Sects and ‘new left’ disillusionment. Mike Macnair reviews P Blackledge, N Davidson (eds) Alasdair MacIntyre’s engagement with Marxism: selected writings 1953-1974, Brill (Historical materialism series),... »
History
Arthur Horner: a political biography – Nina Fishman
Coal and Clausewitz. Lawrence Parker reviews Nina Fishman’s ‘Arthur Horner: a political biography’ (Vol 1 1894-1944; Vol 2 1944-68), Lawrence and Wishart, 2010, pp608, £22.50 each. While writing this review, my attention was drawn to a Doncaster Socialist Workers Party resignation letter that has recently been circulating on the internet. In the... »
A pub crawl through history: the ultimate boozers’ Who’s who – Mike Pentelow and Peter Arkell
Liquid research. David Douglass reviews Mike Pentelow and Peter Arkell’s ‘A pub crawl through history: the ultimate boozers’ Who’s who’ Janus, 2010, pp368, £16.99. This is the most amusing, interesting and informative view of history I have come across. Told through the pub signs of Britain, it is recalled through their characters... »
The co-operative movement and communities in Britain, 1914-60 – Nicole Robertson
Co-ops against capitalism. Arthur Bough reviews Nicole Robertson’s ‘The co-operative movement and communities in Britain, 1914-60′ Ashgate, 2010, pp268, £55. For today’s generation, growing up in a world dominated by Tesco, it’s impossible to understand how important the Co-op was in working class life. When I grew up in the 1950s and... »
The bourgeois revolution in France 1789-1815 – Henry Heller; and, Ideology, absolutism and the English revolution: debates of the British communist historians, 1940-1956 – David Parker (ed)
Models of revolution. Mike Macnair reviews Henry Heller’s ‘The bourgeois revolution in France 1789-1815′ Bergahn Books, 2006, pp172, £20.13; and, David Parker’s (ed) ‘Ideology, absolutism and the English revolution: debates of the British communist historians, 1940-1956′ Lawrence and Wishart, 2008, pp285, £18.99. PART ONE. These two books are – in different ways – approaches to the bourgeois... »
Trotsky: a biography – Robert Service
In defence of Leon Trotsky. Hillel Ticktin demolishes Robert Service’s much hyped Trotsky: a biography. Bob Service’s book on Leon Trotsky has been very widely reviewed by left and right. Perhaps one of the best reviews is by Paul Le Blanc (‘Second assassination of Trotsky’ Links – International Journal of Socialist Renewal: links.org.au/node/1440).... »
The wheel’s still in spin – David Douglass
When the sweets were taken away. Craig Wilson reviews David Douglass’s The wheel’s still in spin, 2009, pp466, £12.95 David Douglass has been around the block a bit. Also known as ‘Danny the Red’, Douglass is a Jarrow born political activist who has spent a large chunk of his life in the Yorkshire coalfield,... »
Don’t you hear the H bombs thunder? Youth and politics on Tyneside in the late 50s and early 60s – John Charlton
Old myth exposed Dave Douglass reviews John Charlton’s ‘Don’t you hear the H bombs thunder? Youth and politics on Tyneside in the late 50s and early 60s’ (Merlin, 2009, pp202, £14.95) John Charlton has put together a most fascinating social history of the 50s and 60s ‘movement’ on Tyneside, in a book published by North East... »
The invention of the Jewish people – Shlomo Sand
A nail in the Zionist coffin. Tony Greenstein reviews Shlomo Sand’s The invention of the Jewish people Verso, 2009, pp313, £18.99. Shlomo Sand begins his book with a series of personal stories, whose characters all have a connection with himself. There was Gisela, whose mother was taken from Drancy, just outside Paris, straight to Auschwitz, where... »
Dynamite: the story of class violence in America – Louis Adamic
Anarchist bombs and working class struggle. David Douglass reviews Louis Adamic’s Dynamite: the story of class violence in America AK Press, 2009, pp352, £13. AK are to be highly congratulated for bringing out this book. It was first published in 1931, with a revised edition in 1934, republished 1958 and abridged back into availability in 1984. I... »
The Third Reich and the Palestine question & Zionism and anti-Semitism in Nazi Germany – Francis Nicosia
Zionist collaborators with Nazism revealed Tony Greenstein reviews two books by Francis Nicosia: The Third Reich and the Palestine question London 1985, pp320, £25.50; and Zionism and anti-Semitism in Nazi Germany Cambridge 2008, pp344, £50 When in trouble, the first line of defence is to accuse your critics of anti-Semitism. Even if they are Jewish Zionists!... »