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An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears |
Set in Oxford during the Restoration, this historical mystery is brilliantly convincing, with a very dark sense of humour. Since there are lots of twists and turns in the plot, I don't want to give anything away... instead I'll just say that if you don't read it, then you'll never meet the great character, Marco da Cola, gentleman of Venice, who begins the story by writing, 'I'll leave out much, but nothing of significance.'
(bwl 5 October 2000) |
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Berlin by Anthony Beevor |
Covering Berlin's fall, Berlin takes up where Beevor's earlier Stalingrad (bwl 4) left off. His technique is to piece together the story through many first hand accounts. There is plenty here to show the pitiless cruelty of total war (especially the full and previously under-documented extent of rape committed by the Russian army) but ultimately it is the rare but incredible examples of bravery and decency under extreme conditions that I took away from this remarkable book.
(bwl 16 December 2002) |
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Bully for Brontosaurus by Stephen Jay Gould |
'Bully for Brontosaurus' is my favourite of the many collections of Professor Gould's essays on evolutionary biology. The thirty-five essays include thoughts on pandas' thumbs, Mark Twain, the origin of species, caterpillars, Captain Bligh, the planets, ants, dinosaurs etc. Each one is as fresh, beautifully written, honest, funny, clear-headed, and compassionate as the next.
(bwl 3 May 2000) |
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The Fall of Robespierre by Colin Jones |
This book draws on lots of writings (diaries, letters, official documents) from the single day in Paris, 27 July 1794, when Robespierre went from being supremely powerful to suddenly having no power and being destroyed by his own creation. There is so much written material available from this time that Colin Jones has been able to build up an hour by hour account and it reads almost like a novel. One of the best non-fiction books I have read in the last year.
(bwl 109 Summer 2023) |
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The Light Ages: A Medieval Journey of Discovery by Seb Falk |
The time after Rome and before the Renaissance is often called The Dark Ages. The title of this book plays with that. It focuses on the life and mathematical achievements of a particular monk, John of Westwyk. But despite this being a brilliant book and one I highly recommend reading, I still feel that all other periods of humanity (including our own age) seem far more fitting to be called The Light Ages.
(bwl 100 Spring 2021) |
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The Raphael Affair by Iain Pears |
Very different to 'An Instance of the Fingerpost' (the other book by Pears that I've recommended). This is the first in an ongoing series of art world thrillers featuring General Bottando of the Italian Art Theft Squad, his assistant Flavia di Stefano and the Englishman, Jonathan Argyll. If you enjoy this one, you can look forward to (at the last count) five more.
(bwl 5 October 2000) |
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Trilobite! by Richard Fortey |
Trilobites were small, marine dwelling animals that filled our oceans from around 545 to 250 million years ago (about three million years in total). Now extinct, their remains are commonly found as fossils all over the world. Trilobites are Richard Fortey's specialization and obsession. In 'Trilobite!' he succeeds in communicating his life long passion for them, for palaeontology and for life in general. This book is a joy to read and I highly recommend it.
(bwl 9 June 2001) |
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