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July 20
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Jonathan
gave
 
to:
Henry's Leg (Paperback)
by Ann Pilling
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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July 12
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Jonathan
gave
to:
Why Read Marx Today? (Paperback)
by Jonathan Wolff
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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July 11
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Jonathan
gave
to:
Homage to Catalonia (Penguin Modern Classics)
by George Orwell
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my rating:
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Jonathan said:
"Consistently over-rated, this book presents an interesting but incomplete and partial picture of the Spanish civil war. Orwell, who appears on the scene to behold the apparent wonder of anarchist Catalonia, chronicles various factors contributing to ...more
Consistently over-rated, this book presents an interesting but incomplete and partial picture of the Spanish civil war. Orwell, who appears on the scene to behold the apparent wonder of anarchist Catalonia, chronicles various factors contributing to Franco's triumph. However, if you really want to get to grips with the reasons why the war was lost there are far better historical analyses which explain a lot more.
The passages where he describes his euphoria at war, and his experience of Spanish anarchist society are interesting but ultimately not very insightful. One gets the impression that he is akin to a tourist who captures a partial insight rather than an active participant who could tell a fuller story. There are surely better first-hand accounts available.
...less
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Jonathan
read and liked
Jeffrey's
review of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream:
"Just out of curiosity, I read this book. Hunter is a classic. If you haven't read this one, do so. This comes across as an autobiography, but with Thompson you never know. A story of drugged out, super hip, insanity in a world gone wrong. Ahhh, yeah,...more
Just out of curiosity, I read this book. Hunter is a classic. If you haven't read this one, do so. This comes across as an autobiography, but with Thompson you never know. A story of drugged out, super hip, insanity in a world gone wrong. Ahhh, yeah, this world. Has the world ever been right? No problems? Utopian? As the great Elastigirl always says, I don't think so.
More specifically, the book is a first-person account by a journalist named Raoul Duke on a trip to Las Vegas with Dr. Gonzo, his "300-pound Samoan attorney," to cover a narcotics officers' convention and the "fabulous Mint 400". During the trip, Duke and his companion (always referred to as "my attorney") become sidetracked by a search for the American Dream, with "...two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high-powered blotter acid, a salt shaker half full of cocaine, and a whole galaxy of multi-colored uppers, downers, screamers, laughers [...] and also a quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case of Budweiser, a pint of raw ether, and two dozen amyls."
A major theme of the novel is the failure of the drug counter-culture. The New York Times stated: "by far the best book yet written on the decade of dope". "The Vegas Book", as Thompson referred to it, was a mainstream success and introduced his Gonzo journalism techniques to the masses.
The language is, as you can see above, hip and phantasmagorical. Read it if you like a counter drug-culture spoof, with lots of drug references, and ultra-hip dialogue and zany happenings. Cool, man!
...less
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Jonathan
gave
to:
Understanding Development: Theory and Practice in the Third World (Paperback)
by John Rapley
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Jonathan said:
"An excellent introduction to the recent trends in the ongoing quest for the economic development of the poor nations of the world. Rapley chronicles the rise and fall of the Import Substitution Industrialisation (ISI) strategy and the dawning of the ...more
An excellent introduction to the recent trends in the ongoing quest for the economic development of the poor nations of the world. Rapley chronicles the rise and fall of the Import Substitution Industrialisation (ISI) strategy and the dawning of the neo-liberal era of the push to market liberalisation. He offers an acute diagnosis of the failings and successes of the ISI period with reference to trends in Africa, Asia and Latin America before going on to assess the impacts of recent developments in these regions.
The thrust of the book is both clear and readily comprehensible, a workable and reinvigorated model of state-led development is needed which looks beyond the narrow confines of market-led strategies championed today. In short, the dogma of neoliberalism which has failed to deliver what it has promised must be supplanted by more diverse and varied strategies which leave room for the "developmental state". ...less
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Jonathan
gave
to:
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (Paperback)
by Hunter S. Thompson
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Jonathan said:
"A frenetic and bizarre journey through the landscapes of mind altering drugs, the sickly spectacle of the contradictions of the American dream writ large (Las Vegas) and the the collapse of the sixties counter-culture. Blending nihilism with social c...more
A frenetic and bizarre journey through the landscapes of mind altering drugs, the sickly spectacle of the contradictions of the American dream writ large (Las Vegas) and the the collapse of the sixties counter-culture. Blending nihilism with social commentary, the sense of alienation from society is so strong it is practically dripping from the pages. ...less
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Jonathan
gave
to:
Jihad (Paperback)
by Gilles Kepel
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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recommended for: Everyone
read in July, 2008
Jonathan said:
"Kepel provides a panoramic account of various incarnations of "political Islam" across the Arab and North African world outlining how and why events have unfolded as they did. At the heart of his analysis are two main insights:
1) Only w...more
Kepel provides a panoramic account of various incarnations of "political Islam" across the Arab and North African world outlining how and why events have unfolded as they did. At the heart of his analysis are two main insights:
1) Only when Islamist movements can united the "devout bourgeoisie", the young urban poor (the "disinherited ones") and the religious clerics can they achieve success. Such an outcome is difficult to achieve given the tension inherent between these different groups though one notable past success occurred in Iran where a broad coalition was built under the tutelage of Khomeini. However, Kepel argues, such success has proved fleeting and the Iranian revolution has stagnated ever since.
2) The violence of Islamist movements which aim at political power is a sign of their weakness. They lack capacity to mobilise the masses and so must resort to spectacular acts of terrorism to attempt to rally the faithful. This, Kepel thinks, is an approach which is destined to fail. The key example he cites is Algeria, where a military coup to stop an Islamist party gaining power via democratic means occurred; when a full-blown jihad was declared the various Islamist groups descended into bouts of internal violence which led to them ultimately alienating the masses they claim to represent.
The book is both an engaging read and dense with detail, which at times can be hard to fully grasp. Nonetheless, his emphasis on the regional dynamics of the middle east in which the Saudis and Iranians vie for hegemony makes for interesting reading as does his emphasis on how Wahhabi teaching and the maddrassa educational system breeds extremism. A compelling read! ...less
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July 01
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Jonathan
gave
to:
Brand New Friend (Paperback)
by Mike Gayle
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Jonathan
gave
to:
Mr. Commitment (Paperback)
by Mike Gayle
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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