Book Reviews
Thursday, 16 February 2012 10:56
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The last decades’ resurgence of the radical left has been cut short in recent years. Tom Whittaker assesses a collection of articles discussing the experiences of a range of parties across Europe.
Paul Mason’s first novel is pitched as an exciting entertainment set in the complex world of capitalist China, but has some serious things to say about both China and the nature of capitalism.
Why Noise Matters explores noise pollution, an important but often ignored environmental problem, both intertwined with consumer capitalism, and a class issue.
The rapid pace and intensity of emotion during last years’ revolutionary 18 days in Egypt is reflected in this collection of tweets from key activists of the time, who became known internationally as a result.
This collection ranks as one of the great denunciations of war. In taking the notion of ‘humanitarian’ military intervention to pieces, it is a handbook for radicals today, argues Chris Nineham.
Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions is an important and lucid argument in favour of the measures to be taken against the Israeli state; all those concerned with the future of Palestinians should take note.
Sherard Cowper-Coles is an unrepentant, twenty-first century imperialist who longs for the days of the British Raj. His new book reveals his inability to accomplish anything in Afghanistan except help the US reestablish its hegemony in the region.
Nimako and Willemsen’s The Dutch Atlantic opens a window on the less explored but important Dutch participation in the slave trade. Even today, this has not yet been properly acknowledged in the Netherlands.
The recent monumental biography of Tony Cliff, one of the great post-war Marxist organisers and theorists, is a highly readable and valuable account of the man’s long life in the movement, and will be a permanent classic.
The latest documents surrounding Che Guevara's death exposes the US government's track record of assassinations since the 1950s, and demonstrates how the War on Terror is also a war on the rule of law, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh.
The Assault on Universities is a defence of the social purpose and value of universities in the face of the coalition government’s destructive policies for higher education, outlining also the means and nature of the resistance needed, argues Marienna Pope-Weidemann.
Supporters of the Western occupation of Afghanistan claimed it would rescue women from oppression. Mitra Qayoom reviews Dear Zari by Zarghuna Kargar, a book with a more complex message.
The Political Economy of NGOs is an invaluable contribution to the theorisation of NGOs. Despite the appearance of being agents of social transformation, Fernando explains how NGOs are co-opted by and reproduce the neoliberal state.
Britain’s Empire is unsparing in its portrayal of the horror and brutality of imperialism, but reveals also the breadth and depth of resistance to Empire on the part of the colonised, invaded and enslaved.
Higher education is often presented as a road to opportunity and the route to a more prosperous or equal society. But would more graduates bring greater equality?
The origin of our species might seem a question of purely scientific interest, but it is actually also an intensely political one. Stringer gives us a dialectical understanding of our evolution, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh.
The People's Lawyer reveals just how far bourgeois law can be taken in the struggle against exploitation, repression and oppression, demonstrating that the legal system is not a level playing field.
School Wars exposes the relentless right wing attack on all that is best in our education system. This is demonstrably a key part of the larger attack on the welfare state, argues Neil Faulkner.
A new study of E P Thompson raises old debates and controversies, but does not capture the meaning and continuing value of his history and writing, argues Dominic Alexander.More Articles...
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Events
Books
The People Demand: A short history of the Arab revolutions
By John Rees and Joseph Daher
Strategy and tactics: how the left can organise to transform society
By John Rees
Capitalism and Class Consciousness: the ideas of Georg Lukacs
By Chris Nineham