In The Dawn of everything I found a great deal of food for my confirmation bias. This is often a … More
Category: Books
Representing
This third and final part of Kim Stanley Robinson’s Science In The Capital series maintains the very consistent tone established … More
Eating the world
Not many of us, I suspect, think of the British Empire much in terms of food. I certainly didn’t, before … More
A shotgun blast of flawed brilliance
Seveneves is Neal Stephenson in his pomp. This book combines all his most splendid qualities as a writer: his febrile … More
Necessary questions
Fifty Degrees Below takes over more or less exactly where Forty Signs Of Rain leaves off, but it shifts focus … More
True history
This small book, published in 404 Ink’s ‘Inklings’ series, covers a subject close to my heart—since starting to listen heavily … More
Founding a field
Finally, an academic has written a book about what I spend most of my time doing. Well, I say finally… … More
Deniable plausibility
I’ve been on a mission recently to catch up with the output of two of my favourite writers, Kim Stanley … More
Action stations
Kim Stanley Robinson keeps coming back to what might be described as ‘environmental fiction’, and ecological themes are never far … More
A world of experience
I’m not too sure why it’s taken me so long to get around to reading Hilary Mantel’s novels about the … More
History of tradition
I think I’ve burnt myself out on research now. There’s a lot more I could read to expand my thinking … More
An orrery of thought
Having finished reading Neal Stephenson’s epic historical trilogy The Baroque Cycle it’s quite hard, on reflection, to recall everything that’s … More
Putting medicine in its place
The historian Roy Porter was known during his lifetime as a ‘one-man book factory’, a prodigiously productive scholar who wrote … More
The last man who knew everything (about bread)
Mostly if I want to find out about something (I call it ‘research’ when I’m feeling self-important), I look on … More