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),... »
Books
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... »
David Harvey interview
Rethinking revolution. David Harvey, Marxist academic and author of the newly published The enigma of capital, spoke to Mark Fischer. Many commentators, from both Marxist and non-Marxist standpoints, predicted the current capitalist crisis. But have there been any features that surprised you? Something that has surprised me about the way this crisis presents itself is the extremely... »
A companion to Marx’s Capital – David Harvey
Not just a study aid. Andrew Coates reviews David Harvey’s ‘A companion to Marx’s Capital’ Verso, 2010, pp320, £10.99. “Of course, we have all read, and all do read, Capital.” Louis Althusser’s opening words to Reading Capital (1968) were improbable to most Marxists then, and even more unlikely now. Forty years on, in the wake of the... »
A people’s agenda: a pamphlet for the general election 2010
Limits of Labourism. Ben Lewis reviews the Labour Representation Committee’s ‘A people’s agenda: a pamphlet for the general election 2010’ pp12, donation. The Labour Representation Committee has been stepping up its activity for the election. A campaign of the Labour left whose most prominent leader is John McDonnell MP, the LRC is unsurprisingly calling for a... »
Alasdair MacIntyre’s engagement with Marxism: selected writings 1953-1974 – P Blackledge & N Davidson (eds)
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), 2008, pp443, £89. This book was an interesting project, but is less interesting as a product. Alasdair MacIntyre is an eminent moral philosopher. He is chiefly famous for After virtue (1981), which... »
A beginner’s guide to acting English – Shappi Khorsandi
Wiping away a tear. Charlie Pottins reviews Shappi Khorsandi’s A beginner’s guide to acting English, Ebury Press, London 2009, pp330 £11.99. They say your old time Yiddish music hall audience expected a laugh, a cry and a catchy song. Melodious as her giggle might be, however, Shappi Khorsandi did not give us a song when she... »
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).... »