Honigstein does a good job here - it'd be wrong for me to resort to the usual stereotypes of Germany in praising the efficiency and confidence of the Honigstein does a good job here - it'd be wrong for me to resort to the usual stereotypes of Germany in praising the efficiency and confidence of the writing, though these were merits in addition to the wit and approachability of this book. The author aims to tell the story of how, post the disasters at the 2000 and 2004 European Championships, German football embraced a number of new tactical, technical, philosophical and cultural changes, culminating in the nation's 2014 World Cup win.
It's entertaining, both serving as a record of that victorious tournament and also the journey that the national game took to get there. It was thought provoking in the sense that I wondered how a book on English football would work about the same sort of renaissance (albeit that England's men haven't won anything for six decades) and I felt Honigstein clearly knew his stuff and had sought some excellent contributors.
I couldn't however escape the fact that since this was published in 2015 Germany made the Euro semi-finals in 2016 then suffered embarrassing group stage exits at the 2018 and 2022 World Cups and didn't progress very far in the 2020 and 2024 Euros.. which sorta puts the book unfortunately in a different light in terms of 'successful reinvention' (I say, as an Englishman aware of my team also having won nothing)....more
I picked this up on the strength of a brief glance at the cover - ‘Oh, Alan Davies, I quite like him, I would probably enjoy a light 1970s/1980s comedI picked this up on the strength of a brief glance at the cover - ‘Oh, Alan Davies, I quite like him, I would probably enjoy a light 1970s/1980s comedian memoir’ - and didn’t have any particularly strong expectations.
This is, in fact, a profoundly deep and moving autobiography, dealing mainly with the author’s troubled childhood and adolescence, and taking what can’t have been an at all easy course through bereavement, child abuse and the rifts these cause within and outside the family. A lot deeper a book than expected, but told with wit and honesty and in a manner which I found compelling and readable despite the sad subjects. ...more
Frank and honest, detailed and very interesting indeed. Shepherd here discusses both cases in which he has has involvement, and also his personal jourFrank and honest, detailed and very interesting indeed. Shepherd here discusses both cases in which he has has involvement, and also his personal journey to becoming a forensic pathologist, as well as the events later in his career that affected him so significantly and personally.
Perchance reading his second book recently before this - his first - affected how I felt about it. This felt like it was cathartic for the author, a difficult read in places. However, I found this a very absorbing read. ...more
A short read, but a witty one - Ayoade here with a paean to what by most accounts is a disposable and silly rom-com movie ('View from the Top'), castiA short read, but a witty one - Ayoade here with a paean to what by most accounts is a disposable and silly rom-com movie ('View from the Top'), casting his knowledgeable eye over the film and offering insights in a manner both mocking and praising.. and I'm not entirely sure what to take from it all, though I very much enjoyed the couple of hours it took to read this. What could've been twee and/or arch in another's hands here comes across appreciative and kind, for all the satire. ...more
Did this make some interesting points about anthropology and the development of language in hominids and humans? Yes, it did. Did this also discuss thDid this make some interesting points about anthropology and the development of language in hominids and humans? Yes, it did. Did this also discuss the role of music in human societies over time? Yes. However it did not convince me of what the author was trying to claim, that music specifically has had the importance in human history for the wide range of reasons discussed. I just wasn't at all persuaded by the stance the author was trying to make that music can be thought of in the same terms as language, as being vital in why/how humans have evolved the complex societies that they have.
The writing style also frequently bored me. The book came over more like a thesis - a review of various researchers' work in linguistics, anthropology, cognition, zoology, archaeology, sociology, neuroscience and music theory. Lots of interesting factual bits strung together in what didn't really for me make for a coherent and compelling argument for the importance of music in human evolution. Perhaps it's the field of science I am more rooted in, I just felt most of the foundations were a little flimsy - few paradigms involving small amounts of data. ...more
A third book I have read by this author, and a third middling three-star review. This, like 'Never Let Me Go', had a sorta dystopian alternative futurA third book I have read by this author, and a third middling three-star review. This, like 'Never Let Me Go', had a sorta dystopian alternative future sci-fi aspect to it, the titular Klara being an artificial intelligence android companion to a teenage girl, the story describing her life in the shop prior to purchase, with her family owners, and once her useful life ends.
I guess for all that I thought there were some interesting ideas explored, I didn't much enjoy the book. Ishiguro comes over as someone keen to explore intriguing concepts, but I found too much of the denouement scattered throughout the book to feel 'held back for dramatic effect', too many of the gaps in characters understanding to be inconceivable, and far too much of the narrative to rely on cutesy misunderstanding and misconception (which I just found twee). Maybe had it been a short story I'd have found it more palatable, but as a novel I barely could stomach it - despite being aware it was good quality literature....more
Had I paid the RRP of £9.99 for this (though tbh, it's a stocking filler - not the sort of book you buy for yourself normally) I would've been slightlHad I paid the RRP of £9.99 for this (though tbh, it's a stocking filler - not the sort of book you buy for yourself normally) I would've been slightly disappointed, but for a quid fifty from a charity shop, that wasn't a concern. A breezy, at times funny and at time cringey, often interesting little jaunt through the mathematics of Christmas - present wrapping topology, game theory in Monopoly, rudimentary generation of The Queen's Speech, Santa's calorific intake, crackers and a few other things beside. I particularly enjoyed the discussions of cooking a solid spherical turkey. So a three out of five only because I was vaguely irritated by the commercial nature and brevity....more
This was OK. The premise was interesting, but I don't think it delivered - I was hoping to read more about morality and more in-depth sociology, but wThis was OK. The premise was interesting, but I don't think it delivered - I was hoping to read more about morality and more in-depth sociology, but what this book turned out to be was a fairly shallow race through a few areas of psychology - music, risk taking, alcohol, love etc. - with brief discussions of a number of studies with quirky results. Alas most of these studies are pretty well-known to someone who has read a bit of pop-psychology/sociology in their time, hence my enjoyment was limited. There's only so much excusing of a shallow book by saying 'stimulus for further reading' that you can do.
Despite half this short book being nothing new to me, however, there were some intriguing bits that were novel. The author's writing style was a little tedious in his laboured use of humour though - it almost seemed like someone had told him that he needed to make a funny comment every five paragraphs to stop the book from being too dry. If a reader can't get through your light 230 page popular science book without you 'being jokey', maybe there's a bigger issue here....more
Boring. This was nice prose, but it soon began to dawn on me that for all that.. it wasn't very interesting to me. A handful of characters who seemed Boring. This was nice prose, but it soon began to dawn on me that for all that.. it wasn't very interesting to me. A handful of characters who seemed to spend all their time thinking back (and thus providing biographical information to the reader - it was a device I didn't much find convicing) interspersed with the author laying on with a trowel the early 1950s timeframe, the isolated Hebridean setting, and the Operation Cauldron factual events which this novel was based around. To me it didn't succeed for the author to create a fictional story around a post-war real event, fell flat more than the other book (about the 1919 sinking of the Iolaire) by the same author I have read....more
I was slightly disappointed by this. Here Richter brings her investigative journalism to the world of cults, focussing particularly on three (a drug/sI was slightly disappointed by this. Here Richter brings her investigative journalism to the world of cults, focussing particularly on three (a drug/sex commune, a tantric yoga retreat also with sex abuse issues, and a traditional Christian community) and the damage done. There's extensive research and interviews with survivors and accused/convicted ex-members and staff. The author immerses herself in aspects to try and get a better understanding.
It made for difficult reading - both in the sense that a lot of harrowing abuse was discussed, and in the sense that at times I found the style of the book overly anecdotal and human interest, approaching misery porn. I ended up feeling a little unhappy that there wasn't enough exploration of why these cults can turn this way, why people are drawn to them, why behaviour isn't challenged, why people don't leave etc. For all that many of those taken in by all this are innocent, for all that there has been a lot of abuse of the vulnerable, to me as someone without a New Age or religious bone in their body, I find it difficult to fully understand how some of these things can be allowed to happen, and this book didn't succeed in explaining....more
I understand this is damning with faint praise, but I bought this, regretted buying it because I'm not that much of a believer in conspiracies (I'm anI understand this is damning with faint praise, but I bought this, regretted buying it because I'm not that much of a believer in conspiracies (I'm an evidence based, critical appraisal of information type person), assumed the book would be rubbish, resisted reading it, then decided I'd get it out the way and read it.
I found it OK. Not full of shit as I thought it might be, the author attempts to explain *why* certain conspiracies have gained traction, what questions/inconsistencies remain, and to provide balance. There's a good range of forty or more conspiracies covered, but perhaps some were dealt with in too little detail, and some really shouldn't have been included at all. Had I been 'into' conspiracies, this might stimulate further investigation.. but in the end it was all a less bad than expected, but not that interesting book. Subjective, I know....more
Fascinating, well-written and something which deserves a lot of credit for balancing the human, the medical and the readable. Though at times I thoughFascinating, well-written and something which deserves a lot of credit for balancing the human, the medical and the readable. Though at times I thought Shepherd's style did meander slightly off tangent into his personal views, in general as these views were those of an intelligent and respected voice, this never became problematic. As sad as some of the cases made me feel, I can't say I always enjoyed the read, but it was satisfying and intriguing....more
I admire and agree with the sentiment - too much history focusses on the achievements of (generally white) men and it's important to acknowledge that I admire and agree with the sentiment - too much history focusses on the achievements of (generally white) men and it's important to acknowledge that women contributed plenty and would have done so more if not for all the barriers and assumptions and the like. This short book explores the achievements of twenty-one carefully chosen women, and I applaud the idea and the fact this made for a pretty readable - possibly young adult and casual reader type target audience - introduction to a number of key figures.
I did find the writing style a little irritating, Murray's attempts at being witty with an exclamation point generally fell short for me, and I felt also that there was sometimes an odd balance of biographical versus factual in places. I know that managing to do X, Y and Z despite the attitudes of the time and having a husband and family commitments was an even bigger achievement but I was more interested in the the things these women did than the background to their circumstances.
I also thought the choices were relatively obvious in the main. Of course it's important to speak about the most famous examples, but I'm sure most people could predict over half of the women included, and many people already knew a fair amount about them as they're justifiably held up as examples whenever women's history and feminism is discussed - hence the amount of new information I picked up was modest....more
I quite enjoyed this (certainly a pleasant change from gritty and fast-paced crime thrillers etc.) and found it charming and witty. Fascinating too hoI quite enjoyed this (certainly a pleasant change from gritty and fast-paced crime thrillers etc.) and found it charming and witty. Fascinating too how attitudes have changed in the last 75 years since this was published, I was surprised at some of the casual sexism and class differences which were very much of the time.
What was an intriguing mystery (that of a teenage girl making accusations that she'd been kidnapped, imprisoned in an attic and made to act as a maid) that's based on a real life case if I understood correctly, it was slightly bogged down in excessive description and a sense that in the end the mystery wasn't so much solved by anyone as 'had someone appear fifty pages from the end and the whole thing fall in the lap of the hero'. I felt therefore less enamoured of this than the other Josephine Tey's I have read....more
Moderately interesting, this book explored nine cases of multiple murder in the Soviet Union and subsequent states, and aimed to provide insight into Moderately interesting, this book explored nine cases of multiple murder in the Soviet Union and subsequent states, and aimed to provide insight into the social and political context which led to these grim killers committing their crimes (and getting away with them for some time). It succeeded to some extent but I ended up feeling the crimes had been outlined with a touch too little supportive information or exploitation of the specifics of why or how serial killers in the USSR and former republics etc. came to be. It just felt relentlessly bleak and uncomfortable to be reading in an objective manner about cannibalism, rape, mental illness and state failings....more
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed this little crime caper with a bit of dark humour (a bit Chris Brookmyre, a bit 'bloke lit', perchance like some of the Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed this little crime caper with a bit of dark humour (a bit Chris Brookmyre, a bit 'bloke lit', perchance like some of the other comedians who I have read novels by.. Mark Watson, Alexis Sayle) about a legal assistant chap in London who gets embroiled in some conspiracies and falls for a young woman he meets in the pub. It made for an entertaining read. I was slightly surprised how much Mortimer dialled back his surreal and meandering comedic style however - not a bad thing necessarily as I think it would have made this story a bit of a struggle were it as weird as he can be - but this and a plot that didn't veer far into the unpredictable meant it all ended up a bit 7/10 for me....more
A novella, a shorter novella, and a couple of short stories.. this was entertaining, dark and witty in the main. Many of the aspects I recall enjoyingA novella, a shorter novella, and a couple of short stories.. this was entertaining, dark and witty in the main. Many of the aspects I recall enjoying in earlier MacBride novels, nice to return to some familiar characters. However, it was in places a little cartoonish and too silly, plus the same tired similes for DCI Steel are getting a touch tedious. For the 20p I paid in a library sale however, you can't complain....more
A well-researched book, and the style in which Palin details the life of Erebus (and Terror) and those associated with her voyages was readable and geA well-researched book, and the style in which Palin details the life of Erebus (and Terror) and those associated with her voyages was readable and gently intriguing. I was however left slightly underwhelmed. Perhaps it's because I was naturally compelled to draw comparisons with the book on The Belgica I read last year, which felt more complete and well-rounded partially due to the better recording of the voyage. Perhaps I felt the balance of historical/biographical information versus geographical/scientific information was not quite to my taste with a lot of the book dealing with stuff that happened 'in port' and between voyages.
Most likely though is that Palin was limited by what he was able to tell. The most famous part of the story of the Erebus is the fateful final voyage, about which much is uncertain. This takes up the last hundred or so pages of the book, and because of the limited amount that this constitutes, the author has to spend the first two thirds of the book discussing the less-interesting earlier voyages and lean heavily on discussions of the Victorian lives of the explorers and their families. This made for a book which never got above the 'quite interesting' for me....more
Objectively, very good indeed. Subjectively, slightly less so - but only as a consequence of my already having a professional knowledge of infectious Objectively, very good indeed. Subjectively, slightly less so - but only as a consequence of my already having a professional knowledge of infectious disease and genetics (paradigms here well-known, science spoken about here in terms the layperson could understand) and much of the content having been covered in more detail in a couple of Steven Pinker books I've read recently.
Plenty of little new nuggets, however, fascinating to point out things I was already aware of and relate them to human mortality, and a very readable and light (not shallow, jut non-dark considering the subject matter) read....more
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