I’ve come across numerous references to the American Civil War in literature over the years but I’ve never before delved into the broader history of iI’ve come across numerous references to the American Civil War in literature over the years but I’ve never before delved into the broader history of it. Ok, I had a very high level understanding that it was a north versus south conflict based on differing views and approaches to slavery, I could name a few of the places where key battles took place and a few of the key figures of the time, but that’s about it. Oh, and I also knew which side had ultimately claimed victory.
This book promised to provide an hour’s worth of information that would fill the gaps in my knowledge – and broadly speaking it achieved that. Its structure is a bit strange in that it starts with a rush of information on how and where the conflicts played out before settling into categories which flesh out the background. This means there’s some repetition along the way, but on reflection it does help if you wish to go back and zero in on certain elements.
I listened to this on audio, which probably exaggerates the slightly off-key approach to laying down the story, and I’ll probably need to play it through a second time to fully process the volume of information I consumed. But overall I’d say it does what it sets out to do. Listening to such a compressed view of such a huge event in American history does feel a bit like cramming for a school exam, but it has certainly whet my appetite for a more thorough examination of this bloody but fascinating conflict....more
I was never any good at science. At the grammar school I attended we were shepherded into laboratories for lessons on physics, chemistry and biology. I was never any good at science. At the grammar school I attended we were shepherded into laboratories for lessons on physics, chemistry and biology. These were scary places; I’d never been anywhere like this before. The physics lab had gas taps and Bunsen burners and the walls were filled with incomprehensible charts. The chemistry lab held rows of specimen jars, more gas taps and burners and an underlying smell of something unpleasant and vaguely dangerous. The biology lab displayed pictures and diagrams of human body parts and there were constant rumours of creature dissections and other nasty things to come. Beyond the physical fears it was clear that each subject had its own language. I was fluent in none of them. I ceased study on all of these subjects at the earliest opportunity.
But I left school feeling that I’d missed out on part of my core education. And I had. So I’d had my eye on this book for some time. I’ve long been a fan of Bryson’s insightful yet amusing take on the world. Surely his commentary of all things scientific couldn’t be too painful, could it? The book walks through just about every significant scientific discovery from the creation of the universe to the present day. Well, not quite the present day, given this book was published some fourteen years ago. But given the universe is currently thought to be some 13.7 billion years old, I’m comfortable it covers the mother lode.
The list of sciences included is exhaustive, I spotted whole bunch but I’m also convinced I missed a few. My list comprises:
It’s fascinating stuff – staggering, in fact. I’d heard of the Big Bang theory, of course, but I’d never delved into the detail of it. The explanation here is clear and concise - it’s still mind bending, but I was able to follow most of the explanation. There were some sections where the detail did become a little heavy – the account of plant life being categorised lumbered on interminably – but on the whole the pacing felt spot on. It’s also very well structured, with relevant topics being grouped together. It flowed well and told a compelling story.
As I worked my way through this book, the thought that kept leaping to the fore was that these brilliant theories and discoveries came about largely as a result of scientists and non-scientists working something out via observation, association and calculation – the kicker being that nearly all of these milestone events predate computers, email and the internet. It’s incredible. In one example twenty years was spent on a calculation using pencil, paper and a slide rule. The same calculation could now be completed using a computer in a single day.
Yes, because of its publication date there are a few recent finds that aren’t included - confirmation of the existence of the Higgs boson particle in 2012 is one example – but I really don’t think it missed out too much of any significance. For anyone looking for a comprehensive but easy to follow history of scientific discovery, from the very beginning, look no further. I can’t recommend this book highly enough....more
The Brexit wounds are still fresh, so what better time to get the views of David Cameron’s communications chief on how the whole thing played out. TheThe Brexit wounds are still fresh, so what better time to get the views of David Cameron’s communications chief on how the whole thing played out. The book takes the form of daily diary updates. After opening with the cataclysmic climax to the UK’s vote, we are taken back to the beginning of the referendum campaign. Most of the events covered here seem familiar (and why not, they were covered comprehensively on the wall to wall television and radio news updates I avidly watched) but it was interesting to get the inside track as the campaign momentum ebbed and flowed.
The key elements for me boiled down to:
- The vote quickly boiled down to the economy (the remain team) versus immigration (the leave team). In the end the latter was deemed to be the issue that carried the vote. - The leave team lied, consistently and comprehensively. They made up facts and got away with it. - The remain team failed to garner proper support from Labour and from the SNP. - The remain team failed to gain the support of any effective media champions. The popular press came out mainly in support of leave. - The polls were all over the place and failed to provide the information that might have caused the remain team to adjust their campaign strategy.
Craig Oliver is clearly an intelligent man and a highly articulate communicator, but he comes across as a bit holier-than-thou here. He may well have known more than just about all the MP’s he sought to coach on how they should get their points across, but he does go on and on about how poor the politicians seem to have been at grasping the key messages. David Cameron and George Osborne escape this criticism, but just about every other MP on the remain side comes in for some stick.
Oliver also criticises the BBC (the biggest communication engine in the UK) for letting the leave team get away with lies and for failing to give equal airtime to truthful facts (remain) and made-up facts (leave). But I can't help thinking that as director of communications part of his role must have been to manage this relationship. In this he patently failed.
Predictably, both Michael Gove and Boris Johnson come out badly (as does Theresa May), but more than that most politicians come across as being more concerned with their own career aims than they were about the ultimate outcome of the vote. Again, Cameron and Osborne escape this criticism.
Overall an interesting account of a key event in British political history. Rather depressing, but insightful nonetheless....more
I missed the heyday of the Beatles, that’s to say I was born too late. By the time I’d reached my teenage years, the band had broken up. In fact, I boI missed the heyday of the Beatles, that’s to say I was born too late. By the time I’d reached my teenage years, the band had broken up. In fact, I bought my first single in 1971, a year after the band’s demise. I was certainly aware of the band – I think it was impossible for anyone who lived in the UK not to be – but the new songs hitting the charts were the ones that got me interested in buying records. But then the former band members started to release albums independent of the Beatles, I recall George Harrison’s Living in the Material World and Paul McCartney’s Red Rose Speedway, in particular. I loved these, and suddenly I wanted to ‘discover’ the Beatles music too. In 1973, two compilation albums were released: The Red Album (1962 – 1966) and The Blue Album (1967 -1970). My favourite was the former, the early stuff. I listened to it over and over.
In this book, a number of writers (song writers, novelists, etc) provide their own recollections of how the music of the Beatles impacted them. Each picks a song and explains why this one in particular is significant, but there’s a wider scope to most accounts and it’s possible to see that this group of young men from Liverpool talked to each in a way that was different to other influences in their lives.
Some of the songs I knew and some of them I didn’t. I recognised the names of a few of the writers, but most were new to me. But none of that mattered because I became wrapped up in accounts of specific moments and periods in the life of individuals skilled at putting their personal thoughts into words. What a rich mix it is, too. Another quirk of this book is that as just about all of the writers are American or have spent significant time in America, the landscapes of the stories are different from those I’ve previously come across. These are people who fell for a culture, a look, and a set of vocal harmonies that were in some senses alien to everything else they’d been previously exposed to. It’s very similar to the impact I’ve heard people in this country talk about when they first heard rock and roll music from America in the 1950’s. A light bulb went on; music seemed to be speaking their language for the very first time.
The whole collection is great fun, and it’s already got me searching out old favourite songs and a few I’m hearing for the very first time. My thanks to Penguin Group Blue Rider Press & Plume and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review....more
Wow! Well, I was looking for some humour. Yes, here it's usually of the dark (very dark) gallows variety, but I’ll take my laughs where I can find theWow! Well, I was looking for some humour. Yes, here it's usually of the dark (very dark) gallows variety, but I’ll take my laughs where I can find them and there’s plenty of them here. And that’s not all, this series of short, autobiographical anecdotes is rewarding in many ways. It’s shocking and not for the faint-hearted but if you can get cope with the graphic sex and the constant scenes of drug binging then there are riches to be found.
I’d seen some strong ratings for this book but I’d never heard of Jude Angelini. A quick internet search advised me that “Rude Jude" is a shock jock on a North American radio station. He’d previously made a bit of a name as a guest comic on the Jenny Jones Show, which, as far as I can gather, seems to have had something in common with the Jeremy Kyle Show, aired in the UK, whereby the poor and uneducated are abused and abuse each other for the snickering entertainment of the audience. Angelini had grown up in a factory town called Poniac, close to Detroit. He says he carried a little excess weight when he was young and struggled to find a girlfriend – something he certainly made up for further down the line! After school there was no college education but rather a series of jobs which included cleaning toilets in a gay bar, where he also sold single cigarettes and sticks of gum at a dollar a time.
The stories here are very short, mostly just a few pages. The chronology is mixed so there are constant jumps between phases of his life. For most of the book he is on the hunt for women. He isn’t looking for a relationship, just sex - the sex itself fuelled by the consumption of a cocktail of drugs. In fact, there’s only one girl whose name crops up a number of times, a girlfriend he broke up with four times before splitting for good. There’s a sense that he misses her but then the qualification that he realises he’d likely get fed up and they’d fight again – a process he is all too familiar with.
The tales reek of honesty and of a life lived large but at the same time within narrow confines. There is humility here and I think some shame too, but mainly I just sensed that he was doing what he wanted to do and enjoying it most of the time. There are snippets of his childhood that show a dysfunctional family: a violent father who once raped his mother at knifepoint and showed his son porn at an early age. Jude’s survival instinct at school led him to be a kid with an ability to make his classmates laugh. In fact, all roads seemed to point toward his life’s eventual destination.
This is a book I’ll remember for some time. It contains the single most stomach-turning story I’ve ever come across (though would you believe it, I still smiled at the punch-line) and generally a whole lot of laughs. But it delivers pathos too. It’s a pretty incredible mix. It’s a top shelf book you’d want to lock away from your children but I’m very glad I read it, it’s given me a really interesting view of life’s underbelly.
My thanks too Penguin Random House UK, Ebury Publishing and NetGalley for providing an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review....more
As someone who spent his whole working life in the employ of a large retail bank in the UK, the title of this book intrigued me. How could anyone consAs someone who spent his whole working life in the employ of a large retail bank in the UK, the title of this book intrigued me. How could anyone considered to be middle class (almost regardless of the precise definition) survive without using a bank? Well, in this book Lisa Servon (Professor of Urban Policyan at Milano School of International Affairs) delves deep into the issues confronting potential bank customers in America today. She starts by stating that there are, in essence, three avenues to basic banking services:
- Banks - Alternative financial services providers (e.g. check cashers, payday loan shops and pawn shops) - Informal set-ups (e.g. via friends, family and work colleagues)
Each of the above is explored in some detail, with the advantages and disadvantages of each presented in a clear, no-nonsense way. Indeed, she even spent time working as a teller in a South Bronx check casher branch and as a lender in a payday loan shop. Both were eye opening experiences!
I did notice some interesting differences between mainstream retail banking in the UK versus the US. Some examples:
1. Bank charges have certainly come under the microscope in the UK but I’m convinced customers get a much better deal here. The charging policies and shady practices adopted by large banks in the US (e.g. treatment of overdrafts, sequencing debit transactions to maximise their ability to charge and even charging up to $25 for a replacement debit card) far outstrips anything I’ve experienced or heard about in this country. 2. It feels to me that the use of checks (cheques in the UK) is more predominant in the US. Here, electronic payments have all but made cheque issuance redundant. This difference helps to account for the widespread presence of check casher branches in the US. 3. The availability of basic bank accounts in the UK, allied to the prevalence of electronic payments and the direct debit system should mean that there is no need for anyone to look outside banks for access to standard services. That said, there remains circa one million people in the UK who don’t have a bank account of any type.
An interesting point that is made throughout this book is that banks really only want to have relationships with relatively well off people. Banking for people on the margins of financial security can be very expensive and, indeed, some can be excluded altogether due active credit scoring policies. Another strong message is that the banks generally provide a depersonalised service offering, this is much in contrast to the check casher and payday loan shop experience where customers tend to be well known to staff. In fact, customers using the non-bank services even tended to bring gifts to staff, tip them following transactions and ask after the welfare of favoured tellers.
Another key point is that many people who have bank accounts also use check casher and payday loan facilities. So why would they do this?
Check Casher: The short answer is because of instant access to funds rather than having to wait days for a cheque to ‘clear’. There is an up-front cost for this but when the cash is needed to buy food or other necessary good or to pay workers (in the case of small businesses) this is a necessary expenditure.
Payday Loan: There are several reasons but the expense of overdrafts and lack of access to cheaper loans both play a part.
The whole credit scoring issue is a big deal and once someone is driven below a certain score (for a host of potential reasons) they become tagged as ‘subprime’ and lending becomes harder to access and interest rates rise to account for the perceived additional risk.
I hadn’t realised that payday loans have a hidden trap. The facility is short-term and a one-off fee is payable upon repayment (pay day), but many customers can’t afford to carry the whole cost of repayment in such a short space of time and are forced to take out another loan to cover the shortfall. This can become an extended, and very expensive, process. Often these loans are used to pay for emergencies such as medical needs or a car repair and this highlights the plight of many Americans living close to the ‘breadline’. Another interesting fact is that even though payday loans are illegal in some states, there exist more payday loan stores in America than the combined total of McDonalds and Starbucks outlets!
At the end of the book there are some sensible recommendations as to the way forward for a country whose banks increasingly cater only for the well-off, leaving everyone else to settle for more expensive ways of resolving their financial services needs. Despite some differences in systems and policies, there are a lot of parallels with the UK here. I found this to be a thoroughly researched and enlightening piece of work.
My thanks to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and NetGalley for providing an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review....more
I suppose he’s always been there, Mick Jagger. In fact, he was there before I was there. Born in 1943 and having formed the Rolling Stones with old scI suppose he’s always been there, Mick Jagger. In fact, he was there before I was there. Born in 1943 and having formed the Rolling Stones with old school chum Keith Richards in 1962, the band had already passed their peak years (arguably 1965-67) before I realised music was a ‘thing’. I bought my first single (Without You by Harry Nilsson) in 1971 by which time McCartney had filed suit for dissolution of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones had already released the majority of their best stuff. But I was certainly aware of both bands by this time and in that school playground debate that was frequently repeated I was definitely a Lennon and McCartney man. But as my interest in listening to music and actually buying records gained more prominance in my life I started to acquire a sneaky liking for the snake-hipped one. He was different from other singers, more edgy. He was interesting.
This book was first published some years back, comprising a well researched and pretty comprehensive account of the first 50 years of Mick’s life. For this version a short epilogue has been added, effectively bringing the book up to date. There was no cooperation from Jagger himself in the construction of the book, rather the facts were gathered together from research and from conversations with numerous people close to him. Significant input was provided by chauffeur/fixer Tom Keylock and band ‘minder’ Frank Thorogood but interviews were also conducted with Jagger’s parents and some other members of his family.
Mick’s life is tracked through from his early life in Dartford, Kent to his education at Wentworth Primary School (where he first met Keith Richards), the local grammar school and the London School of Economics. It’s clear that he was bright and diligent student – most of the time. He was a gifted mimic and in many ways ‘performed’ from an early age. Most of the book, though, focuses on his love for black American music, particularly blues, and his journey from fledgling singer to the influential rock star he eventually became. There are loads of facts and interesting anecdotes here and I thought the text did paint a decent picture of how events unfolded (be they fully accurate or not). Some of the most interesting segments dealt with the up and down relationship between Mick and Keith Richards and also Jagger’s history with a whole series of women. The events leading up to the death of fellow band member Brian Jones are also walked through in some detail, though additional information provided in the epilogue does throw some doubt on this account.
It’s all very well put together and if the book flags a little towards the end it’s really no more than confirmation that most of the interesting (to me) moments in the performer’s life happened early on. Anyway, if nothing else it gave me the prompt to call up loads of old videos of the group churning out classic songs. Yes, I may have once favoured the Fab Four’s output but I think I’m now very much a Stoner.
My thanks to Endeavour Press and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. ...more
Well, here's another fine mess you've gotten us into.
Ok, it not quite be the actual quote often used by Oliver Hardy, but it’s close enough. And it Well, here's another fine mess you've gotten us into.
Ok, it not quite be the actual quote often used by Oliver Hardy, but it’s close enough. And it does seem to capture the mood of many people I talk to about the state of Britain at the moment, post the Brexit vote. We’ve made the decision to take a courageous or foolhardy (you choose) leap but have no visible plan as to how were going to execute our extraction from the European Union. More importantly, politicians seem incapable of iterating a single paragraph that makes sense in terms of the logical next steps.
Here, author David Kauders (an economist and investment manager) espouses his views on the options available and the pitfalls and potential benefits of each. It’s a quick read, but quite dense and I plan to re-read it to ensure I’ve extracted full value. In broad terms his view on the vote seems to be that as a minimum it will prove to be disadvantageous to Britain’s economy and worst case it’ll be disastrous – depending on the choices government make from this point.
He states that there are broadly four options:
Hard Brexit Loose arrangement Soft Brexit outside the EU customs union Soft Brexit inside the EU customs union
He proposes that to ensure a prosperous future outside the EU we must continue to be part of the single market and, in fact, if Article 50 (the formal declaration which kicks-off the two-year countdown to exit) is invoked soon, then the last of the options listed above is the only one that will prevent immediate economic disadvantage.
There is also some very good insight into the immigration issue here. Kauders provides some data which, he claims, demonstrates that the problems created by open borders has been exaggerated and misunderstood. It’s an interesting slant on this issue and one which, I believe, failed to gain sufficient attention (let alone any traction) during the voting campaign.
There are some thoughts here too on how badly the overall voting exercise was executed and blame is liberally apportioned. In essence (he opines), we’ve allowed ourselves to be driven down a path based on on people’s views on one badly phrased question, the outcome of which is that we are in danger of taking a course of action that is likely to be supported by only a minority of the population.
For those (like me) who aren’t fully versed in the minutiae of these issues, this book does provide a pretty good grounding. It also lays out the author’s views in a clear and succinct way. Whether you choose to agree with his conclusions or not, there are a good deal of supporting facts provided and I, for one, found his arguments to be compelling.
I can’t help but think that many people have been hoodwinked into thinking the big issue is one thing (immigration/control of our borders) when the real issue is/was something else – the economy and the future wealth and prosperity of our nation and of those who live here. Going forward, I fear that few people will invest the time and effort to grasp the nuances of the ongoing debate sufficiently to draw well informed, logical conclusions. This could drive a clamour for the wrong kind of actions. I hope I’m wrong; we are where we are, but let’s hope government aren’t driven to make matters worse by making poor decisions now, in terms of next steps, that we’ll all live to regret.
My thanks to Sparkling Books Limited and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. ...more
On the upside this book is cheap. It also has a very good map which acts as a stand alone item, complete with its own plastic pocket. In fact, the mapOn the upside this book is cheap. It also has a very good map which acts as a stand alone item, complete with its own plastic pocket. In fact, the map is the only reason I bought the book. I'm planning a trip and wanted a map of about the size and scale offered up here; there was nothing else in the bookshop to temp me and no other place in town likely to stock a map of California.
On the downside it's a very small book and therefore holds little information. It's not something you could use to plan a big trip as there's only what I'd call 'teaser' pieces on each location. It's really an appetite whetter, so I guess it does fulfil some kind of function. There are some photographs, a few places of interest to see and a quick summary of each area. On top of that there is very limited information on potential accommodation and eateries. There's not much else, which is why I also bought a bigger, more expensive book to aid my planning. The bigger book, of course, had no decent sized map.
A colourful, glossy book with some great photos and lots of useful (but small) maps. It has provided a lot of prompts regarding where to go and what tA colourful, glossy book with some great photos and lots of useful (but small) maps. It has provided a lot of prompts regarding where to go and what to see on our driving holiday. It’s well set out and comprehensive in its coverage but a little short of fine detail if you're really looking to dig below the surface. Though really that's a hard criticism to make, given the fact the book already runs to over 600 pages.
I think this guide works best when teamed up with Internet research (for the fine detail) and satellite navigation (for getting around). In fact, it could be argued that the new technology supersedes the need for this sort of guide. ...more
I first became aware of Bowie when I was at school, in the early 70’s. Was it his music or his look I noticed first? Actually, I think it was that my I first became aware of Bowie when I was at school, in the early 70’s. Was it his music or his look I noticed first? Actually, I think it was that my mates started to talk about him and so I was forced to take a look too. The album that had caught their attention was, of course, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. I managed to borrow a copy and was instantly drawn into the story. The songs were good, but it was the whole narrative that went with the album that got me. And the way Bowie and the band dressed. They were just … different.
It was a short step from there to discovering that there were earlier recordings to track down and finding Hunky Dory was, perhaps, my greatest musical discovery to that point. Here was an album full of songs that really spoke to me. Listening to it now, I can see that the whole thing sounds like it was recorded in a few weeks (which it was) with vocals that are a little rough around the edges. But that was part of the attraction, I think. Here was a man who had something to say and I was eager to hear it.
This book follows Bowie’s musical journey from start to finish, both in words and pictures. It chronologically details the man’s achievements, pointing out key moments in each year and exploring the motivations behind his recordings. It shows that he was interested in all forms of art: from an initial love for music he progressed to mime and also found plenty of time for acting and painting in his hugely productive life. As the story develops it is possible to start to assess the mindset of someone who developed from an eager young performer, anxious to experiment and find something ‘new’, to a mature, thoughtful and more rounded man; a man who suddenly see’s that he’s running out of time and yet is still full of ideas and drive.
From a personal perspective, Bowie’s music was where my interest in him lay. After the early/mid seventies I lost track of him, though the occasional single would pop up that still grabbed me. Then, in 1983, he released the album Let’s Dance and my love affair with his music was rekindled. Ten years on and here, again, was something different, something fresh. The songs were catchy and told a story, the voice was smoother than it once was but still had an edge. And the look, well that was something to aspire too. Wow, he’d done it again!
I lost track of him again after this point, but was – like just about everyone I know – devastated by the news of his death in January. He’d always been there in the background, this man who seemed to be constantly ahead of the curve, ever changing and always threatening to delight and surprise anew. I think, perhaps, that when people who impacted you in your formative years pass on it hurts all the more.
This book tells the story of a man who lived life to the full, who made things happen. It tells of a man who left school with virtually no qualifications yet was able to develop into the articulate, intelligent and creative force we know him to have been. It’s a comprehensive account and it’s also a complete delight to look at. The photographs and the artful layout are superb. I read it in electronic format but I know it’s a book I’d love to own in its printed form. It’s something I’d leave lying around, for people to pick up and browse through. It’s a book I’d pick up and remember, wistfully, a man who made a significant impression on me.
My thanks to Insight Editions and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review....more
I was, I think, unaware of Cranston until my son encouraged me to watch the opening episode of Breaking Bad. I was instantly hooked and watched the whI was, I think, unaware of Cranston until my son encouraged me to watch the opening episode of Breaking Bad. I was instantly hooked and watched the whole thing - all 62 episodes - in the course of the next month or so. I was captivated by its strange but compelling storyline and I found the performance of Cranston completely spellbinding. The character he played, chemistry teacher turned drug lord Walter White, was a work of genius and the way the plot was set out gave full reign to his skills. My wife reminded me that Cranston had played the father in the sitcom Malcolm in the Middle; I hadn’t seen many episodes but had a vague memory of an amusing but very bizarre character. But I just couldn’t associate the two – could it really be the same man playing both parts? More recently, I listened to Cranston delivering a superb reading of Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried and it drove home the ability of the man to bring life to words, to grab you by the scruff of the neck and haul you through a story.
This memoir provides an insight into Cranston’s upbringing, shows how he developed a hunger to become an actor and (I think most importantly) the steps he took to wring every last bit of learning out of his life experiences and training to become the performer many millions now know him to be. It’s told in short, chronologically ordered segments. Some tell the story of an event, others cogitate on the relevance or importance of something he did or witnessed; it’s a mix of vignettes that add up to a pretty concise breakdown of who Cranston believes he is and what events crafted the man and the actor.
He’s of similar age to me, born 1956 in Hollywood, California, and is the son of an actress and an aspiring actor. He grew up with an elder brother he was very close to and a younger sister who is mentioned only briefly in this book. His dad walked away from the family when Cranston was eleven and, though he eventually regained some contact with him, the relationship was never close thereafter. His mother was a flirtatious drinker and collector of men and it wasn’t long before Brian and his brother took off on their motorbikes to explore America and forge new, independent lives.
College was followed by acting roles in local and regional theatres. Any brief thoughts he’d had about a career with the police had been abandoned and all efforts were now focused on how he could learn his trade, refine his skills and earn a living as a working actor. He makes it clear that it was never about fame, it was always about the desire to earn his living doing what he enjoyed and what he felt he had some natural talent for. He took lots of acting classes and used the good, bad and ugly events he’d borne witness to to further inform his acting brain. He was like a sponge soaking up information and experiences.
It’s an easy read, Cranston is witty and a natural story teller. He keeps it sharp and to the point and is, at times, engagingly self deprecating. At other times he lets you know that he always fancied his chances of succeeding. But it’s all about the hard work, the continued learning and his determination to make his mark. It’s an inspiring story and one that lifts the lid a little on how each of us could tap into something, some skill or natural talent, if only we had the necessary single-mindedness and fortitude. If you’ve watched and enjoyed Cranston’s work, don’t miss this!
My thanks Scribner and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review....more
I’ve always been a Star Trek fan, a Trekkie. The original series that is, I was never seduced by the later add-ons. So having already listened to an aI’ve always been a Star Trek fan, a Trekkie. The original series that is, I was never seduced by the later add-ons. So having already listened to an audio version of Captain James T. Kirk’s autobiography, Up Till Now, I just knew I was going to enjoy this book. It promised an in-depth exploration of the original series by way of essays written by a group of gifted writers, many of whom had been involved in the production of the programmes themselves.
A few basic facts:
- There were only three series which comprised 79 episodes - This base has so far spawned 5 spin-off series and 10 (maybe 11 now) films - There have also been numerous novels written, comic books devised, computer games built and even fan fictions and parodies put together and shared via social media
I liked the episodic nature of this book. It seemed to mirror the series itself, with each section comprising a view based on a particular aspect or impact of the original programmes. There was some replication of facts, but I forgive it that. I believe its major success is in the way it delivers a 360 degree view of what it was like to be involved in bringing the concept alive, how it impacted those (like me) who became enraptured by the adventures of Spock, Kirk and co and in delving under the skin to provide insights into the deeper messages (e.g. of politics, race and religion) that had, to this point, passed me by. I think it’s a great overall package for anyone interested in Star Trek specifically or, in fact, in SF at any level.
My thanks to BenBella Books and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. ...more
I’d heard about (but not seen) the Scorsese film, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, concerning this Wall Street guy who basically made a huge amount of moneI’d heard about (but not seen) the Scorsese film, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, concerning this Wall Street guy who basically made a huge amount of money, took bucket loads of drugs and ripped off a group of wealthy investors. It looked like fun… but a bit over the top. Then the opportunity to grab an audio version of the book came up and I was about to dismiss it when I glanced at the blurb and realised it was claiming to be a non-fiction piece. Could this be true, was this guy a real life Gordon Gekko?
In 1962 Jordan Belfort was born to a Jewish family in the Bronx borough of New York City. His parents were both accountants. After college he found work as an entry level assistant in a Wall Street brokerage firm and quickly realised that the place was more ‘zoo’ than office. The brokers treated their assistants badly, took drugs constantly and earned lots and lots of money. Belford was hooked. But he quickly realised – in fact he knew from the start – that he had the drive and personality to rapidly rise to the top in this business. In 1989 he opened his own brokerage firm, Stratton Oakmont, with his friend Danny Porush. He subsequently employed a whole series of old acquaintances and friends as his company grew to become the largest over-the-counter finance firm in the country, through the period of the early 1990’s.
The book does describe how Belford manipulated the market to his own advantage but it (thankfully) doesn’t delve into the micro-detail. The focus is more on the personalities involved and the capers they enjoyed. There is quite a lengthy piece describing how some of the money was laundered but this is interesting in itself and important in the overall context of the narrative.
The audiobook is read (or more accurately ‘enacted’) by American voice-over actor Eric Meyers, and I have to say he does a superb job. Accents, emotions, comic timing – he delivers it all - in spades. His ability to bring this story to life and to draw out the humour is one of the main reasons I warmed to this account. A truly brilliant performance.
It’s a roller-coaster tale (you know it’ll end badly) and most of the fun is tied up in the anecdotes about the wilder elements of Belfort’s lifestyle. He was introduced to drugs in his early days on Wall Street and this was to become an escalating problem – not that he saw it as a problem at the time. His drug of choice was Methaqualone (marketed as Quaalude). It’s a sedative and has muscle relaxant properties – but it’s also a depressant. Consequently, the drug dependence intensified as extra substances were added to balance off its effects and increase the ‘high’. At one point, whilst in London, he called his assistant to demand that an employee be dispatched on the next available Concorde to fly a supply of ‘ludes to him at his luxury hotel. Such extravagances became routine.
It’s a tale of excess and hedonism. Feminists will hate this book – women are treated pretty badly throughout – but most blokes I know will lap up the stories of debauchery in the office and at the parties. It’s crude and it’s lairy but it’s all told in a semi-deprecating way that makes you think Belford didn’t take himself too seriously. As a piece of modern history it’s certainly a cautionary tale, and in many ways the actions described are totally despicable. But as a piece of entertainment it’s something else: a story to make you gasp and cringe and smile and laugh out loud. I loved it....more
When I was at school (a long time ago!) history was one of my favourite subjects - well what teenage boy isn't fascinated by tales of epic journeys anWhen I was at school (a long time ago!) history was one of my favourite subjects - well what teenage boy isn't fascinated by tales of epic journeys and heroic battles? But I was frustrated by the fact that our studies always focused on a very narrow band of history. Consequently we learned a good deal about a few things and nothing at all about the majority of events that have shaped the world we know. So this book, written by a journalist and television presenter I much admire, really appealed to me.
The book focuses on the history of mankind and tracks the stages of development through hunter gatherer to the acquisition of farming techniques and then the convergence of people into towns and then cities. The building of empires follows and here I started to learn more about how the two major causes of war (religion and conquest) started a re-shaping of the world that has continued to this day. Most of major players in world history seem to have been hugely driven bad guys; not the sort of people you’d invite out for a pint down your local. The text then explores how the growth of international trade and the introduction of industrial and scientific engineering were significant contributors to the evolution of the world as we know it. Here I was at last introduced to a few good guys (and girls) – about time too!
The final section reflects on the challenges we face going forward: population growth (it's quadrupled in the past 100 years), global warming, over-fishing and soil degradation to name but a few. It posts a warning that if we don't do something different then this could be the last century for Homo sapiens. Scary stuff! But this is off-set by a brief discourse on how our ability to continually make scientific leaps (artificial intelligence is used as an example) will hopefully mean that we are able to come up with solutions that aren't available to us at this point.
I was left to reflect on how events of yesteryear seem, in so many ways, to parallel what’s going on in the world today. Do we keep making the same mistakes? Are we destined to be the generator of our own downfall? There are no answers here, but it’s certainly a thought provoking tome. I’d recommend this book to anyone who feels they want to fill in a few gaps in their historical knowledge or just wants to be prompted as to why a knowledge of historical events (why they happened and what the ramifications were) is so important to our civilisation....more
I’m a child of the 50’s and as a young boy I loved gluing together Airfix models: aeroplanes and ships, mainly. Ok, I left out some of the fiddly bitsI’m a child of the 50’s and as a young boy I loved gluing together Airfix models: aeroplanes and ships, mainly. Ok, I left out some of the fiddly bits and used way too much glue, but I’d slap some paint on them and in a dull light they didn’t look too bad. Then I’d add some figures from my soldier sets into the mix and a scene was created. Well, Michael Paul Smith has taken this simple idea to a whole new level! He creates and then photographs scenes from mid 20th Century America that are indistinguishable from the real thing. It’s spooky and it’s clever… and his collection of pictures is now a web sensation.
In this book, I got to learn how his hoard of diecast cars and trucks (now extending to over 300 items) inspired him to set up scenes to photograph them in what looked like a real 1940’s or 1950’s setting – i.e. in keeping with the vintage of the vehicles. He constructs the basic backdrop - model buildings, storefronts, window displays etc – and then adds the vehicles. Then the really clever bit: he uses real life scenes as a backdrop to his own creation. The results are amazing. The skill is not only in the care taken to build the models and put the scene together but also in the way he uses perspective in his photographs to cleverly scale the backdrop to fit his creation. You really have to see it to believe it.
All his diecast models are amazing replicas of the real vehicles with even the tyre treads being accurate representations. They are all 1/24th scale and therefore everything else has to fit this scale, even down to the dirt and snow he adds to the scenes. And he builds all of this in a small home kitchen using just a few rudimentary tools. One of my favourite pictures is a late night street scene he completed in 2004, where he’s pictured a car outside a store with snow on the ground. There is clear evidence of cars haven parked there before and then driven off. Everything looks spot on and I’d challenge anyone to identify that’s it not a real-life photo. The trick, I think, is in the way the whole thing is lit. It’s brilliant.
In answering questions about his life, Michael tells us that he’s held down many jobs but that his role as a museum display designer was the most helpful in helping him set and present his scenes. There is a Flickr photostream, a website dedicated to Michael’s creation of his fictional town, Elgin Park, and a great nine-minute video which if you’re the least bit interested in this idea you really must not miss. The whole thing surprised and delighted me.
What an extraordinary collection of photographs, and what a daring and exciting project! Dancers photographed naked in various sites around the world,What an extraordinary collection of photographs, and what a daring and exciting project! Dancers photographed naked in various sites around the world, many of them major tourist spots. The photos are taken at night or in the early morning, often with the general public in situ – sometimes unaware that a naked dancer crouches or hangs overhead.
The poses range from a balletic stance, balanced atop an upright bottle (honestly!), to the middle of a freezing cold river, complete with snow covered rocks, to dancers balanced on a bridge railing. The venues include sites in Paris, Berlin, London, Stockholm, New York and Chicago. One picture even features British actor Alan Cumming. It’s wild. It’s nuts. But it’s completely stunning.
There’s a great section giving some background to the taking of the photos too.
In the time I worked in banking I experienced two mergers (well, one merger and a takeover). The first involving Lloyds and TSB was, in retrospect, faIn the time I worked in banking I experienced two mergers (well, one merger and a takeover). The first involving Lloyds and TSB was, in retrospect, fairly easy: ok, the IT systems didn’t speak to each other for an age, but on the staff side it always felt like we were all pulling in the same direction. The second one was different. When Lloyds ‘rescued’ HBOS in 2008 the banking world was in turmoil and after the deal was done, and particularly after it became clear how swallowing this toxic beast had impacted the healthy bank, it felt… well, difficult to swallow.
For most staff I knew in the new Lloyds Banking Group there were three questions we wanted (but never got) answers to:
1. Were Victor Blank (Chairman of Lloyds) and Eric Daniels (CEO) pushed into the takeover of HBOS by the then Prime Minister, Gordon Brown?
2. Did Daniels, as he later suggested, fail to complete satisfactory due diligence before the takeover was signed and sealed – and if so why didn’t he extract guarantees from the government to protect Lloyds against unforeseen problems in the HBOS business?
3. Why was the deal done without a guarantee that the government would look after competition issues (including Brussels) to prevent the need to sell off branches later?
The answers to all these questions are here, and a good deal more too. I found it to be a comprehensive walkthrough of the recent history of Lloyds Bank, the strategic challenges it faced leading up to the 2008 banking crisis and a pretty detailed meeting by meeting account of how events played out. It also provides an interesting view on what the longer term impacts of the takeover are.
The scope of this book is actually wider than just the Lloyds/HBOS issue, taking in the impacts on all the UK banks and also exploring the global picture. It’s familiar stuff to anyone who followed the news at that time, but I learnt a good deal more about how events played out.
It’s not possible to tell just how accurate this portrayal is, but the author is a well respected journalist and he seems to have gained access to many key sources in writing this account. Through it all, Blank and Daniels actually come out of it quite well – better than I thought they would. It’s pretty damning of the Treasury, the Bank of England and the Financial Services Authority, though. Brown, too, doesn’t come come out of it well at all.
By the way, the answers to the questions are:
1. No. Daniels had been talking to Andy Hornby (CEO, HBOS) for a couple of years about a possible merger. They hadn’t progressed due to the competition issues. The financial crisis provided a window of opportunity to slip this deal through.
2. No. Due diligence was completed to the standard you’d expect in a takeover of this kind. The problem was twofold: Lloyds couldn’t see the detailed lending book until the deal was completed and the economic downturn ran much deeper than anyone predicted, thus throwing out all the calculations anyway. But, the guarantee was never sought – and given the pace of events it should have been.
3. A verbal confirmation was obtained, but this was never confirmed in writing. Interestingly, in his conclusion the author suggests that this might turn out to be a blessing in disguise. Lloyds probably ended up with too many branches and in batching up and selling off TSB it actually disposed of something that was cost heavy and revenue light.
A compelling read for anyone interested in learning more about how the banks and the government worked their way through the crisis and also anyone who has a hankering to learn a bit more about how top executives in big businesses earn their crust. ----------------------------------
pre-read thoughts...
Having spent just about 40 years with TSB, then Lloyds TSB, then Lloyds Banking Group, I know how it felt to go through the HBOS merger from the inside: the bad feeling and suspicion from the staff of both banks and further down the line the growing certainty that the whole deal had been botched. It'll be interesting to see what some of the people who were involved in framing and executing the deal have to say about it. I don't expect the whole truth - this will, no doubt, come out in time - but I'm looking forward to hearing their story, all the same....more
When I got my first proper bike, in my early teens, I felt truly liberated. Suddenly I could go anywhere, discover paths untrodden and explore the bigWhen I got my first proper bike, in my early teens, I felt truly liberated. Suddenly I could go anywhere, discover paths untrodden and explore the big wide world. Well, ok it wasn’t quite as transformational as that – but the thing is it felt like it. I got the same sense from reading the early chapters of Froome’s autobiography. He was born to a reasonably prosperous family in Kenya: the family business was successful enough to enable his two elder brothers to be schooled at Rugby school, in England. But suddenly it all went wrong, the business collapsed and his parents split. Suddenly his dad had moved to South Africa whilst Chris stayed in Kenya with his mum. Money was tight. His release was his bike. It certainly wasn’t an expensive item and he found himself finding creative ways to finance running repairs from the local ‘engineers’ who welded scraps of metal to support broken parts.
The early chapters are full of anecdotes of Froome’s passion for his bike and his industry in seeking ways to maximize his time spent on two wheels. Eventually he met and befriended a Kenyan professional rider and he began to get schooled in the craft of race riding. His determination to eventually become a professional rider was pretty much obsessional from this point on. It’s clear he had a tough upbringing but his love for his country of birth shines through and vivid pictures are painted of the beauty – and sometimes the risks – of taking long rides through its rugged landscape.
He eventually succeeds in rising to the top of the (not very tall) Kenyan cycling tree. There are amusing tales of the lack of professionalism and support provided when he attended some minor international races. And mixing with teams from more developed countries at the Commonwealth Games demonstrated to him how far behind his country was in terms of technology and coaching. Nonetheless, he managed to put together enough good results to attract the attention of a professional cycling team.
As you’d expect in a sporting bio, there’s a lot of detail from this point about various races, about riders and team officials. His opinions are voiced frankly and, it seemed to me, honestly. The key chapters I’d been looking forward to were those where he talked about his experiences of riding the Tour de France in 2012 and 2013. In July every year I religiously watch stage highlights every day and was glued to the set in 2012 when Bradley Wiggins became the first British rider to be successful in winning this brutal event. It was evident to most people watching that Froome – his able lieutenant – was stronger in some of the big mountain stages and pundits were openly opining that he was, in fact, the better rider. Could he have won instead of Wiggo, had the team set him free to fully capitalize on his strength and form? Many thought he could have and probably would have.
The accounts of the two Tour de France campaigns is fascinating stuff. Froome doesn’t hold back in describing the conflicts in the team during the first race. Not surprisingly, contract negotiations ahead of the 2013 race centered on whether he’d be fully supported in going for the General Classification prize (awarded to the overall race winner). He eventually secured an answer that turned out to be more ambiguous than he’d originally interpreted, but then fate intervened and he turned up for the race with his team fully behind him. Just in case you’re not a cycling fan or didn’t pick up the news at the time, Froome went on to win the race by a comfortable margin (a feat he repeated in 2015 – after this book was published).
This is probably one for bike racing aficionados and lovers of sport in general, but there’s enough depth here in following Froome’s determined and brave struggle to reach the top of his chosen sport to inspire anybody. It’s well put together and he has a great story to tell. Personally, I can’t wait to track his efforts this year in ‘Le Tour’ – I’ll settle down with a cup of tea and map of the course and cheer him ‘til my lungs hurt....more
Ultramarathon running is pretty extreme. I tried it once; it nearly killed me. But I went back for another go. Is it addictive? Maybe, but then runninUltramarathon running is pretty extreme. I tried it once; it nearly killed me. But I went back for another go. Is it addictive? Maybe, but then running is like that.
The story of Tom Foreman’s decent into madness (it’s a fair description, believe me) so seemed to mirror my own that I just had to read this book. A marathon runner at twenty something and then life takes over and before you know it you’re fifty and someone suggests you have another go. Then one thing leads to another.
In truth, Tom’s experience is more extreme than my own – he ran 2000 miles in his first year as a Quinquagenarian which included a bunch of half-marathons, several full marathons and an ultramarathon of over 50 miles. It took me about five years to graduate to an ultramarathon, and mine was much less demanding than the race he entered.
Anyway, there’s a good deal of humour here as Tom relates his story – maybe too much, at times. There is also an underlying tale of him attempting to forge a closer relationship with his daughter, who had suggested he return to marathon running and agreed to join him in this venture. The initial idea and the training for the marathon takes up the first half of the book and it’s a little bit dull, to be honest. It’s the tale of lots of men (and women) who decide to take on a new challenge at a time they are growing tired of the stress of work and a quick look in the mirror suggests they’d better do something to liven up their lives now or it’ll be too late. But then the idea of an ultramarathon run comes up and the whole thing steps up a rung or two.
Tom realises he’ll have to intensify his training significantly – to double the number of miles he runs each week, essentially. This is hard-core and starts to have a significant impact on his life: the number of hours he’s out on the trail means he’s got precious little time for anything else other than sleep and work. This section of the book is fascinating and the accounts of some of his training runs in the early hours of a cold dark morning, battling wind and snow amongst terrain barely fit for a Bear Grylls episode were terrifying. And yet there is worse (or for the reader, better) to come. The description of the ultramarathon run itself is epic stuff and I found myself willing him to succeed, praying he’d get to the finish line.
I’ve read a couple of other books that feature ultramarathon running. What I Talk About When I Talk About Running is a memoir by author Haruki Murakami, in which he tells of his exploits running massive distances in Japan. In Ultramarathon Man - Confessions of an All-Night Runner, a legend of the sport, Dean Karnazes, recounts how he was introduced to this sport. Both are rather more serious accounts. In this book, Tom uses a good deal of humour to demonstrate the slightly demented path he’s chosen and he paints a lucid picture of how running helped him to draw some balance into his life, even if this was tough to achieve and at times he stepped perilously close to over cooking it. After a slow start, I found it to be an inspiring and thought provoking story.
My thanks to Blue Rider Press and NetGalley for providing a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review....more
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