Category Archives: Reviews

Politics: The Guardian Weekly – February 2, 2024

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The Guardian Weekly (February 1, 2024) – The new issue features ‘Party Crasher’ – Is Trump more vulnerable than he seems?; Israel, the ICJ ruling and The West; Europe’s Big Bad Wolves and more….

It had all seemed like business as usual for Donald Trump in the aftermath of last week’s New Hampshire Republican primaries, where he scored a comfortable victory over his only remaining challenger, Nikki Haley. And yet … was there something in his subsequent outburst towards Haley that suggested all was not well in Trumpworld?

Barring the mother of all reversals, Trump will soon be confirmed as the Republican presidential nominee. But, as David Smith and Jonathan Freedland outline in this week’s big story, Trump remains a deeply polarising figure in American politics, not least within his own party.

And his petulant irritation at Haley over her refusal to concede the race was a visible reminder to American floating voters of the unhinged personality that lurks beneath the orange veneer, something his campaign team will be desperate to avoid more of.

“The shadow of Trump is long, and his return seems closer than ever,” explains illustrator Alberto Miranda on his cover art for this week’s Guardian Weekly. “He is a controversial figure with a dangerous side and, at the same time, has an utterly comical aspect. That’s why we wanted to portray his influence in the Republican party in an almost grotesque manner.”

Research Preview: Nature Magazine- February 1, 2024

/Minden Pictures

Volume 626 Issue 7997

Nature Magazine – January 31, 2024: The latest issue cover features ‘Significant Otters’ – How restored top predators helped slow down coastal damage; Hijacked neurons boost cancer’s ability to grow and spread; Mechanical process yields flexible fibers for wearable electronics…

How does chronic stress harm the gut? New clues emerge

A bacterium in the intestines of stressed mice interferes with cells that protect against pathogens.

How cancer hijacks the nervous system to grow and spread

A new wave of research is unpicking the relationship between cancer and neurons — and looking for ways to stop the crosstalk.

The clever system that gave Roman wines an amber colour and nutty aroma

Wine-fermentation jars used in Georgia today hint at the properties of ancient vintages.

Technology Quarterly: Where The Internet Lives

Technology Quarterly: Where the internet lives

The Economist (January 31, 2024): The latest issue of THE ECONOMIST TECHNOLOGY QUARTERLY is focused on:

Where the internet lives

Users of the internet can ignore its physical underpinnings. But for technologies like artificial intelligence and the metaverse to work, others need to pay attention, argues Abby Bertics

Arts/Books: Times Literary Supplement – Feb 2, 2024

Times Literary Supplement (January 31 2024): The latest issue features ‘Back to Nature’ – The counterculture begins with Thoreau; Enlightenment dimmed; The secret state and the IRA; Homosexuality in early modern Europe and A family haunting….

History Today Magazine – February 2024 Preview

History Today (January 30, 2024) – The latest issue features ‘The Search For The Buddha’; ‘Blood and Sand’ – The Cold War in North Africa; All In The MInd – A history of phantom pain, and more…

A History of Phantom Pain

A lecture on the nervous system, by C. Bethmont, c.1860. Wellcome Collection. Public Domain.

For centuries, scientists and philosophers used phantom limbs to unravel the secrets of the human mind. While we know phantom pain exists, we still don’t know why.

‘American Journey’ by Wes Davis review

Henry Ford fishing, with Harvey Firestone, George Christian and Thomas Edison, C. 1920. Library of Congress. Public Domain.

American Journey: On the Road with Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and John Burroughs by Wes Davis falls short of examining the consequences that followed the wanderlust.

The Search for the Historical Buddha

The Buddha seated cross legged on a lotus throne, surrounded by scenes from his life. Tibet, 18th century. Photograph © 2023 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. All rights reserved. / Denman Waldo Ross Collection / Bridgeman Images.

Arriving in the West in the 19th century, the Buddha of legend was stripped of supernatural myth and recast as a historical figure. What do we really know about him?

‘Judgement at Tokyo’ by Gary J. Bass review

International Military Tribunal for the Far East judges on the bench, 3 March 1947. UVA LAW Special Collections (CC BY 4.0).

Pacy and even-handed, Judgement at Tokyo: World War II on Trial and the Making of Modern Asia by Gary J. Bass is unlikely to be bettered as a portrait of the Tokyo trials.

Previews: Country Life Magazine-January 31, 2024

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Country Life Magazine – January 30, 2024: The latest issue features How British Rivers Got Their Name; Where to find a really wild man; Miniature collecting and more…

‘Still glides the Stream, and shall for ever glide’

From the Piddle and the Polly to the Yox and the Yeo, the meanings behind the namesof Britain’s rivers run deep, as Vicky Liddell discovers

Call of the wild

The protective, stick-wielding Wild Man that strides through much medieval art has taken on fresh meaning in recent times, reveals Susan Owens

Chainsaw gardening

Taking a blade to our gardens may seem drastic, but a severe pruning sometimes leaves plants and trees in better health, suggests Charles Quest-Ritson

There is wonder in the little things

Huon Mallalieu puts miniatures under the microscope and finds a world of small marvels celebrating power, loyalty and love

Allan Mallinson’s favourite painting

The military historian chooses a moving First World War scene

Murder most pitiful

John Goodall investigates the dramatic events that shaped the history of 18th-century Gilmerton House in Lothian

The devil makes work for idle hands

As dedicated craftspeople fashion a revival in the art of needlepoint, Matthew Dennison can see a pattern emerging

‘Full of a watchful intentness’

John Lewis-Stempel embraces the ‘faerie enchantment’ of the heath as he visits the inspiration for a classic Thomas Hardy novel

Interiors

Matthew Dennison celebrates the Soane chimneypiece that is still hot property after 200 years and Amelia Thorpe’s selections keep the home fires burning

Lord of the rings

Ben Lerwill meets Simon Turner, an arboreal artist who creates wonderful ceramics using the contours and curves of trees

Luxury

Hetty Lintell on high fashion in the Highlands, switching off the stress and astonishing rubies, plus some of McFly drummer Harry Judd’s favourite things

Kitchen garden cook

Melanie Johnson knows her onions, giving an understated kitchen staple a starring role

Ireland’s call

The well-oiled Ireland winning machine can repel France’s strength in depth to retain rugby’s Six Nations Championship, argues Owain Jones

And much more

Preview: Philosophy Now Magazine February 2024

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Philosophy Now Magazine (February/March 2024)The new issue features ‘Irish Philosophy’ – Pure Philosophy, No Blarney; Steven Pinker – On Violence and Metaphors…

Steven Pinker

Steven Pinker is the Johnstone Family Professor of Psychology at Harvard University, and a popular writer on linguistics and evolutionary psychology. Angela Tan interviews him about politics, language, death, and reasons to be optimistic.

Thomas Duddy & Irish Philosophy

Tim Madigan travels through time to seek the essential nature of Irish thought.

Irish Philosophy & Me

Cathy Barry charts her journey through historical Irish thought.

Edmund Burke & the Politics of Reform

Jon Langford outlines conservative insights gained from revolutionary failures.

Philip Pettit & The Birth of Ethics

Peter Stone thinks about a thought experiment about how ethics evolved.

International Art: Apollo Magazine – February 2024

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Apollo Magazine (January 29, 2024): The new February 2024 issue features ‘Giants of Indian Miniature Painting’; The Crisis in Italian Paintings and more…

• Holidaying with the Habsburgs

• An interview with Julie Mehretu

• The crisis in Italian museums

• Howard Hodgkin’s Indian miniatures

Plus: Slim pickings for foodies on Valentine’s Day, Parma’s monumental museum complex, and  – and reviews of Impressionists on paper, experimental art in the Eastern bloc, and Africa and Byzantium at the Met

Previews: The New Yorker Magazine- February 5, 2024

A family shares a meal to celebrate Lunar New Year.

The New Yorker (January 29, 2024): The new issue‘s cover features Sarula Bao’s “Lunar New Year” – The artist depicts the joys of gathering with loved ones, around a table of good food

The Rural Ski Slope Caught Up in an International Scam

When the scheme became public Vermonts governor said “We all feel betrayed.”

A federal program promised to bring foreign investment to remote parts of the country. It soon became rife with fraud.

By Sheelah Kolhatkar

As the general manager of the Jay Peak ski resort, Bill Stenger rose most days around 6 a.m. and arrived at the slopes before seven. He’d check in with his head snowmaker and the ski-patrol staff, visit the two hotels on the property, and chat with the maintenance workers, the lift operators, the food-and-beverage manager, and the ski-school instructors—a kind of management through constant motion. Stenger is seventy-five, with white hair, wire-rimmed reading glasses, and a sturdy physique that makes him look built for fuzzy sweaters. 

The Perverse Policies That Fuel Wildfires

We thought we could master nature, but we were playing with fire.

By Elizabeth Kolbert

Ukraine’s Democracy in Darkness

A photo-illustration of Zelensky and the Ukrainian parliament.

With elections postponed and no end to the war with Russia in sight, Volodymyr Zelensky and his political allies are becoming like the officials they once promised to root out: entrenched.

By Masha Gessen

Reviews: The Top 10 Best Historical Movies (MGM)

MGM (January 28, 2024) – Highlights from the Top Ten Best Historical films including:

A Bridge Too Far (1977)
Directed By: Richard Attenborough
Cast: Dirk Bogarde, James Caan, Michael Caine, Sean Connery, Edward Fox, Elliott Gould, Gene Hackman, Anthony Hopkins, Hardy Kruger, Laurence Olivier, Ryan O’Neal, Robert Redford, Maximilian Schell, Liv

The Alamo (1960)
Produced and Directed by John Wayne
Cast: John Wayne, Richard Widmark, Laurence Harvey, Frankie Avalon, Patrick Wayne, Linda Cristal, Joan O’Brien, Chill Wills, Ken Curtis, Carlos Arruza, Jester Hairston, Joseph Calleia, and guest star Richard Boone

The Battle of Britain (1969)
Directed by Guy Hamilton
Cast: Harry Andrews, Michael Caine, Trevor Howard, Curt Jurgens, Ian McShane, Kenneth More, Laurence Olivier, Nigel Patrick, Christopher Plummer, Michael Redgrave, Ralph Richardson, Robert Shaw, Patrick Wymark, Susannah York

De-Lovely (2004)
Directed By: Irwin Winkler
Cast: Kevin Kline, Ashley Judd, Jonathan Pryce

The Man in the Iron Mask (1998)
Written for the screen and Directed by Randall Wallace
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich, Gerard Depardieu, Gabriel Byrne, Anne Parillaud, Judith Godreche

Alexander the Great (1956)
Written, Produced and Directed By: Robert Rossen
Cast: Richard Burton, Fredric March, Claire Bloom, Barry Jones, Harry Andrews, Stanley Baker, Niall MacGinnis, Danielle Darrieux

The Great Escape (1963)
Produced and Directed by: John Sturges
Cast: Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, James Donald, Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasence, James Coburn

Birdman of Alcatraz (1962)
Directed By: John Frankenheimer
Cast: Burt Lancaster, Karl Malden, Thelma Ritter, Neville Brand, with Edmond O’Brien as “Tom Gaddis,” also starring Betty Field, Telly Savalas

The Bridge at Remagen (1969)
Directed By: John Guillermin
Cast: George Segal, Robert Vaughn, Ben Gazzara, Bradford Dillman, E. G. Marshall

Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
Produced and Directed By: Stanley Kramer
Cast: Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, Marlene Dietrich, Judy Garland as “”Irene Hoffman,”” Maximilian Schell, and Montgomery Clift

#MGM #HistoricalMovies #Compilation