by Alastair Donald | 20 January 2008 This illuminating volume was published to tie in with a three part exhibition held in New York in early 2006. It acts as an extensive catalogue of built and unbuilt projects from during Moses period in public office from 1934 until he was ousted...
The Islamist
‘The Islamist’ by Ed Husain; Penguin, 2007. 288pp Reviewed By Martin Earnshaw | November 2007 Since 7/7 made us aware that Islamist terrorism is as more likely to be produced at home than abroad, there has been a hardening of attitude towards the “extremists” in our midst and calls for “moderate” Muslims to disown them. Ed Husain’s book is a well-timed intervention in these debates, billed as an insider’s account of what...
Immigrants: Your Country Needs Them
‘Immigrants: Your Country Needs Them’, by Philippe Legrain; Abacus, 2007. 384pp Reviewed By Steve Nash | September 2007 This is a thought-provoking and timely book. Thought-provoking in that it makes you think through your ideas about migration; timely in that it goes to the heart of society’s feelings about change and the modern world. The issue of immigration is never far from the news and raising the question of open...
An Un-American Life
‘An Un-American Life: The Case of Whittaker Chambers’ by Sam Tanenhaus; Old Street Publishing, 2007. 672pp Reviewed by Austin Williams | 9 June 2007 ST refuses to be drawn. On anything. I have come to interview him about his re-released book ‘Whitaker Chambers: An Un-American Life’ exploring and explaining the lives and times of the key players during the McCarthy period in post-war America. His new introduction mentions...
Estates: An Intimate History
‘Estates: An Intimate History’ by Lynsey Hanley; Granta Books, 2007. 256pp Reviewed by Dave Clements | 26 February 2007 There used to be a sign on an estate I’d walk through in Hackney on my way home that read ‘No mind games’. I don’t know how long it had been there, so subtle and unassuming, but soon enough it was back to ‘No ball games’. Some pre-Banksy surrealist prankster had managed in their own small way to...
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