William

Sane, humane, yet defensive and unsure

Reviewed: 12-11-24

Much to agree with about the cultural loss of nerve of the West in general and Britain in particular. The author comes over as perceptive and honest, and compensates for her uncertainties through as defensive rigidity.
I find the critique of woke activists attacking Israel for daring to defend itself as justified. The assertions about the undermining by the progressive left of family values also ring true. The parochial and exclusive attitudes of the self-congratulatory British Left dismissive of any view beyond their own reflect the narcissistic failure of the US Left to keep in touch with the concerns of the poor and vulnerable.
The major flaw in argument is the utter dismissal of the reality of climate change.
You can't win 'em all.

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Adult approach to death

Reviewed: 29-04-24

Intelligent, humane, elegant, with leavening of humour.
A shortened version of the equally appealing Happy. Worth reading as refresher

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Wonderful book, poor reading

Reviewed: 25-04-24

Still in the middle of listening, finding the book a delight. Few writers on Central Europe have such an intimate familiarity with the diverse and complex topic combined with an ability to write with clarity and style. It is let down by the author's limited reading skills. A professional narrator would make this work into a treasure

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1 person found this helpful

A compelling and anxiety-provoking story of the mess our national politics has turned into

Reviewed: 03-03-24

It is short and sharply focussed,written with style and plenty of humour. The venality, vanity and vapidity of the British ruling class are exposed.

The butler service pandering to the whims of the over-monied run by the Queen's nephew, Ben Elliott, for several recent years chairman of the Conservative Party, is perhaps the most disquieting disclosure of the book. There isn't anything secret in it but it is curious that there isn't greater public awareness of such a dubious way of making money. Or maybe it's just me, and everyone else already knows how low our standards have sunk. The gangster-sized fortunes accumulated by legal but immoral plundering of countries like Russia, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan are shocking but maybe not surprising, but seeing flashy and dodgy schemes so close to the heart of power in the UK is uncomfortable.

The toilet-tongued Amersi falls somewhat short of his profile on the Amersi Foundation website as "a renowned global communications entrepreneur, philanthropist and thought leader". What we see is closer to a spiv who has accumulated a fortune by unscrupulous means and now craves limelight and public recognition. This he sees as his entitlement having paid over lots of cash to the powerful. In the current climate it's not hard to see why he could reasonably expect to achieve it.

A sobering and depressing read, but that's down to the subject and not the writing. We should be grateful that the integrity and determination shown by Tom Burgis provide a basis for hope that the situation might change. Maybe even for the better...

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Punishing walk in harshest of places. For what purpose?

Reviewed: 27-02-24

The main impression from listening to this story of danger, darkness, illness and suffering is to wonder why he did it. The obsessive desire to complete every inch of the journey on foot points to a profoundly unhappy disposition. He was lucky to come through it alive and he appears almost to be motivated by a death wish.
The country comes over as broken and its people lost in poverty, ignorance and violence. I liked Afghanistan more when I knew less about it

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1 person found this helpful

Inconvenient truths

Reviewed: 11-02-24

With first hand experience of the situation on the ground Dershowitz describes the fanatical violence of Hamas. Their policy is characterised as "dead baby strategy" - willingly and deliberately firing rockets from civilian areas knowing it will provoke a military response from Israel, then banking the tragic images of the innocent victims. Hamas seeks not reconciliation or peace but destruction of the Jewish state. The fate and future of the poor civilians living in Gaza are of no interest to them.
The book is worth reading but is repetitive. Many of the short chapters are collated from articles Dershowitz has published over time, and there is great overlap in information and interpretation.

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The work of a great historian, but over- detailed

Reviewed: 04-02-24

This is an undoubtedly impressive work. However the fine-grained detail is excessive. So much familiarity with the subject could have produced a more engaging work had the analysis been under thematic headings rather than a blow-by-blow chronological narrative

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Human and occasionally lyrical reflection on war

Reviewed: 04-02-24

Not a life-changing work but an interesting narrative about the soldier's life. Sometimes touching and thoroughly convincing

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Often very funny but is too whimsical to provide much interest

Reviewed: 26-01-24

Too many characters come onto the stage. We get a quixotic portrait of each but they remain no more than actors in a drama rather than people with real lives. I got to the mid point of the book and realised I don't really care what's coming next

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Voice of measure and reason on highly relevant topic

Reviewed: 01-12-23

This book addresses issues with life and death consequences in the real world. It shows how bad ideas can have terrible outcomes, and our current highly polarised opinions need to be based on analysis rather than prejudice

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