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),... »
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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).... »
Avatar (director: James Cameron)
Delusion, distractions, dialectic. Mike Belbin reviews James Cameron’s new blockbuster ‘Avatar’. James Cameron first came to prominence as a superior special effects and action writer-director with Terminator, Aliens and Terminator 2. He went on to acquire even more fame with Titanic, combining the highest movie budget of all time with a frosting of social concern and... »
Red planets: Marxism and science fiction – Mark Bould and China Miéville (eds)
Blind, dumb logic of capitalism. James Turley reviews Mark Bould and China Miéville (eds) Red planets: Marxism and science fiction Pluto, 2009, pp293, £19.99. When English literature departments first arose in Anglo-Saxon academia, their purpose was in some ways relatively well defined. The bourgeoisie, so its political allies in the aristocracy and flunkies among the intelligentsia... »
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 city and the city – China Miéville
Uncanny detective story. James Turley reviews China Miéville’s The city and the city London 2009, pp312, £17.99. China Miéville is one of the foremost writers in contemporary genre fiction. He is somewhat unique in that, unlike many others, his crossover success has not involved disavowing the generic in favour of the more conventionally ‘literary’ – on... »
Capitalism: a love story – Michael Moore (director)
Searing indictment of US capitalism spoilt by nostalgia for Roosevelt’s New Deal Jim Creegan reviews Michael Moore’s (director) Capitalism: a love story 2009 (no UK release date yet) Reporting over a year ago in the Weekly Worker on the US presidential elections, I observed that ‘capitalism’ is a word seldom heard among the radical-liberals who comprise... »
Matthew Cobb, author of ‘The Resistance: the French fight against the Nazis’, examines the contradictory role of the French Communist Party during World War II
Lions led by donkeys In June 1940, the Nazi blitzkrieg led to the occupation of France. A puppet government was set up in Vichy and France began to be transformed into an exploited colony. Virtually straightaway, ordinary people took action. They produced leaflets, cut telephone cables and eventually set up underground organisations. Alongside members of the... »