Jaron Lanier’s Who Owns The Future is a thoughtful, considered and philosophical analysis of the reality of technology’s place and the impact it has currently in our world, and what that impact and role may be in the future. It is sometimes frightening, at the very least concerning, but always vital and peerless in the way this book exposes the often unconsidered reality at the heart of the rise of the machines we are experiencing today.
Free Radicals – The Secret Anarchy of Science, is authored by a scientific insider – Michael Brooks, PhD. Michael pulls back the curtain to reveal the Great Oz of Science as he really is – a sometimes charlatan and showman, dabbling in the mysteries of the universe.
Smoke Heads by Doug Johnstone is a book for all you whiskey lovers out there – “cheers” indeed. Unfortunately, for those of you not susceptible to the charms of the good stuff, caveat emptor. It is a rollercoaster drunken ride through the famed Scottish Isle of Islay, with more drams and cocaine than you can shake a drunken stick at. If that sounds like fun to you, you’re right – it should be. However, this book has a fatal flaw: severe lack of credibility verging on the absurd.
Book review coming soon…
Review Coming Soon…
Review Coming Soon…
The Leopard by Jo Nesbo, the sixth and latest in the English-language series of Harry Hole novels, sees the return of the much vaunted and loved Harry Hole, from his druggy and escapist bolt-hole in Hong Kong. Harry is brought back to assist in solving the latest series of connected murders in Norway, which are seemingly the work of a serial killer, possibly in the mould of the infamous Snowman.
Marek Krajewski’s Death in Breslau, like its fellow novels, is a curious piece of work, set in 1930’s Breslau, which is present day Wroclaw. German detective Eberhard Mock is the chief protagonist, and Breslau is his literal stomping ground, where he happily lords it over his beloved ladies, and not-so-loved assorted criminal elements. This particular tale involves Mock sharing the limelight with his assistant Herbert Anwald, as they investigate a horrific double rape and murder, involving scorpions and ancient graffiti.
Imperium by Ryszard Kapuscinski, is an excellent and unique book offering an unparalleled insight into life in the former Soviet empire, and life in the current Russia and former Soviet-bloc states. Growing up as a Pole from where is currently Byelorussia, Ryszard is ideally positioned to commentate and annotate life under the former Soviet regime. He is an exceptional, if not the most exceptional, proponent of “travel reportage” in any case, and here he works on reportage from an area he clearly has massive emotional attachment to.
The Soccer War by Ryszard Kapuscinski is a collection by this one-of-a-kind author of his escapades, adventures and experiences in some of the 27 (yes, twenty seven) revolutions slash wars he personally experienced during the 1960s and early 1970s. Ryszard was a Polish journalist with responsibilities at any one time for over 50 countries in Africa and South America, and this book offers his insights and experiences into among others, Patrice Lulumba, the Algeria of Boumedienne and Ben Bella, barbarous civil war in Nigeria, and the eponymous Soccer War between El Salvador and Honduras.