I couldn't put this book down - what a story of incredible privilege but also terrible tragedy. The author has quite a concise way of writing, with swI couldn't put this book down - what a story of incredible privilege but also terrible tragedy. The author has quite a concise way of writing, with sweet and funny anecdotes, but reading between the lines, a lot remained untold I think - particularly what went on in Mustique! I would like to read an expanded version of this book!!...more
This is a moving book by one of my favourite people, the wonderful Richard Coles. This is a memoir of love and loss, written following the death of hiThis is a moving book by one of my favourite people, the wonderful Richard Coles. This is a memoir of love and loss, written following the death of his husband David at the age of 43. Richard is such a natural raconteur and his gentle humour and love of people and their stories pervade this book, despite the searing pain and grief of the subject matter. At some point all of us will lose someone we love dearly, and this book will help anyone in that situation. RIP David. Richard, you are a wonderful man. ...more
Dr Sue Black is a forensic anthropologist who I've often seen on TV. Her career is fascinating and she tells her stories well, with compassion and decDr Sue Black is a forensic anthropologist who I've often seen on TV. Her career is fascinating and she tells her stories well, with compassion and decency, particularly her times in Kosovo, detailing terrible crimes against humanity. I found some of her personal musings on death though a little tedious. I am however now thinking of donating my future dead body to medical science!...more
A moving true story of a Danish woman who came near to death with bacterial meningitis and was 'locked in' for a while, only able to communicate by blA moving true story of a Danish woman who came near to death with bacterial meningitis and was 'locked in' for a while, only able to communicate by blinking one eye. Incredibly she survived and has made a good recovery, although she has lost most of her fingers and her sight in one eye. I saw Rikke speak at the Hay Festival, and was struck by her calm demeanour and smiley face. She and her book really are an inspiration. A recommended read....more
My criteria for a 5* read is that I miss its world when I've finished the book. I'm missing Princess Margaret already, though I don't think I would haMy criteria for a 5* read is that I miss its world when I've finished the book. I'm missing Princess Margaret already, though I don't think I would have liked to meet her in real life! The Queen's younger sister was a snob and the mistress of the sharp put-down. She liked to mix with the arty bohemian set, but was quick to make sure they knew she was Royal. Even her closest friends still had to call her 'Ma'am'. This book is not the conventional sort of biography, but 99 chapters (sometimes short) of insights into PM's personality. At times it is hilarious, other times very sad. She was someone born into great privilege but who was unlucky in love. I found the passages about her mistreatment by her husband particularly moving. As a child she was at one time third in line to the throne, but by the end of her life had slipped down to about 11th. The more she 'slipped', it seemed the more snooty she became! After a lifetime of heavy smoking and drinking, she paid the price by having a series of strokes, which ultimately killed her at the age of 71, dying a few months before her mother. Her funeral was very low key compared to that other Princess, Diana. She was cremated in a municipal crematorium in Slough, and there were few bystanders to see her last journey. To cap it all, her children sold her tiara to pay the school fees! I recommend this book to anyone, Royalist or not - its an excellent character study of a fascinating woman (not always fascinating in a good way!) ...more
I have always admired Hillary Clinton and was so hoping she would become the first female President of the USA. It was good to hear her take on the PrI have always admired Hillary Clinton and was so hoping she would become the first female President of the USA. It was good to hear her take on the Presidential election of 2016 and she speaks with searing honesty of her disappointment at losing and looks at every aspect of how this loss came about. I was struck by how caring she is and her strong moral values and desire to help others. This didn't really come over in the election campaign, dominated of course by the media storm over her emails. She talks most worryingly about Russian interference in the American democratic process, which I'm sure also happened in the UK Brexit referendum process. I'm absolutely sure Hillary would have made a wonderful President. ...more
This is a fascinating biography of a man making sense of an unconventional background. Both parents were long standing members of the small Communist This is a fascinating biography of a man making sense of an unconventional background. Both parents were long standing members of the small Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB), and his father Sam was a leading member. This was similar to being born into a religious sect - a strict viewpoint and a way of being separate to the world around him. The young David's heroes were Yuri Gagarin and Lenin, rather than the Beatles or Elvis, he was not allowed to join the Cub Scouts (too imperialistic), or read the Beano comic (published by a firm that would not allow trade unions). The Soviet Union under Stalin was paradise, the United States devilish capitalists. His parents lives consisted of meetings, demos and their whole lives were consumed by their politics. The book combines family memories with a history of the CPGB, which was formed in reaction to the horrors of the first world war, the hardships of its aftermath and inspired by the Bolshevik revolution in Russia, which offered the promise of a socialist utopia, where there would be true equality, good standard of living for all workers and above all, peace. Then of course, it all went wrong. In 1956, Stalin's Russia invaded Hungary and it soon became apparent that the Soviet Union was not such a paradise. The CPGB, like other communist parties in the west, had to face up to the fact that Stalin was a brutal paranoid dictator who killed anyone who he thought was against him. Millions had died. Some in the CPGB left the party at that point, and on further revelations. Others, lie the Aaaronovitch family stuck it out and tried to justify the madness in Russia, On a more personal level, the author's mother Lavender likewise 'stuck it out' in an unhappy marriage. To leave the Party, to leave the marriage, would be unthinkable as it would mean denying everything that had been worked for over a life time. Eventually, in the late 1980s, the CPGB was disbanded following the fall of communism in the USSR and European countries. It seems to me that communism, like religion, tries to make sense of a chaotic world, to impose order over chaos, to give a meaning. Both communism and religion offer the promise of utopia, but sadly both have led to huge bloodshed when their leaders become dogmatic. This was a fascinating book which combined a fascinating personal history with history & politics. Five stars from me! ...more
Kate Summerscale's speciality is researching interesting cases from the past which we have forgotten about today. 'The Wicked Boy' is based on the casKate Summerscale's speciality is researching interesting cases from the past which we have forgotten about today. 'The Wicked Boy' is based on the case of Robert Coombes, who at the age of 13, stabbed his mother to death in her bed. The case was a sensation in the late Victorian era and raised issues such as the influence of the sometimes gory 'Penny Dreadfuls' publications on the minds of young boys, and the benefits or not of educating the 'lower classes'. Robert was found guilty on the grounds of insanity, and sent to Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum. The book follows Robert's progress through life, and discusses a wide variety of issues that were pertinent to him. I found the descriptions of Broadmoor particularly fascinating. It was an unusually enlightened place for those times. Following release, Robert emigrated to Australia and fought in the Australian forces at Gallipoli, with distinction. He died in the 1940s in Australia, where he forged a new life for himself where no one knew about his past. I enjoyed the book but my favourite of Kate Summerscale's books remains her first - the wonderful 'Queenof Whale Cay'. ...more
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