Reviews

The reality of US foreign policy has been dissected by a large range of analysts (Gabriel Kolko, Michael Klare, etc) but the grim realities of British foreign policy appear to have received comparatively little attention. Mark Curtis is one of the few to have subjected Britain's post-WWII role to proper critical scrutiny.

The basic thesis of Web of Deceit is that “Britain's basic priority - virtually its raison d'etre for several centuries - is to aid British companies in getting their hands on other countries' resources”…

Tatamkhulu Afrika, 83 this year, had his first novel obliterated by the Blitz. Of Middle Eastern origin, he fought the Nazis in World War Two and apartheid in South Africa. In German prison camps he performed with Denholm Elliott. And in South Africa he is a renowned poet.

Now, finally, his prose is available in print. It's powerful stuff, based on his experiences as a PoW in North Africa and Occupied Europe. In content and style, though, the book is less a standard WWII memoir than the novels of, say, Pat Barker. Like…

At first sight, this book looks exciting and compelling. The blurb focuses on its relevance to debates about warfare and world security post-S11. And the title, to my mind, conjures up images of nuclear tests, Agent Orange, dirty bombs and the spraying of dangerous fungicides over Colombian hillsides. Inside, however, one finds a lost opportunity - or perhaps a cynical attempt to grab a marketing opportunity by the judicious addition of current buzzwords to a historical study of fairly narrow interest.

The book is…

As its title suggests, Norman Finkelstein's Myth and Reality explodes a series of myths about the Israel-Palestine conflict. Among the myths tackled are: that the dispossession of the Palestinians in 1948 was “born of war, not by design”; that the 1967 war was a “live or perish” battle for Israel's national existence; and that Israel's victory in the 1973 war forced Sadat to sue for peace with Israel (in fact the reverse is true). In each case Finkelstein's analysis, backed by prodigious scholarship, is devastating.

This second…

The essays in this volume address the tension between two widely held principles. The first is that a nation's borders should be respected, the second is that human rights should be protected.

The tension obviously arises when it is thought that in order to uphold the latter, it is necessary to override the former. The individual contributions to this debate (all originally conference papers) approach this central issue in a number of ways, with different emphases and varying degrees of directness.

As is the way with such…

In 1985, at the height of the Iran-Iraq war, all-round American patriot Colonel Oliver North met with Iranian businessmen in a hotel room in Frankfurt: “...one of the things that we would like to do, okay, is we would like to become actively engaged in ending this war in such a way that it becomes very evident to everybody that the real problem in preventing peace in the region is Saddam Hussein, and we'll have to take care of that...“

With this introduction, images of that tall, well-groomed military man in a…

The five chapters of this book were originally part of a longer book, And justice for all, published in1963 (the other five chapters can be found at http://www.oceanbooks.com.au ). The author, William Kunstler, who died in 1995, was a radical US defence lawyer whose clients included Martin Luther King and Malcolm X.

The reissue is in response to the current attack on civil liberties in the US in the wake of 11 September 2001, and includes a new introduction which examines the “anti…

The Good Shopping Guide is the world's first comprehensive ethical reference guide to clearly list the behaviour of the companies behind everyday consumer brands.

Published by the Ethical Marketing Group, the Good Shopping Guide covers a wide range of products from bananas to computers, pet food to insurance companies, and from its opening statement - “Your till receipt is as important as your vote” - promotes intelligent consumer choice as a way of influencing and encouraging responsible corporate attitudes towards human welfare,…

Steve Schofield is one of the foremost experts on demilitarisation and the conversion of military resources to civilian use. He is a kind of practical utopian, someone who has always used his specialist knowledge and rigorous analytical approach to inform his pursuit of a world without war.

In his latest book he takes a clear look at how the search for the twin goals of peace and prosperity - through the three pillars of federalism, international trade and comprehensive disarmament - have been at the heart of progressive…

The value of this book, published through a radical history series, lies in the collection of essays, speeches, photographs and well known quotes of some of the protagonists and victims in Salvador Allende's socialist government which was overthrown by Pinochet's brutal dictatorship (as sponsored by the CIA). It also includes opinions and comments by well-known people who have expressed solidarity with the struggle against impunity.

As a Chilean who feels close to this history, it was a good reminder of what the experience of the…

When the voices of war and the “war on terrorism” are raised around the world, the voices of women, feminists with different opinions, perspectives and experience are silenced or drowned out.

This volume of essays, personal stories, poetry and statements is a welcome collection of voices from around the world. In the words of the dedication, “... women who have struggled to perfect the difficult and valuable skill of surviving, who refuse to be overwhelmed by the overwhelming, and who continue to hope against hopelessness…

As war is becoming more and more of a reality, surrealism and madness characterise the pro-war lobby just as they continue to characterise the regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq. In the midst of heightened passion, political debates that have turned personal, not to forget the plagiarism by British officials, Milan Rai's Book War Plan Iraq: 10 Reasons Why We Shouldn't Launch Another War Against Iraq comes as a relief.

The book provides well-researched background information, clear arguments against an illegal war and…

This is a very special book. Its main strength lies in the fact that Jillian Edelstein - a professional, South African-born and well known photographer - was there when the Commission did its job. Not only in the geographical places in which it took place, but she also took pictures of the principal actors of this incredible and impressive experience, something which showed the world that apartheid was something that could no longer exist.

Jillian combines her powerful images and portraits with the testimonies of those who came…

Published works relating to forgiveness generally fall into one of three categories. First off are the Christians who urge us all to follow God's example and forgive and embrace all those who have done us wrong. Then there are the therapeutic manuals produced by behavioural psychologists and new-age gurus that tell us how to achieve the mental and emotional fulfilment which is the fruit of forgiveness by a simple six or maybe twelve-stage process. Finally there are the philosophical works targeted at the academic market and which seem to me…

Gore Vidal knows how to write. The only problem is that you get the feeling he's written it all before. Literally. Nowhere on the cover (front or back) are you warned that three-quarters of the book is a reprint of articles that appeared previously in Vanity Fair (three) or The Nation (one), which were published as long ago as 1997 (although I can't say the material feels dated, far from it).

The drawback of having read it all before won't apply to everyone of course. But besides that, there is another major hitch…