A Companion to American Studies - Dennis Welland (ed.)

Dennis Welland (ed.) – The United States: A Companion to American Studies
History – 580 pages – my copy (paperback – Second edition – 1987) bought for 50p from Plymouth Library in October 2010
- 3 nods out of 5 -

Two hundred years of industrious, noteworthy and illustrious history packed under six hundred pages; this companion to American Studies promises on its first opening to appeal to the American-phile. From George Washington down to Ronald Reagan, this book has all on offer. Written and debated include the geography of the USA, a question upon Americanism, immigration into the continent, American wars, the world at large, politics and the media, including – to use a often quoted phrase – much, much more!

Each chapter introduces the crucial elements, walking us through a brief history, followed by some key debates. Although a couple of the writers lag in their enthusiasm – ‘Constitution and Government’ notably – the constant change in writer with each new chapter brings with it fresh and needed change.

It is to America’s understanding of its position as a world leader that creates the most fundamental questions: a people that pride themselves on small government who fund the largest organisations on the entire planet. One paradox of many.

As to be expected – with the book’s editor working as Professor of American Literature for two decades – there is ample space upon fiction, poetry, drama and the arts, and a tad redundant chapter upon American realism.

But despite this over emphasis, the book successfully overviews each of the major topics in American history. But an overview is all the book must remain, an introduction, a companion – but not the real meet that is history or a cultural study. And this edition, printed in 1987, equates more to an old friend; worthy of reminisce, but no longer in the phone book. The world has changed tremendously since 1987; in the twenty first century new companions are needed.

Voices For Peace - Anna Kiernan (ed.)

Anna Kiernan (ed.) – Voices For Peace (2001)
Essays – 250 pages – my copy (paperback; 2001) bought for £1.99 from Plymouth’s Oxfam Bookshop in November 2010
- 3 nods out of 5 -

Voices For Peace is a collection of essays on the repellent nature war and the struggle and need for harmony. Quickly assembled in the wake of 9-11, and the subsequent bombing of Afghanistan, it warns of the horror of what might befall us. Unluckily, it is this horror that was to unfold in the subsequent Iraq war and Afghanistan occupation.

Notable contributors include Monty Python’s Terry Jones, the novelist Ben Okri and the singer Annie Lennox; but are varied far and wide, including journalists, scientists, business-people and poets – all joined together in their admirable need for peace. The profits of the book, therefore, according with the words, with all profits proceeding to War Child.

Although many of the essays are gleamed from newspaper articles, there remain gems and highlights. There is Dominique Lapierre’s ‘Redressing the Balance’, who asks us to remain the seeds of the 9-11 discontent, and Suheir Hammad’s excellent prose on the aftermath of the Twin Towers attack, in which she notes:

There is death here, and there are promise of more
There is life here.
Anyone reading this is breathing, maybe hurting, but breathing for sure.
And if there is any light to come, it will shine from the eyes of those who look for peace and justice after the rubble and rhetoric are cleared and the phoenix has risen.
Affirm life.
Affirm life.
We got carry each other now.
You are either with life, or against it.
Affirm life.

The road of peace is a harder one to walk than that of war. War brings with it instantaneous glory, despite the lasting recrimination. And here we are, a decade later: war torn and lost. It is time again to affirm life.

Voices For Peace is no longer available on bookshelves; but perhaps the local charity shop will hold a copy, ready for saving. Within its pages are 5 nodder sentiments, with a 3 nodder overall quality.

Natural Born Killers - Quentin Tarantino

Quentin Tarantino – Natural Born Killers
Screenplay – 120 pages – my copy (paperback; 1995) a present from my sister at Xmas 1996
- 3 nods out of 5 -

Natural Born Killers was an early Quentin Tarantino script, written before Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, this is Tarantino at his bloodiest and most perverse. The story follows the love of Mickey and Mallory – a modern Bonnie and Clyde – but with modern guns and more guts. Their attachment to one another brings them against the world in a gun shooting and knife slashing bender of mayhem.

The script was picked up by Oliver Stone, who filmed what many consider a cult classic; but such are the differences between script and movie that it allows Tarantino’s script to remain as a standalone read. Yes, the film kept the essence of Mickey and Mallory alive, but it also lost much of Tarantino’s earlier message: of the underestimation of dedication, and the shaky hyperbole of the modern media.

Of course, at no point does Tarantino get “that deep.” Natural Born Killers is a shoot ‘em flick, first and foremost. But his showing of America’s fascination with the couple’s murderous rampage and their deification in the eyes of even their victims satirises modern TV and shows Tarantino’s love and repulsion of today’s culture.

The script holds a certain charm. This is before Tarantino’s fame and before his later off boil films (Death Proof anyone?). Here is the usual flaring of pop cultural references, of music and of film; the burger bars and the eating of pies; of Mexican shoot-outs and indiscriminate deaths. And along with this is the slick dialogue that made Tarantino’s early films so unique and loved by quoters everywhere.

A filmed version in Tarantino’s mode could have brought greater results than Stone’s finalisation. More than likely it would not be considered a classic; but rather more of a comment of today’s culture, all the while satisfying the blood lust of the average cinema goer. As it remains, Tarantino’s vision is kept bound in script form: a fix for the fan who is left empty by the director’s recent releases.

Read the script here today:
http://www.godamongdirectors.com/scripts/killers.shtml

The Berlin Wall - Frederick Taylor

Frederick Taylor - The Berlin Wall (2006)
History – 450 pages – my copy (paperback; 2009) bought for £3.99 from a discount bookstore in Chiswick, London, in August 2010
- 3 nods out of 5 -

Last year saw the twentieth anniversary of the end of the Berlin Wall. A generation has passed since one of the largest of artificial and sinister divides crumbled, and destroyed along with it was the “old” way of living: of separation and fear. If time is called a healer, time is also the historian’s best friend; bringing with it retrospection and that valuable tool hindsight.

Frederick Taylor has made a name for himself by bringing modern German history to the British reading public. The Berlin Wall is a construct of love as well as dedication, with Taylor holding a long time fascination with the people of Berlin. And such attraction clearly shows amongst the book’s pages; here is a well researched and enthusiastic account of the Berlin wall, from its awful inception in 1961 to its celebratory end in 1989.

Centring primarily on the early sixties, Taylor gives the back-story to the divide of East and West, of the rise of the SED in the communist sphere and the more bourgeois allied sector. The fall out and recrimination of the Second World War brought about the wall’s construction, while Taylor shows the wall’s continuing presence as the result of the lack of agreement between communist and capitalist.

Taylor brings in the key characters, such as Walter Ulbricht and Willy Brandt; whilst sparing enough time for a cameo role for John F. Kennedy. And even though this is principally a story of the political “stars” and personalities, the author also brings in many personal stories and the tragedies of those who tried to escape the east, only to meet their early deaths.

So, if the research and the setting ticks all boxes, why is Taylor’s book not a 5 nodder? One of the Worm’s principal nit-picks is the large emphasis upon 1961 – the reader continues forward at snail-pace, even re-treading old ground. Lyndon Johnson’s visit is given the attention of chapter, which contrasts with the book’s hastily constructed conclusion. Yet the greater accusation is Taylor’s unquenchable thirst for a digression; his personal stories add warmth, but unfortunately for the reader, much of his digressions bring us away from the wall and into other political spheres.

The Berlin Wall is a well researched book; but a book that aims at becoming the authoritative text upon the wall’s life and death. However, this is an unaccomplished aim, with Taylor not being the man nor the author of talent to deliver this. His book tries too hard to hit an audience in all sectors. Such an authoritative history will be penned by a hand that has the power to weld such detail – great and small – into a history of true quality.

Charles Duke of Cornwall - Michael Williams

Michael Williams – Charles, Duke of Cornwall (1977)
Biography – 80 pages – my copy (paperback; 1977) bought for 50p from Plymouth Library
- 1 nod out of 5 -

A request to immediately ask: don’t judge. The Worm justifies the purchase of this biography on Prince Charles for “research purposes”, regarding the Duchy and the preceding earldom of Cornwall from the medieval era. At least that is what the Worm told the cashier in Plymouth Library when he parted with his hard-earned pence. But if fifty pence had not been spared, this short biography on Charles’ role as Duke of Cornwall would have been lost to the ether, forever.

The author, Michael Williams, takes the reader through a short tour of Charles’ duties as Duke of Cornwall, his visits to the west-country, and the history of the Duchy itself. Though an amiable host, Williams is nothing more than court jester to the Duke, applauding Charles for his warmth and his jokes - even going as far to suggest that if it were not for a future fit for a king then Charles could have become an accomplished comedian!

Published in the Queen’s Jubilee – 1977 – this book never pretends to be anything more than a contemporary royal fanzine. Due to the worn pages of the book and the sentiments expressed, it exerts a certain charm… but the ether still surely beckons.

Dracula - Bram Stoker

Bram Stoker – Dracula (1897)
Novel – 450 pages – my copy (paperback; 1994) bought for 80p from a Cornish charity shop, sometime in 2008
- 3 nods out of 5 -

‘I’ve never ran from no one, but I’m terrified of you
See my heartbeat is a slow one, but I’m terrified of you
I’ve been around for ages, but I’m terrified of you…’
‘Dracula’s Wedding’, Outkast, 2003

The lyric above stands as testimony of the enduring popularity of Dracula. Written over one hundred years ago, the villain was a sensation in print, then upon the big screen in the 1930s, leading to repeated renditions in cinema and television, sung in song and rhymed in rap lyrics to the modern day.

It is easy to see the appeal: a venomous bad-guy, almost impossible to beat, who rips apart the innocents who come up against him. Bram Stoker conjured a magnificent beast, and his novel remains alive in the twenty-first century as it did at the tail-end of the nineteenth. And it is not the strength of the enemy alone that maintains such freshness; Stoker’s fast paced cutting between various viewpoints – including journals and newspaper articles – details the fears of the characters, while allowing Dracula himself to remain elusive and a teasing mystery.

But despite Dracula’s strength and wrath, there is one chief failing of Stoker’s novel: the aura of finality. Despite a large casualty during the plot – being poor Lucy – the remaining ensemble carry on, page after page, counting down to the inevitable showdown with the Count. It is the conclusion so many of our horror, our mystery, our action and our science fiction writers cannot do without: the triumph of good over evil. Critiques can find easy reasoning for such an end, including the mighty of the Victorian British Empire versus alien forces, of Christian goodness against the unbeliever; but whatever it may be labelled, the lack of ending climax remains lacklustre and unwanted.

Such a failing is not helped by the padding of many characters. If Quincy Morris is slightly animated – the stereotypical Victorian American – and if Dr Seward is the most reflective, thoughtful of the band of vampire crusaders, there is plenty of dead wood in Jonathan Harker and the non-entity that is Lord Godalming. An ace, however, is at hand in the form of Dr Van Hesling. Here is a lively and entertaining construct, an injection of blood to colour the pages – vitally needed towards the book’s end when the band take to the continent in what is a tepid search for Dracula.

Quite bluntly, for today’s reader, Dracula is too long and perhaps a touch too tame. But although the majority of the characters and their desperate pleas for God’s salvation may bite upon our patience, here stands a bona fide Class A villain. As such, Dracula stands upon other villainous classics – notably Frankenstein – as a read not to be missed, despite its flaws.

Blood & Guts - Roy Porter

Roy Porter - Blood & Guts (2002)
Science Related – 200 pages – my copy (hardback; 2002) bought for £1 from Plymouth Library
- 2 nods out of 5 -

Blood and Guts – what an intriguing title! That was the Worm’s first impression when picking up Roy Porter’s short history of medicine, promising a quick and succinct journey through the ages in all themes and issues. Exactly what a reader would need when attempting to fill in the gaps of a large and complex history, full off interesting snippets of trivia and facts.

Although the title suggests a playful tone – including the book’s cover in which a cartoon of an eighteenth century gentleman squirms as a doctor, rather painfully, inserts a needle into his nose – Porter’s prose starkly contrasts. The reader is given a rather dry recitation of past ages, covering the major themes: disease, doctors, the laboratory, therapies, surgeries, and the hospital. Rather than the expected easy narration – ala Bill Bryson – we are dipped into various terminologies, theories and practitioners. There is so much, in such a short space, it is akin to information overload.

However, a greater accusation to the author’s abilities is the book’s likeness to articles upon Wikipedia. There is little humour, little excitement; but rather a Gradgrind reliance upon facts, facts and just the facts. The Worm has no wish to tarnish Porter’s credentials: the book’s jacket trumpets them just fine (before his recent passing he was Professor in Social History of Medicine at University College London). But this knowledge does not translate to a science lay-worm.

Blood & Guts has one redeeming feature: its illustrations. Each of them are wonderful and enlightening, with images throughout history fantastically picked by the author to adorn the text. True 5 nodder illustration; but the book itself fails to deliver on the Worm’s initial expectations. For the fun and the facts, a reader would be better served by buying a copy of Bryson’s A Short History of Nearly Everything.

Invisible Republic - Greil Marcus

Greil Marcus – Invisible Republic: Bob Dylan’s Basement Tapes (1997)
Music – 270 pages – my copy (paperback; 1998) bought for 99p from Plymouth’s Works in June 2010
- 2 nods out of 5 -

One would assume a book with Bob Dylan’s name in the subtitle, joined with a photograph of Bob Dylan upon the cover, as well as the promise of a study of Bob Dylan’s music would actually manage to mention Bob Dylan. The Worm assumed just as much; but with Greil Marcus, assumption appears to have no weight in his books upon music and culture.

Ostensibly, Invisible Republic is a study of Bob Dylan’s time with The Band in the basement of a house known as the Big Pink during 1967. Their time in this basement brought about history’s most famous bootleg: The Basement Tapes. At first used as successful cover fodder for many acts in the late 1960s, they were official released in the mid 1970s, though various versions still do the rounds upon printed bootlegs and the internet. The recordings came at a juncture for Dylan: after the peace movement and fame of the earlier sixties, after he went electric, after those three defining albums (Bringing It All Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde On Blonde) and after his motorbike accident and convalescence.

Marcus gives us this back-story, concentrating upon Dylan’s shock turn to electric guitar in his performances with The Band (or The Hawks, as they were then known). Heckled from the crowd as ‘Judas’ for turning his back on folk, Dylan surged onwards and upwards. The reader then expects a critique of The Basement Tapes, when Marcus completes a 180 and suddenly we’re catapulted into the past of America. It is, to put it mildly, a bumpy ride.

In fact, during this ride Marcus does his best to steer clear of land and towns relating to Dylan and the tapes (bar spending thirty pages upon the song ‘Lo and Behold!’). Instead we are treated to outlaws and protests, to folk singers and metaphysical babblings. Even the aspects that are devoted to Dylan are best left unread, due to their churning sycophantic nature; such as his description of Dylan in the early sixties as ‘no longer merely a singer, or a songwriter, or even a poet, let alone simply a folk musician. In a signal way, he was the Folk, and also a prophet’ (xii). Please, someone, pass the Worm a bucket to vomit in.

What keeps Invisible Republic from joining other infamous books in the 1 nodder sin-bin is Marcus’ sheer disregard of playing by the rules. Yes, he rambles and digresses; but one thing is for sure: this is clearly his show. The message for the reader is, ‘Buckle in and experience the ride.’

101 Cornish Lives - Maurice Smelt

Maurice Smelt – 101 Cornish Lives (2006)
Local History – 250 pages – my copy (paperback; 2006) a gift from Emma, and signed from Mr. Smelting himself
- 2 nods out of 5 -

Throughout history there are thousands upon thousands of forgotten lives and elapsed events. Of course, the big cheeses of history continue onwards: Genghis Khan, Napoleon and Hitler; but for those local luminaries, each passing generation sounds as a nail hitting the wood of a coffin. All the more celebration, then, for local histories! Here the author, Maurice Smelt, presents the reader with one hundred and one Cornish lives; those born at the “fag-end of the country” and went on to become inventors, travellers and great sportsmen.

Smelt’s language never threatens to excite, a gentle plod through some of the most noteworthy and important names in Cornish history. And as common for standard local histories, a game develops of ‘spot the mistake’; this book’s obvious error appearing on page 18, when the philanthropist Ralph Allen is noted as making a fortune for himself in 1620 and serving as mayor of Bath in 1642; even though a page earlier he is stated as being born in 1694. Such mistakes are not a light crime, and are further compounded when reading of Smelt’s academic past (including Major Scholar of Trinity Hall, Cambridge).

But at no point does Smelt falter in his writing, providing us with quick and digestible portraits of famous Cornishmen, from Sir Bevil Grenville to Richard Trevithick, from the past of St Piran to the modern day World Trade Centre hero Rick Rescorla. Smelt is most confident and entertaining in his words upon novelists, poets and historians, including Charles Causley, Crosbie Garstin, Arthur Quiller-Couch and A.L. Rowse. But perhaps the most striking are the complete unknowns who are brought back to life, notably that of the exceptional Mary Bryant, the dubious Tibet monk in Cyril Henry Hoskins, and the erratic and lunatic John Tom.

Of course, it is the usual small county/town/village laying claim to whatever they can lay their hands on; such is the case with world champion boxer Bob Fitzsimmons who left Cornwall when a mere toddler. But on the whole, 101 Cornish Lives is an admirable attempt at bringing the once famous and infamous back to the written page.

Funeral In Berlin - Len Deighton

Len Deighton – Funeral In Berlin (1964)
Novel – 380 pages – my copy (paperback) borrowed from Mr. Mooney in August 2010
- 2 nods out of 5 -

Deighton has become a by-word for spy-fiction. No, not the crusading hero kind of James Bond et al, but rather the thinking man’s spy; not indestructible and completely human. Len Deighton has authored a skyscraper tower of books, from popular novels to non-fiction upon war, and even cookery. This, then, is an author multi-faceted with a large writing tool-kit.

All of which made the Worm’s read of Funeral In Berlin all the more frustrating. One of his earlier novels, the book follows the journey of the un-named principal protagonist within the Berlin mouse-trap of the early 1960s. The Wall has gone up, guns are aimed and ready upon both sides, and the two super-powers of the world have their finger on the trigger of atomic bombs.

But although the setting is ripe for friction, the plot and characterisation is lacking in depth and quality. The plot – simple enough – is filled out with banal visits to, what can be considered for the time, strange and exotic locations. Our un-named hero may not be as dull and unconvincing as James Bond, but there remains a certain finality as to how the story will end. Deighton does not fall into the trap of depicting caricature “bad-guys”; but also fails in providing us with a threat of terror.

Rather than allowing these characters to breathe and speak for themselves, Deighton fills in the character for the reader, repeatedly telling us their habits and mindset. The single chapter headings on each of the main characters initially appears a breath of fresh air within pace of action, but most of it is un-necessary and ultimately detracts from the mysteriousness of the plot itself.

Furthermore, the book becomes steeped in Cold War terminology; Deighton even provides a glossary of terms, from poisonous insecticides to Soviet security systems – again, disrupting the flow of the plot. But this is the lesser crime of the novel’s failings; this is a spy novel, and by default the spy-fan must be given a real, authentic taste of the theme.

Funeral In Berlin remains a big hit with readers; for the Worm it was a poor re-introduction back into Deighton’s back catalogue of fiction. It is a case of twice bitten; but the Worm will be back. Cold War fiction is a dense jungle, and much of it remains to be explored.

Prime Minister Portillo - Duncan Black & Iain Dale (eds.)

Duncan Black & Iain Dale (eds.) – Prime Minister Portillo: and other things that never happened (2003)
Politics – 370 pages – my copy (hardback; 2003) bought for £1 from Plymouth library in July 2010
- 2 nods out of 5 -

Counterfactual histories came in vogue during the early noughties; we had Nazi banners upon Big Ben, a New World colonised by Soviet Russians and a nuclear holocaust wasteland of the 1980s. Most are military based, while the better ones usually involve Niall Ferguson, but where at the “what ifs” of political history?

Editors Duncan Black and Iain Dale responded in 2003 with this edition: Prime Minister Portillo (and other things that never happened). The book’s front cover image, of Portillo smiling at Number 10 Downing Street, proves as an entrance that whatever may be upon the pages will not be as fantastic and surreal as Hitler planting the Nazi flag upon the Moon. This, being British, was going to be all the more subtle and unassuming.

Unfortunately for the reader, the lack of excitement pours cold water upon the book’s promise of taking us upon alternate realities. Take some of the essay titles themselves as proof: ‘What if Benn had beaten Healey in 1981?’ and ‘What if Labour had won in 1970?’ were hardly ever going to set heartbeats racing. Sure, the editors attempt at bringing in larger events, such as Lenin’s arrival in Petrograd in 1917, of John F. Kennedy escaping bullets, but ultimately, too many of these chapters fail to galvanise interest.

The highlights include John Charmley’s essay – ‘What if Halifax had become Prime Minister in 1940?’ – written in the role as historian in an alternative reality; in which Churchill is a joke, rather than a legend. Rather than the “do or die” attitude of historians upon the subject of waging war with Nazi Germany, Charmley instead suggests that staying out of a continental war, between Nazis and Communists, was the best strategy in the long-term.

Sadly, Charmley’s style is not copied throughout the majority of chapters. The general rule appears to be suggesting a momentous change, only to negate it completely. What if the Conservatives had won in 1964? Not much change is the unsatisfying conclusion. What if Ted Heath had gone to the country three weeks earlier in February 1974? Again, not such a big difference. All of which is baffling as to why these questions were picked in the first place. Is it either British political history is simply not that interesting, or that the writers have not made the right choices and developed the right material?

As it stands, these political counterfactuals were always predestined to fall off the library shelves and upon the discount pile – exactly where the Worm found and rescued it. But due to the lack of excitement, the test now is if can weather the future storms and stay upon the Worm’s own shelves. Like Portillo and his Tory leadership candidacy, the prospects are ominous.

Imperial Bedrooms - Bret Easton Ellis

Bret Easton Ellis - Imperial Bedrooms (2010)
Novel – 180 pages - my copy (hardback; 2010) bought for £8 from Waterstone’s, Drake’s Circus, in July 2010
- 3 nods out of 5 -

Brett Easton Ellis has made a career about on an ability to shock his audience: from the drug fuelled parties of a teenager wasteland to the mad and psychotic killings from the hands of Patrick Bateman. Blood has seeped from axes, from children toys and even a cash machine. But what becomes of a middle aged Ellis? Is the reader to expect this is the end of those terrors?

Of course not. Ellis responds to the forties by resurrecting his earliest characters from Less Than Zero, bringing them with him into a mid-life crisis of bloody proportions. Imperial Bedrooms follows Clay as he comes to terms with life on the wrong side of forty in the L.A. of the twenty first century.

The most striking aspect of Ellis’ latest novel is the appearance of an actual plot line, reflecting a continuing trend in his writing style, following on from the publication of Lunar Park in 2005. Ellis’ previous novels had characters meandering about, bumping into one another (amongst the drug taking, slashing and general feelings of apathy); whereas in Imperial Bedrooms we get the structure of a genre, that of thriller. The reader follows Clay during an unravelling, we watch as he picks up clues, the plot – if the Worm may indulge – indeed thickening. Unfortunately, most of this ‘plot’ is Clay talking to people on his iPhone, reading texts on his iPhone, sending off emails on, yes, you guessed, his iPhone.

There are the usual themes of Ellis’ fiction: alienation, loneliness, and the blurring of dream and reality. It follows the tone of Lunar Park, but Imperial Bedrooms is a poor successor. Less Than Zero had its youth to define and justify it; whereas the forty-something Clay has no redeeming qualities. The evil and twisted ending sex scenes – fitting for the pages of American Psycho itself – leave the reader confused, more than enlightened. But is this the novelist’s overall purpose? In the book’s opening pages, Clay himself disputes all that came before, the novel and the resulting movie of Less Than Zero, reacting to the previous ‘moral compass.’ Is Imperial Bedrooms, then, Ellis’ attempt to set the record straight? Who is to know amongst the confusion; all that is clear is the lack of guilt, the absence of remorse. Here, King Hedonism resigns supreme.

Imperial Bedrooms is a book of obvious limitations. But its thriller aspect, its overall short length – especially when so many books these days are bloated (Glamorama included) – make this a page turner and worthy 3 nodder.

Live Ethically - Peter McBride

Peter MacBride – Live Ethically (2008)
Lifestyle – 200 pages – my copy (paperback; 2010) bought for £9.99 from Waterstone’s, Drake’s Circus, in August 2010
- 2 nods out of 5 -

Yes, we all know we should reduce, reuse and recycle – but the initial struggle is picking up these useful patterns to aid us throughout our lives. Live Ethically is a beginner’s guide to do just that. In two hundred pages the author – Peter MacBride- takes us on a journey of energy usage, of ethical shopping, to our impact on travel and much more in-between.

Recent decades have brought onwards the promotion of ethical living, creating greater awareness our decisions have on the world around us. Much of this isn’t designated for the “hippy” element of society, nor for those educated or wealthy enough; to paraphrase my dear friend Tom Paine, this is common sense.

MacBride is an amiable host, helping the reader make these possible decisions a reality; from the simplicity of turning off a light to the possibility of switching banks to one that will be responsible with your money (no big bonuses and no funding of weapons of mass destruction). There is a sliding scale on each of these actions, therefore no need to feel daunted or overwhelmed. Throughout the book are adjoining illustrations, and more importantly an extensive list of websites in which to immediately visit to start making a life an ethical one.

What is refreshing about Live Ethically is the absence of preaching on the holiness of these ethical decisions and the brimstone and fire of our current lives. As an unassuming guide, this book isn’t a classic comparable to Shakespeare; but it may help the reader to open the mind.

Common Sense - Thomas Paine

Thomas Paine – Common Sense (1776)
Political – read as an iPhone app, August 2010
- 5 nods out of 5 -

A book that is said to have sparked the American Revolution; no small feat, for sure. But then Thomas Paine was no small man, exerting a large influence across the Western world during the later half of the revolutionary and changing eighteenth century.

Common Sense was published anonymously in 1776; it instantly gripped the readership of the Atlantic seaboard colonies, helping to clarify the American opposition to British dominance whilst also catapulting Paine to fame in the process. Historians have waxed lyrically about the pamphlet’s importance, and the Worm sees fit to continue in this rightful tradition.

Throughout this short and exciting pamphlet, Paine speaks of the ridiculousness of the English constitution, on the chance of hereditary succession, before moving onto the possible greatness of an independent, strong and vibrant America. It is crazy, he claims, for a small island to rule a mighty continent; and he backs this up with many concrete arguments: the gulf in distance between the two – a whole ocean – meant it was harder to communicate and govern; as well as the makeup of the American people coming from all of Europe and not just Britain herself. The biggest point was the selfishness of British involvement, there in America for its own profit and not for the benefit of the continental people.

Many of these points had been raised previously; however, Paine brought these points to the people. Unlike other political and philosophical writing of the time, Paine has done away with the Latin and learned references, instead preferring for an easy to read style upon a common language that makes his writing so easy and enjoyable to read today. Here are references for every man to understand, that of the Bible! Paine’s prose brings us passion, drama, ethics and a powerful, overriding belief in what is right.

As with his later works, Paine paints the ills of the time, as well as proscribing possible cures. Common Sense is awash with ideas for the future, even going into specifics (as he does in Rights of Man) of how a free America should be governed, including that of a revolving presidency between the original thirteen colonies.

Relative to the population of the time, the book is the most popular in American history. Characteristically, Paine donated his proceeds to the upkeep of the Continental Army, who were locking horns with the British, fighting for Paine’s vision of a free America. Common Sense is a must read for those with an interest in politics, in the founding of America and all lovers of liberty.

Wide Sargasso Sea - Jean Rhys

Jean Rhys – Wide Sargasso Sea (1966)
Novel – 125 pages - my copy (Penguin paperback; 2001) bought frantically in December 2006 four days before my Literature exam
- 3 nods out of 5 -

Jane Eyre is noted as one of the finest novels of English fiction; enjoyed and studied by thousands each and every year. Jean Rhys’ Wide Sargasso Sea, written one hundred years later, is less well known. But both novels share a link; the first shows the manic character of Bertha, while the second brings out Bertha’s beginnings years before Jane’s arrival.

Bringing characters back to life upon the page is popular with readers, hence the continuing – perhaps monotonous – practice of writers sticking with particular detectives and families. Such re-imagining is rarely achieved to any high level; main reasons include the reconstruction of a character at conflict with our own memory of the first reading, as well as the reconstruction occurring not by the hands of the original author, but rather by a later writer seemingly bereft of their own ideas. Wide Sargasso Sea could be targeted for both of these reasons, being written a century after the original and with the character of Bertha transformed into the sensual, emotional and human Antoinette.

Rhys succeeds in taking the reader through an action packed story of 125 pages, taking in themes of love and marriage and wider issues of slavery and race. Set in the West Indies in the post-emancipation of slavery in the 1830s, the novel charts the innocent beginnings of Bertha in her original incarnation as Antoinette. Her family are outcasts, of the old slave owning class that are hated by the people of the island. Never finding a place in society, she believes she finds acceptance with a man who remains unnamed throughout the novel, but who is clearly Mr Rochester from Jane Eyre. The young Rochester is suspicious of the island and its ways, ending the novel as Antoinette’s jailer, removing her from the place of her birth, removing her name and her nature.

The West Indies are brought to full colour, as is to be expected by the native Jean Rhys. The landscape becomes overbearing for both our and Rochester’s eyes: ‘Everything is too much…Too much blue, too much purple, too much green. The flowers too red, the mountains too high, the hills too near’ (p.39). In many ways, it is a more alive and exciting novel than Bronte’s Jane Eyre, though its mysteriousness also acts as a barrier to truly embracing these characters.

The book ends back in more familiar climes in England, where the now branded Bertha takes a flame to Rochester’s home. ‘I was outside holding my candle. Now at last I know why I was brought here and what I have to do,’ come the lines from the concluding paragraph. What comes next is the engulfing fire, of Bertha’s death and Antoinette’s final liberation.

Despite the lack of great inter-textual fiction – and Wide Sargasso Sea, despite its fans, is not “great” – the idea itself will long continue to hold sway. For instance, what became of a middle aged Holden Caulfield at the end of The Catcher in the Rye, of the early years of Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights, and even perhaps of the next instalment of Pooter’s The Diary of a Nobody.

The Frock Coated Communist - Tristram Hunt

Tristram Hunt – The Frock Coated Communist (2009)
Biography – 400 pages – my copy (paperback; 2010) a present from the one-and-only anti-socialist, Roy Cook, in April 2010
- 4 nods out of 5 -

The recent economic recession – the worst for eighty years – has made communism somewhat fashionable again. There have been new prints of the manifesto, documentaries upon Marx, and fresh evaluations of his “bulldog” Friedrich Engels.

Despite being the understudy for many years, to both contemporaries and commentators ever since, Engels has found a kind and considerate biographer in Tristram Hunt. The author - since May 2010 serving as MP for Stoke-On-Trent – has made a name for himself as one of Britain’s most promising historians. As enterprising as the likes of Niall Ferguson, he has shown himself at home in teaching, in study, upon the television, the radio, and amongst the sharp teeth of Westminster.

The reader is taken a journey throughout Engels’ life, from his birth into a Protestant bourgeois household, his birth as a revolutionary, his meeting with Marx, and later years as both the ‘Grand Lama of the Regent’s Park Road’ and ‘Marx’s Bulldog’. Hunt is great at constructing the narrative, at bringing in the (often complex) philosophical background, as well as providing colour to Engels and Marx; the author delighting at mining the wealth of letters sent between the pair over four decades. Furthermore, Hunt uses wide and extensive research, from Russian to German archives, to give us, the reader, a first class experience.

It is the opening chapters, of Engels’ communist awakening, in which Hunt keeps the reader entertained. From travelling to the Russian town of Engels in the book’s opening, to charting Engels’ young life in entertaining fashion. It is a shame the middle years do not fare well; but this is not unsurprising: Engels was becoming older, no longer dashing from country to country to give energy to the communist rise. The narrative is lost, Hunt preferring to note the general themes and threads of the 1850s, ‘60s and ‘70s until Engels’ retirement, when once again he could return full-time to his passion.

It is doubtful if Hunt’s study will become the principal study for readers, but it stands high and tall at bringing Engels back from the dead. In these uncertain economic times, the modern world could easily do with a living Engels and his vest for new ideas and methods.

The Dubliners - James Joyce

James Joyce – Dubliners (1914)
Fiction – 240 pages – my copy (paperback; 2000) bought for £1.50 from a second hand bookshop in Truro, summer of 2009
- 4 nods out of 5 -

James Joyce is one of the heavyweights of modern literature – a Muhammad Ali of the written page – revered from Dublin to London, and from Paris to New York. Before the perplexing and mammoth reads of Ulysses and Finnegan’s Wake came Dubliners; a collection of short stories amounting to Joyce’s first substantial work of fiction.

Similarly with all of Joyce’s other works, this collection concerns itself with all things Irish, from the death of the reverend in ‘The Sisters’, to the warring politicians of ‘Ivy Day in the Committee Room’, through to Gabriel’s’ ruminating in the very last story ‘The Dead’. The speech, the language, the tone and the theme – all more Irish than a pint of Dublin brewed Guinness.

These are the stories (bar that of ‘After the Race’) of common people, of whom bring Dublin to life. Although many of the stories may lack any action or actual plot, each is blessed with a Joycean ending epiphany; a dawning realisation of their purpose and their life. Due to the volume of characters, these range from the small to the sublime, with the constant being Joyce’s use of words. Take this example from ‘Araby’, the story of a boy who desires to purchase a gift for a girl:

‘Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned anguish and anger’ (p.28).

The thread of the stories is Dublin itself, and although the book does not follow a narrative, it does follow a progression of age; from the innocence and confusion of youth in the opening chapters, through to love and lust of the middle chapters, ending on those long in the tooth. The book’s ending story, ‘The Dead’, has garnered most attention, forming the basis of films; its fifty pages indicate Joyce’s admiration of its characters. But it cannot compare with the striking images of the first opening four stories, particularly ‘The Sisters’, ‘Araby’ and ‘Eveline’. Joyce appears more comfortable and intent when writing in a child’s perspective, something he would follow up in The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.

This edition – a modern Penguin Classics – benefits from a welcome Introduction and comprehensive notes from the hands of Terence Brown. Dubliners is a purchase for the student of Modernist literature, as well as an embracing opening to those yet still to meet this heavyweight of fiction.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - F. Scott Fitzgerald

F. Scott Fitzgerald – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (1922)
Short Story – read as iPhone app in July 2010
- 3 nods out of 5 -

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby (1925) is, hands down, one of the most influential novels of the past one hundred years. But amongst his novels and his tempestuous relationship with his wife, Zelda, came a plethora of short stories, written for an instant cash injection to booster the Fitzgerald finances. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, is one such story.

Originally published in Colliers Magazine (USA) in 1922, and later reprinted in various anthologies and collections. In recent times, the story has found wider popularity in the movie adaptation of 2008, starring Brad Pitt in the contrary and confused life of Benjamin Button.

The story follows the birth of Benjamin, born not as an infant, but rather an elderly man. Seen as a monstrosity, his father shaves his beard and insists on a proper upbringing: toys not cigars. Benjamin’s life is full of conflict, such being rejected from Yale as being seen as an elderly madcap, until the passing of time brings with it youth and strength. He marries, but husband and wife become estranged due to diverging interests; while at the close of the nineteenth century, Benjamin fights in the Spanish-American War, returning home to live a party lifestyle.

Yet by the commencement of the next war, Benjamin is ridiculed as an upstart kid for his appearance in military uniform, ready to fight the enemy again. He fulfils one of his life aims in returning to Yale, but his vibrancy is lost, day by day, as he becomes all the more younger and feeble. Eventually, Benjamin acts as “nephew” to his son, overtaken in intellect by his own grandson. As a toddler, he forgets all he has done, living a life of sense and desire only:

‘And then he remembered nothing. When he was hungry he cried – that was all. Through the noons and nights he breathed and over him there were soft mumblings and murmurings that he scarcely heard, and faintly differentiated smells, and light and darkness. Then it was all dark, and his white crib and the dim face that moved above him, and the warm sweet aroma of the milk, faded out altogether from his mind.’

The film adaptation vastly differs from the short story, from setting and time, to characters and upbringing. Though the greatest difference is in the short story’s humour and David Fincher’s seriousness (Fitzgerald deemed it the funniest story he had ever written), as well as the aging process of Benjamin: in the movie, he begins young as a child and learns and grows; whilst Fitzgerald has him born as an old man, with a full beard and a fondness for smoking cigars.

But the basic idea remains true: how time continues to change us, no matter who we are. It is stated Fitzgerald was inspired by Mark Twain’s comment upon our existence: ‘It is a pity that the best part of life comes at the beginning, and the worst part at the end.’

The Communist Manifesto - Marx & Engels

Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels – The Communist Manifesto (1848)
Political – 260 pages – my copy (Penguin Classics paperback; 2002) bought for £5.99 from Drake’s Circus Waterstones, Plymouth
- 5 nods out of 5 -

‘A spectre is haunting Europe’… so begins The Communist Manifesto. And not just Europe, but the world all over throughout the twentieth century, Communism was a domineering presence. At one point, in the 1950s, it appeared Soviet Russia was to overtake the USA and become the world’s only superpower. The origins of this assault upon capitalism can be traced back to Marx and Engels’ combined work.

Written whilst the 1848 European revolutions were breaking out, the Manifesto was the initial key guide for Marxist understanding: for years it became the centrepiece in Soviet classrooms. Its final words were repeated, chanted and believed: ‘Let the ruling classes tremble at a Communistic revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. WORKING MEN OF ALL COUNTRIES UNITE!’ (p.258). But alas, the communist giant of Russia fell twenty years ago; China has metamorphosed into a hybrid capitalist-Marxist state; the Manifesto is no longer gospel, but rather, historical.

This edition – edited as a Penguin Classic – comes with an extended and delightful introduction by Gareth Stedman Jones. The reader is given a run-through of the history of the Manifesto, from its origins through to its inception. Not a blade of grass is missed: from the early Communist writings, the Young Hegelians, the impact of writers such as Adam Smith, including all the prefaces to various editions of the manifesto in the nineteenth century (Preface to the Polish Edition of 1892 anyone?). All of which makes it both comprehensive and welcomed.

The manifesto itself remains a strong seller, used in political, historical and philosophical classrooms. Reading it now, here in the confines of the twenty first century, much of what was promised is clearly incorrect. No, Engels was wrong when he believed Marxism was ‘destine to do for history what Darwin’s theory has done for biology’ (p.203); while its radical elements – abolishment of private property and the centralisation of media and communication – is frowned upon by the rise of individual freedoms in the past century.

But despite this, it remains a riveting read. Not just because we now know what came to pass, but because so much it holds common sense: equality between men and women, universal and free education for children, a graduated income tax, as well as the end of national friction and wars. Much of it is voiced in John Lennon’s Imagine: 'Imagine there's no countries…no religion too…’

If the question is open for debate upon all wars being those of class struggles, Marx and Engels were clear upon their critique of capitalism’s consuming desire to conquer all. It remains all the more valid in today’s economic climate, when a realisation is slowly dawning that live on a planet of finite resources and therefore cannot continue expanding. As the socialist duo pointed out, there is an ‘epidemic of overproduction’ (p.226), which will need a revision of our social and economic ties.

The future for Communism looks bleak. But a certainty remains, that Marx and Engels’ thrilling and enlightening read will long continue to sell in far and wide places, from Beijing to San Francisco, from Paris to Cairo; and even Plymouth Waterstones.

What If? - Robert Cowley (ed.)

Robert Cowley (ed.) – What If? (1999)
History – 400 pages – my copy (paperback; 2001) bought for £2.49 from the Oxfam Bookshop in Chiswick, London, sometime in 2008
- 3 nods out of 5 -

Simple parlour games, have said many historians in the past. But the “what ifs” of history have long lasting popularity with the reading public. This selection of articles, edited by Robert Cowely, continues in the same imaginary vein of previous incarnations; the front cover also true to form, with Hitler – remember him? – saluting victoriously at the head of the march of soldiers throughout history.

Cowley’s edited pieces are upon military outcomes, from the Greek fights against the Persians in 480 B.C., through to the second half of the twentieth century. It depicts the Mongols turning back from their European invasion, the Spanish Armada, the American Civil War, and of course, many scenarios from the Second World War (‘How Hitler Could Have Won the War’, ‘D Day Fails’ and so on…). Each article is easy to read, informative and ultimately, enjoyable. The layman is introduced to key battles in history, with each historian following the same format: background to event, the event itself, and the plausibility of different outcomes.

The unfortunate hindrance of What If? is the blatant American bias: we have the American fight for independence (3 articles), the American Civil War (3 articles), as well as the American involvement in the Second World War. By way of comparison, the Roman Empire is given a mere one article, while Asia (but for the Mongols) and African history is non-existent. These are the works of American military historians, writing for a primarily American audience; but it becomes highly annoying when all scenarios lead to how it effects the United States. Without Cortez, could there be the USA? Without Drake, could there be the USA? Without the Spartans….and so on.

At no point does Cowley’s selection threaten to grab the reader; unlike other “parlour games” of recent publication, most notably Niall Ferguson’s Virtual History (previously reviewed by the Worm, and given a handsome 4 nods). But as conversation fodder for eager pub quizzers, it is a fitting book for the shelf.

The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger

J.D. Salinger – The Catcher in the Rye (1945)
Novel – 190 pages – my copy (paperback; 1994) bought for £2.99 from the Oxfam Bookshop in St. Austell, Cornwall in July 2010
- 5 nods out of 5 -

The Catcher in the Rye is one of those novels that have captured public imagination for more than half a century. It charts the tale of Holden Caulfield - a confused and angry teenager – and his attempt to remove himself from the world around him; primarily away from “the fakes”.

Salinger’s creation has long been a hit with fans: Holden has been rhymed in song, debated in critique, while providing the misguided inspiration in Mark Chapman’s killing of John Lennon. One of its enduring images is of Holden talking about his self proclaimed role to save the kids playing amongst the rye from falling from the cliffs: ‘I mean if they’re running and they don’t look where they’re going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That’s all I’d do all day. I’d just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it’s crazy, but that’s the only thing I’d really like to be. I know it’s crazy.’ (p156).

The Worm read Salinger’s short and lively novel whilst a child himself; Holden’s quest for truth and enlightenment staying long with him. Now, older – even if perhaps no wiser – the Worm returned to the book as a nod to the novelist himself, who died earlier this year. What makes The Catcher in the Rye an enduring read is the continuing strength of the characters. Of course, Holden himself, but also those around him: Ackley and Stradlater from the dorm, the ‘three witches’ from the bar, Maurice the pimp, Mr Antolini, and Holden’s kid sister, Phoebe. They remain vivid due to Holden’s portrait of them, his opinions both potent and powerful.

The reader remains loyal to Holden and his search for honesty, from the bars and clubs, to the talks with the taxi drivers, to his heart-felt reminisces of his dead brother, Allie. We believe him when he tells his girlfriend Sally he wants to run away with her, and believe him again when he confesses: ‘If you want to know the truth, I don’t even know why I started all that stuff with her. I mean about going away somewhere, to Massachusetts and Vermont and all. I probably wouldn’t’ve taken her even if she’d wanted to go with me. She wouldn’t have been anybody to go with. The terrible part, though, is that I meant it when I asked her. That’s the terrible part. I swear to God I’m a madman’ (p.120).

Second read, there are noticeable pitfalls in the text, begging the question: did Salinger actually know where he was going with this character, with this story, when writing it? Most likely not. Furthermore, the ending would have been better served a page short, thus removing the final line: ‘Don’t tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody’ (p.192), and replacing with the much stronger image of “good old Phoebe” riding upon the merry-go-around, Holden’s eyes full of tears.

The Catcher in the Rye will continue to capture popular imagination; the strength of Holden Caulfield cannot fail to evoke questions within us about our place in society and interactions with those we love and trust. But it is a read best served when under twenty years of age; perhaps the advancing years distance the reader from Holden’s naive quest for his own brand of the truth.

Manchester United: A Biography - Jim White

Jim White – Manchester United: The Biography (2008)
Sports – 420 pages – my copy (hardback; 2010) bought from The Works for £3 in July 2010
- 3 nods

The Worm has a statement for you all: Manchester United is the greatest football team on the planet. And the Worm does not state so, due to being a United fan. No, no, the statement has fact as well as emotional ties. They have a grand and sweeping history, are the home of George Best, of Bobby Charlton and of the French King Eric Cantona. They have won all the cups there are to win: Premier Leagues, FA Cups, and European Cups. The Red Devils play at the Theatre of Dreams, in front of the largest attendances, spoken of by the largest number of fans upon the planet. The greatest, period.

Jim White’s history upon United – he, too, would agree with the above, valid statement – takes the reader from its humble origins as Newton Heath in the late Victorian period, through the wars to the modern day riches of the twenty first century. It ends in the 2008 Champions League final; John Terry’s choked penalty shot a fitting climax to all that has come before.

Throughout all, White is an amiable host, charting the ups and downs across the decades. Despite a pendant for quoting the words ‘parsimonious defence’ once too often, the author is funny and insightful. Although there were earlier successes – such as the title win of 1909 – the real history of United heats up with the arrival of Matt Busby after the Second World War. Then came the Busby Babes; the Holy Trinity of Law, Best and Charlton; titles and glory; flare and drama.

Yes, plenty of drama, including the 1958 Munich air crash, which robbed United and England of a generation of almighty talent (none more so than the impressive Duncan Edwards). For many, the crash brought about a strong romantic attachment that continues to the present day. The height of which came ten years later with United’s very first European Cup win, thus vindicating Busby’s quest.

The years in-between the two Scots – both Busby and Ferguson – are ones of mediocrity, an attempt to beat the likes of Liverpool. Much chopping and changing of managers, of which Ron Atkinson provides the book’s liveliest quotes, end with the arrival of the glum Glaswegian in 1986, who has continued to lead United to it’s current status as the world’s largest club. Oh, and of course, “the greatest football team on the planet.”

Manchester United: A Biography is not a read for anyone without an interest in football. Of course, it is catered for United fans – but the United Church is a million strong one, with White’s book a welcome addition to large catalogue of histories and autobiographies. So, altogether now: Glory, glory Man United… Glory, glory Man United…

The Passion of New Eve - Angela Carter

Angela Carter – The Passion of New Eve (1977)
Novel – 190 pages – my copy (paperback; 2002) bought from Amazon for a trifling sum - 2008
- 4 nods

The Passion of New Eve charts the adventures of Evelyn, starting in London and ending upon the deep blue of the Pacific coast. In-between, Evelyn is down and out in civil war torn New York; is kidnapped and subjected to a sex change; programmed into womanhood and arranged to give birth to a child of the new world; escapes and is – again – kidnapped by the vicious Zero and continually raped amongst an awful harem of girls; finally escaping again with a Hollywood female icon, who, in fact, turns out to be male; and on it continues, until Evelyn – now Eve – is left alone upon the ‘ocean, mother of mysteries, bear me to the place of birth’ (p.191).

Sounds like a handful. And indeed, Angela Carter’s twisted picaresque novel is just that. It is adventure and thriller, fitting neatly into the Science Fiction dystopia mould (though Carter herself would call it Speculative Fiction). Yet, it is much more than that. A critique of the modern world, of our possible diverging futures: of feminism, of racism, of ourselves.

Throughout Evelyn’s journey, the myth that surrounds him breaks down: from the matriarchy of Mother to the patriarchy of Zero. Both are evil, bloated figures; Mother is a God-like figure giving “life”, telling Evelyn: ‘I am the Great Parricide, I am the Castratrix of the Phallocentric Universe, I am Mama, Mama, Mama!’ (p.67). Her followers are fanatical, shearing their left breast to follow her. While Zero oppresses the women in his harem, forcing them to follow his scripture and law, what is in effect the ‘Church of Zero’ (p.99). All are destroyed, resulting in Eve sailing upon the innocent, fresh waves of the ocean – ready for the future, a new synthesis.

Yet it is the breaking down of gender identity that makes this novel such a compelling read, which reaches it’s peak of confusion in Eve’s marriage to Tristessa (a man who has hidden his “secret” for an entire life): ‘both were bride, both were groom’ (p.135). As Eve states: ‘I was a boy disguised as a girl and now disguised as a boy again’ (p.132). The witnesses to the wedding, a blurred menagerie of mannequins symbolise this union: ‘Ramon Navarro’s head was perched on Jean Harlow’s torso and had one arm from John Barrymore Junior, the other from Marilyn Monroe and legs from yet other donors – all assembled in haste, so they looked like picture-puzzles’ (p.134).

As expected, Carter’s writing style is dense in symbolic imagery and references to figures of the past (particularly Greek goddesses). As such, The Passion of New Eve is a heavy read, and not a particularly heart warming one. There is much distress within these two hundred pages; rape and murder among them. But it is a read better understood and enjoyed second time round. Carter’s insight and questions to us, the reader, surely ensures there will be a second sitting with this book.

At Home - Bill Bryson

Bill Bryson – At Home - A Short History of Private Life (2010)
History – 490 pages – my copy (hardback, 2010) signed by the mighty Bill Bryson himself in May, 2010
-3 nods

There is a back-story to the reading of this book. If the Worm may indulge his readership, he is eager to tell it:

It begins one sunny May day. The Worm ventured from deepest Devon to the town of Bath. There in the Topping & Co bookshop, the same very Mr Bryson was sitting signing books. One such lucky book was this copy of At Home. A treat indeed, for the Bryson adoring Worm.

At Home is a run through each of the room’s of Bryson’s Norfolk house, asking the questions of why we do just what we do (for instance, why the key condiments of salt and pepper, and not salt or cinnamon?). The author takes his home as the book’s basic structure as we, the reader, fly through centuries of history.

At first lovingly devoured, the first new release for years since The Thunderbolt Kid (the Shakespeare biography to be quickly forgotten), the Worm was ready for this read. Unfortunately, the book itself failed to live up to the adventure of the signature.

Yes, there are the usual hallmarks of Bryson: vast and interesting digressions, humour and wit, an unending fondness for small facts and an ever willing need to learn more about the world. But throughout many points in At Home the digression lingers into sterility and the wit vanishes. Yes, the small facts remain – however, the book takes the appearance of a series of cut and pasted Wikipedia articles.

Want to learn about the Eiffel tower? About the nouvel riches of powerful American families? Of, indeed, much beside private life – the very driving point of this book! Then this offering is for you. However, for those still in search of our private lives, we must search on.

Thankfully, Bryson warms up after two hundred pages. Yet the final assessment must be made that it is much too long – 490 pages! – and much too pointless. Where is the Bryson of former times, of the man who brought us The Short History of Nearly Everything? It raises a few questions: has Bryson gone off the boil? Or has the Worm lost his love for the bearded bard?

But a glimpse upon the row of Bryson's titles upon the "Bryson-Shelf" convinces the Worm that love is not lost. Too many jokes, too many adventures. Time can heal all wounds.

The Worm's Yearly Review 2009-2010

It was the best of books; it was the worst of books.

The Worm’s mission of devouring one hundred books fell a little short. After keeping up the pace until Christmas 2009, the Worm slackened in the New Year (blast gainful employment!). Yet the final figure – a handsome and rounded sixty-eight – was one full of many beauties, many fantastical reads, and, as always, the novelty and pointless.

First to the Worm’s top ten of 2009-2010:

1. Berlin Diary (1941) – William Shirer
The diary gives anyone with an interest in Hitler and Nazism a refreshing viewpoint. Based upon Shirer’s entries whilst in the German capital during 1930s, the author keeps his reader firmly entertained throughout. Unique and gripping. 5 nods.

2. Lord Jim (1900) – Joseph Conrad
Acclaimed as one of the prime writers in the English language, Lord Jim is arguably his finest achievement. A real heavyweight of literature. 5 nods.

3. Rights of Man (1792) – Thomas Paine
Required reading for anyone who seriously wishes to discuss liberty and all things political. An easy and accessible read. Paine remains a true legend. 5 nods.

4. The American Future (2008) – Simon Schama
The only “modern” 5 nodder the Worm read in the past year. Schama is rightfully known as a leading historian: opposite his analytical prowess is a talent to entertain. 5 nods.

5. Wuthering Heights (1847) – Emily Bronte
A true English classic. Victorian literature is known for its priggishness and clichéd love stories; but this Bronte does not fail to deliver a mesmerising and devastating tale. 5 nods.

6. The Annals of Imperial Rome (ed. 1956) – Tacitus
A history passed down hundreds upon hundreds of years. Tacitus’s observations remain valid to those in power today. 5 nods.

7. Macbeth (1606) – William Shakespeare
Shakespeare for the fast and furious: blood and gore and general overall madness. 4 nods.

8. The Selfish Gene (1976) – Richard Dawkins
Thought provoking prose from the equally heralded and despised Dawkins. Is chief failing is Dawkins overall storytelling. 4 nods.

9. War & Peace (1869) – Leo Tolstoy
Thrilling and gripping. But, of course, much too long. 4 nods.

10. Ghost Train to the Eastern Star (2008) – Paul Theroux
Theroux is the perfect travel companion. Take this journey with him across Europe and Asia. 4 nods.
Six genuine 5 nodders; unfortunately, a few other reads fell a little short. If these are the good, then the bad and distinctly ugly compete for the Worm’s Shredder Award. Entrants include the 1 nodders Great Political Eccentrics (1999) by disgraced former Tory MP Neil Hamilton, Ben Elton’s Popcorn (1996), Matt Forbeck’s fantasy novel Blood Bowl (2006), and Dribble (2007) by Harry Pearson. After much debating, the ultimate loser – or winner – goes to Matt Forbeck’s crazy and truly awful Blood Bowl (2006). I defended the novel in my review last year due to personal and long standing ties to the game – yet not even the Worm can save it from the shredder.

Apologies are sent out to Richard Dawkins’ God Delusion (2006), Bret Easton Ellis’ Less Than Zero (1985), and Walter Allen’s The English Novel (1954). All were marked severely by a scolding Worm; and subsequent nagging doubt has raised their final grades by a nod.

Whilst special mentions go out to Bill Bryson and the historian Niall Ferguson. Both kept the Worm’s eyes warm on many a night this past year, each contributing three books to the final number of sixty eight (Bryson: Mother Tongue, African Diary, Down Under; Ferguson: The War of the World, Empire, Virtual History). If these constituted personal favourites, there are many authors who will never be revisited, such as the dull D.J. Bercuson & H.H. Herwig, as well as the previously mentioned 1 nodders.

A total of 21,860 pages were read and fingered, resulting in an average of 321 page book average, ranging from Bryson’s small African Diary (60 pages) to Tolstoy’s door-stopper War & Peace (1,300 pages). 5 nodders constituted nine percent of the 68 books; 4 nodders twenty-seven percent; 3 nodders being the largest on thirty-seven percent; many 2 nodders on twenty-six percent; whilst 1 nodders, thankfully, remained on a low six percent. Works of fiction dominated the Worms’ reading: from novels to short stories. Equally high upon the list were history books, from the Roman Empire to Plymothian fascists. Further favourites were politics and travel; whilst science related reads were boosted by Paul Strathern’s accessible reads.

2009-2010 is now over. A vintage year of reading; but yet the show must go on. The Worm is not yet dead – Long live the Worm!

Full awards:
Book of the Year: Berlin Diary (1941) by William Shirer
Recommended Fiction Read: Lord Jim (1900) by Joseph Conrad
Recommended History Read: American Future (2008) by Simon Schama
Recommended Science Related Read: The Selfish Gene (1976) by Richard Dawkins
Recommended Travel Read: Ghost Train to the Eastern Star (2006) by Paul Theroux
Recommended Autobiographical Read: All Because of Him (1995) by Klara Anderson
Recommended Political Read: Rights of Man (1792) by Thomas Paine
Longest Book Award: War & Peace (1869) by Leo Tolstoy
Shortest Book Award: African Diary (1998) by Bill Bryson
Shredder Award: Blood Bowl (2006) by Matt Forbeck

The Blair Years - Alistair Campbell

Alistair Campbell – The Blair Years (2007)
Politics – 750 pages – my copy (paperback;
- 2 nods

Since the fall-out of this year’s General Election and the resulting decline of New Labour, a plethora of political diaries have hit the shelves. Yes, their Westminster careers may be other, but there is still plenty of money to sweep up in all good bookstores everywhere. With Mandleson’s book doing its best at heightening tension in those in the Labour camp, Campbell’s own The Blair Years is a comparatively lame affair. Written before the end of New Labour, it is lightweight against today’s heavyweight of revelations. Indeed, Campbell himself is bringing out a hard-hitting and clawed version of his diaries to keep at bay the hunger of today’s demand.

So, what is Campbell’s book worth now in the political climate of 2010? It remains an interesting look into charting the rise of New Labour: from the opposition benches of the mid-nineties, to the euphoria of the 1997 landslide win, towards the notable decline and, yes, of course, the Iraq war (Legal? Illegal? The debate drags on…). The Blair Years succeeds in the detailing of Campbell’s close relationship with Tony Blair. We get a picture of Blair seldom seen in public or press: nervous, indecisive and worrying of the future.

But these extracts don’t dish out the dirt as future editions might be expected. Sure, there are attacks on various former cabinet ministers – such as Clare Short – but the targets are notably lightweight. Only rumblings on the ruptures between Brown and Blair, between Brown and Mandleson, between Brown and, well, everybody. Their soap-opera entanglements are of course second to the real nitty gritty of actual politics, yet we, the public, still bang the drum for more revelations.

Most of the pages note Campbell’s constant frustration and tiring of the job of propping up Blair and Co. A month doesn’t go by when he writes of his pending resignation. He refutes the accusation of Chief Spin Doctor, successfully detailing his side of events and his unwilling involvement in many media stories. But amongst this are cringing appraisals of Campbell’s work-rate, compliments mentioned from Bill Clinton, from Mrs Clinton, from Clinton’s aides and on and on and on.

Political diaries of the past prove of use for future evaluations of periods, the rock-bed of many a historian’s study. It would be stretching the truth to suggest The Blair Years will provide such a role; in appears condemned to be the poorer sibling of the more juicy out-pourings of Mandleson and the remainder of the New Labour cronies. O pity the poor historian.

Macbeth - William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare – Macbeth (1606)
Play – 200 pages – my copy (hardback; 1993) still kept from the Worm’s school days.
- 4 nods

4 nods? Why not the full 5! This is William Shakespeare, after all. For many years the Worm has resisted the need to relentlessly handclap Bill’s many successes. Yet the countless adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays – on stage, on television, on film, etc, etc, etc – clearly show how his work remains relevant. There are reboots and there are teen comedy translations; the reason why? Because these stories clearly delight.

Macbeth – otherwise called The Tragedy of Macbeth, or more commonly known with actors as ‘The Scottish Play’ – is an oddity in Shakespeare’s canon for being rather short. It is a play bristling with action, charting Macbeth’s dirty ambition to become ruler of Scotland. Nothing stands in his way, not mere men, not mere friends, nor even mere kings!

Of course, everyone knows the plot and its outcome. After butchering all who stand in his way, Macbeth himself is slain. It is a tragedy, with questions arising on free will and predestination. It is to the witches in which Macbeth’s ambition is born, turning a humble servant of King Duncan into his murderer.

The majority of characters remain simple vessels for the movement of story – such as the ill fated Duncan himself. But if the cast of Macbeth fail to scale the heights of Hamlet et al, the Macbeths themselves are enough to sustain the reader and audience member. Macbeth becomes rampant, whilst his wife – she who requested to become un-sexed – ends deluded: ‘Here’s the small of the blood still: all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. Oh, oh, oh!’

The play ends and justice is restored. Yet perhaps the Stuart audience of the day misread the natural balance; two of King James’ successors would be disposed! Macbeth remains popular with the action fans of the theatre – and long may the handclapping continue.

The Wild Palms - William Faulkner

William Faulkner – The Wild Palms (1939)
Novel – 240 pages – my copy (paperback; 1991) bought for £2.50 from the Beardie’s Bookstore on Plymouth Barbican, summer of 2009
- 2 nods

Mr Faulkner is widely regarded as one of the great novelists of American fiction. He penned some of the Worm’s personal favourite books, such as As I Lay Dying and the majestic The Sound and The Fury. The late 1920s and 1930s were a time of dazzling creativity for Faulkner; but what of his later novels, such as The Wild Palms, coming in the year when Hitler decided to cause havoc across Europe?

The Wild Palms most striking feature is that it perhaps isn’t a novel at all, but rather two novellas cut up and pieced together. The two stories are Wild Palms, in which a couple decide to forsake their carved out lives in the hope of living – to borrow the book’s blurb – ‘life on their own terms.’ The second story, Old Man, finds an escaped convict who cannot adjust to the outside world, having been incarcerated for so long.

To be quite blunt, neither story is exceptional. Whereas Faulkner’s earlier novels stunned, The Wild Palms merely plods along. Why the break up of two stories? Despite some critical attempts at constructing a single idea – ‘All are prisoners, if only of themselves’ – there is nothing unifying other than they both came from Faulkner’s hand. A different story could take the place of Old Man and the book would be no better nor worse for it.

Of the two, Wild Palms is the better story. It has movement, it has characters and it has thought. However, at no point do the likes of Harry or Charlotte grab the reader in the same ways that the likes of Caddy or Jason do from The Sound and The Fury. Here, the speech is contrived; the settings too similar of Hollywood; Faulkner, the once daring novelist, now tamed by the riches of screen-writing.

Like all great writers, Faulkner appears to have his faults, too. The Wild Palms is not an especially bad novel; but it is one that does not stand up to the heavyweight heights of its other succesful siblings.

The Turn of the Screw - Henry James

Henry James – The Turn of the Screw (1899)
Novella – 110 pages – my copy (paperback; 1998) bought for £1 from a charity bookshop in Derriford Hospital, Plymouth, late 2008
- 3 nods

The late Victorian novelist had something of a craving for tales and things that go bump in the night. The celebrated novelist Henry James was a fan of mystery, many of his books based on the ghostly and the strange, of which this – a short novella – is one of his most famous.

The Turn of the Screw is the Worm’s introduction to Henry James. The plot, in a nutshell, sees a governess caring for two children (including the eerie Miles). On spotting the ghosts of previous care-takers upon the stately home grounds, the governess tries her hardest to protect those in her care; yet her actions only serve to alienate them further away. It ends with the governess becoming ever more erratic and emotional, and upon seeking a resolution it ends with a disastrous result… but to continue babbling would mean to spoil the book’s end.

As the title suggests – the turning of the screw, ever tighter and tighter – James’ novella is one of mounting tension. In many ways, it is a psychological thriller, and one can already see a Hollywood version starring Nicole Kidman in the governess roll. Yet, despite being born in the States, James shares many viewpoints of English writers, his adopted country. The tension is real, but the drama is subtle. Furthermore, there is no exact conclusion to the tale – anathema to Hollywood audiences!

Although tension is created, one of the book’s chief failings is the constant utterances of the governess. She becomes tiring, while there is little relief for her (and the reader) other than to share her fears and secrets with the housekeeper. One of the Worm’s main gripes is in the setting out of the narrative itself: the beginning, which frames the governess’ tale as a story within a story, carries with it greater questions about the ghost story’s authority. Sadly, it is never returned to; in great contrast to James’ contemporary writers, most notably that of Joseph Conrad in his Lord Jim. An opportunity lost, perhaps, but James' novella stands and remains as an essential in the Victorian ghost-tale canon.

Dribble! - Harry Pearson

Harry Pearson – Dribble! (2007)
Sport – 280 pages – my copy (paperback; 2009) bought for £2 from The Works in Plymouth, April 2010
- 1 nod

Hailed as, and quite literally, ‘the unbelievable encyclopaedia of football’, Dribble! is the random writings of Harry Pearson. It is a spoof book on the loveable world of football (yes, a book review themed for this year’s World Cup!), referencing a whole host of jokes and lies from Mickey Mouse signing for Manchester United to imaginary players such as Keith Beast. There is even room for Bob Dylan whose song ‘I Shall Be Released’ was sung after being given a free transfer from US “soccer” team, Duluth Foot Servants.

There is no narrative – or indeed, much sense – here, other than the attempt of gaining as many laughs, from the letter A, all the way to Z. Yet there is a chief problem here: there are not many smiles to be found. Although interesting and funny at first, Dribble! fast becomes annoying and dull. As early as the letter D the Worm knew he had a long slog ahead to reach the final summit. And the final entry: ‘Zenith Readymix Biscam. Recently announced as the Official Grouting Material of Fifa World Cup 2010’. Hardly worth holding in breath for.

In many ways, the Worm admits the book was never designed for a full reading, rather a dip in and out of when the whimsy took him. However, such is the lack of excitement or laughter; such a whimsy would be near to infrequent as to be non-existent.

Ultimately, Harry Pearson’s Dribble! is pointless and a waste of time. It is the Christmas present to the uncle one sees twice a year, the book destined to hit the shelves of charity shops, or – even more fearfully – the bottom of recycling bins. If undeterred from my lone nod, I suggest you run and catch it now, while it remains in print!

A History of Histories - John Burrow

John Burrow – A History of Histories (2007)
History – 520 pages – my copy (paperback; 2009) bought for £12.99 from Waterstones in Plymouth, April 2010
- 3 nods

A historian speaks with his book publisher about his next book idea.
Historian: ‘It’s about the Romans.’
Publisher: ‘It’s been done before.’
Historian: ‘Or about the Greeks.’
Publisher: ‘Read it already.’
Historian: ‘The Normans?’
Publisher yawns, checks his watch.
Historian: ‘The Tudors?’
Publisher stands up and puts on his jacket.
Historian: ‘A history of histories?!’
Publisher is intrigued and gets out the check-book.

That historian is John Burrow, proclaimed (as the inside cover boasts) ‘one of Britain’s leading intellectual historians’. His catalogue of work hints of snootiness – sorry, intellectualism – as goes the title of ‘A Study of Victorian Social Theory’. This, A History of Histories, goes beyond one time period, one war, or one man: it is universal in the largest sense of the word.

Such a book is a big ask, from Herodotus to Eric Hobsbawn, from the Peloponnesian War to late twentieth century Micro History. Burrow tries his damned best to give us a description of the Greek historians (such as Thucydides), the Roman historians (Livy and Tacitus), Crusader and Medieval chroniclers, all the way down to the twentieth century’s peculiar strands of Marxism and increasing professionalism. Not only is the timescale immense; Burrow’s own background reading of all these historians, their works as well as their lives and times is impressive. Just glance at the bibliography and prepare to be dazzled.

But is it really the ‘tour de force’ hailed by many critics? Despite being enlightening, Burrow fails on a primary level: simple readability and lack of entertainment. Rather than being a breeze to follow, his prose is dense. The reader is given dose after dose of historian, yet they all – disappointingly – become mixed into one. Furthermore, his Western bias (admittedly, self-confessed) fails to give us a full, meaty and authoritative work. Ultimately, the scope is too wide for one historian; perhaps such a work would be better served with various articles from many pens.

A History of Histories is a book for those interested in the process and writing of history, rather than those interested in history proper. Such a market, sadly, is waning with the decrease of history students in this country. History, it appears, truly is becoming history.

So You Want To Be A Politician - Shane Greer (ed.)

Shane Greer (ed.) – So You Want To Be A Politician (2010)
Politics – 300 – my copy (paperback) bought for £14.99 from Plymouth Waterstones after the 2010 General Election
- 3 nods

The question is: well, do you want to be the next Blair, the next Brown, or God forbid, the next Bush? If such political aspirations tickle your fancy, Shane Greer’s So You Want To Be A Politician may just be the very book for you.

This book is a breezy collection of articles and essays on the goings on of the political machine; from wanting to become a councillor, to the selection process of the Labour party, campaigning, fundraising and even mastering debates. It is a faced paced book, never lagging, with each of the chapters there to inspire and not bog down the next political wannabes.

The book never takes itself too seriously; and as such, it fails to be an essential in anybody’s political kit. This is no Artists & Writers Year Book as for the budding novelist, nor the fun-filled and comprehensive Guerrilla’s Film Makers HandBook for tomorrow’s Spielbergs and Scorseses. But the book never sets it up to be such a permanent addition to the bookshelf.

The editor, Greer, has done a good job in assembling the key features of political life. More admirable is his defence of modern politics in the books’ introduction: ‘As citizens of a liberal democracy it’s all too easy for us to forget how rare and hard won the freedoms we enjoy really are…. Is our system perfect? Of course not. Are all our politicians’ paragons of virtue? Hardly. But for all our system’s flaws and our politicians’’ shortcomings, we still wake up in the morning and find that the battle to get to No. 10 is fought with words rather than weapons. That alone is something to be proud and fiercely protective of’ (p.5-6).

Okay, please forget becoming the next Blair or Bush. But how about the next Mandela, the next Lincoln or – in a contemporary setting - the next Caroline Lucas. This book is a lively introduction into such a world. Just please, for the Worm’s voting principles, make your choice the right one.

Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte

Emily Bronte – Wuthering Heights (1847)
Novel – 290 pages – my copy (paperback; 1975) bought for 1.20 from one of the many charity shops in Liskeard, late 2008
- 5 nods

Ever heard the one about the reader who picks up a much hailed classic of a novel, to trawl through its musty, dusty pages, only to find it hard to read and bored to the point of tears. The ending to this story sees the book being packaged into a box headed for the nearest charity shop; only ten pages in and never to be opened again.

It is a story often repeated. And when I bought this book three years ago my intention was to finish off where I left off two years earlier sometime in 2006. Again, I made no headway. A problem with Wuthering Heights was the heavy imagery I carried with me: there were TV adaptations of the dashing and dark Heathcliff, there was the cold moor imagery of "up, that there North"; and, of course, there was Kate Bush’s ‘Cathy, I’ve come here, I’ve come home, oh oh oh, open up your window-oh!’.

But allow me to put the record straight here. This is a classic to be read and devoured. Sure, on the surface it has the feel of a BBC costume drama in-waiting; however, the dark undertones make this a psychological page turner. Not so much a love story, but rather an anti-love story. There is passion, there is death, there are lies and there is redemption.

The characters are strong and colourful throughout, from the housekeeper Nelly to Isabella Linton. Although one of the chief narrators, Mr Lockwood, is pale in comparison, the novel’s narrative techniques keep the book alive; the reader always asking how and why. Most of which questions revolve around the enigma that is trapped inside a riddle himself: Heathcliff. Brooding, dark and mysterious; yet not the typical male love interest. He is vengeful, mean and deadly dangerous. His eventual downfall is debatable; is it the rights cancelling the wrongs? Or rather Bronte’s submission to the happy ending cliché?

Yet disregarding this, Wuthering Heights is a stunning achievement. Without wanting to add my applause to the history of patronising comments, it is all the more remarkable coming from the pen of an insular female, rather than a person of world experience. The Brontes are everywhere celebrated, but let’s make this clear: Wuthering Heights is far inferior to the likes of the stuffy Jane Eyre or any of sister Anne's attempts. A Queen among greats; indeed, buy, beg or borrow a copy today.

Great Political Eccentrics - Neil Hamilton

Neil Hamilton – Great Political Eccentrics (1999)
History – 270 page – my copy (hardback; 1999) bought for 50p from Plymouth Library
- 1 nod

Who better to write a book upon the eccentrics of our British parliament than a disgraced former M.P.? Neil Hamilton – the aforementioned disgraced M.P. – put pen to paper in this fast-tracked book; cashing in on the boom and bust of his short lived fame in the celebrity spotlight. It is cheap; it has errors a-plenty; it was never worth the £16.95 this hard book edition originally cost the poor fool of readers who purchased it.

Yet, with such a topic at hand, what could possibly have gone wrong? After all, Westminster has spawned many noteworthy maniacs in the course of three hundred years, from Winston Churchill to George Brown; along with many minor politicians included this volume, such as the deluded Green David Icke and the literary raving looney Screaming Lord Sutch.

Easily the most interesting biography within these pages centres upon Trebitsch Lincoln. An Orthodox Jewish Hungarian who moved to Britain at the turn of the twentieth century to seek his fortune in any manner he could; even it meant converting to Catholicism, to Protestantism and Irish Presbyterianism! He left unpaid bills behind, always on the run from bad debt and loans, before somehow – magically – becoming Liberal M.P. for Darlington in 1910. He was promptly kicked out in a later election in the same year, yet that wasn’t the end of Mr Lincoln. This ‘former journalist, ex-missionary, unfrocked parson, failed politician and bankrupt businessmen’ then decided his next career move was to be an international spy, putting out offers for Britain in the First World War, before moving on to work for the Germans, before double-dealing with them. Lincoln even wrote about his experiences for a New York newspaper in an article entitled: ‘Revelations of Mr Lincoln, former Member of Parliament, who became a German spy.’ He eventually moved to Tibet to become a monk before ending up poisoned – as rumoured – by the Nazis during the Second World War. Wow, what a life!

Yet Hamilton’s book fails in a lack of directorial control. The repeating of facts and sloppy mistakes show it for what it exactly is: a hastily put together collection of words. It has the feel of many authors, or more precisely, undergraduate researchers, who chuck and chuck paint upon the canvass until something sticks. The Worm – as his close friends know – is no supporter of Wikipedia; but the reader would do much better to type in a search of Churchill, Icke or Sutch onto its search engine than pick up Hamilton’s book (if, indeed, the reader can find an edition in the year 2010).

The Worm’s copy will promptly be discharged from its care and book shelf, joining the list of 1 nodder losers he has had the misfortune of meeting this year. Perhaps, just perhaps, it may find a home just yet in the unforgiving world of the political reader. The Worm does not hold his breath.

The Annals of Imperial Rome - Tacitus

Tacitus - The Annals of Imperial Rome
History - 400 pages - my copy (paperback; 1996)
- 5 nods

Gaze upon a list of the finest and most legendary of historians throughout time, and surely there amongst the names at the top will rest that of Tacitus. A Roman himself - unlike Gibbon and modern day commentators upon the period - Tacitus lived in the early second century of the new millenium. His history, influential throughout the centuries, takes the reader through the disasaster of the Judio-Claudian line of Emperors.

Such emperors have long been the stuff of Hollywood film and TV serial. This motley and murderous bunch include the stern and cold Tiberius, the manic Caligula, the frantic Claudius, and the stir crazed form of Nero (yes, he who married a horse). Throughout all, Tacitus notes the horror and upheaval, commentating his distaste for these successions and the corrupting power. He is under no illusions of the task at hand:

'What interests and stimulates readers is a geographical description, the changing fortune of a battle, the glorious death of a commander. My themes on the other hand concern cruel orders, unremitting accusations, treacherous friendships, innocent men ruined - a conspicously monotonous glut of downfalls and their monotonous causes.'

The historian is right on many things: the downfall and the seemingly cycle of their causes. A senator becomes a court favourite, wrecks havoc on his enemies, before ending up - with his family - upon the rubbish heap of history (most notably with Sejanus in Tiberius' reign). Yet it is an inescapable truth, and one in which Tacitus is the bearer of, no matter the pain nor sadness.

Though Tacitus is wrong about the lack of glory within these pages. There are plenty of battles, from Germania to Israel, and commanders to applaud to - none no more so than the great Germanicus. His work is stunning throughout, and it is with the greatest shame to the historians and readers of today in that there are chunks of his work missing; including the whole reign of Caligula. Yet what remains of the text endures and fascinates, and has done so for almost two thousand years. At the heart of this is Tacitus' honesty and determination to tell the past as it happened. The Worm thoroughly applauds this, and looks forward to further reads on this great historian.

Why Vote Green Shahrar Ali

Shahrar Ali - Why Vote Green (2010)
Politics – 120 pages – bought for £6.99 from Plymouth Waterstones pre-2010 General Election
- 2 nods

The recent General Election has captured the attention of the public like none other for a whole generation. Political commentators had been predicting a rumble in the parliamentary jungle in the months leading up to the D-Day of May 6th, resulting in a plethora of books upon the shelves of all good bookshops, ranging from the throw-away (see previous review on X Marks The Box) to the specifics of a particular party. One such interesting series was Why Vote, incorporating the big three of Tory, Labour and Lib-Dem, as well as the minor of UKIP, the SNP and my own particular chosen path of Green.

So, why vote Green? It is the task of Shahrar Ali to speak to Joe Public and convince them of the radical, Green way forward. 'Radical politics' is the feature of the first part of this short book, with emphasis on trust, direct action and those at the grassroots. Ali asserts the Greens are different and fresh; a real choice of change (yes, another change slogan to add to the barrel of all other parties!), with the party actually practicising what it preaches (unlike Mr Clegg, who does a good job of talking the talk).

Of course, the author tackles 'Climate Change', but in the hope of making the connection with the reader that they are part of the environment, that their needs and wants dictate the future path of our planet. This responsibility is followed up on other policy issues, including education, equality and the local services around us; before ending on the wrongs of war, leaving us with - oh yes - another Iraq War reference.

The Worm wholeheartedly agrees that the Greens offer a radical politics; unfortunately, Ali's book is not similarly refreshing. Although a gentle introduction for those of the Green persuasian, it is, ultimately, another throw-away to the add to the pile of this year's electioneering literature. But with their first MP in Parliament - in the shape of the formidable Caroline Lucas in Brighton - the Greens have a future of many further books published on their success.

Virtual History - Niall Ferguson

Niall Ferguson – Virtual History (1997)
History – 450 pages - bought from the Oxfam Bookshop in Ealing Broadway, sometime in 2008
4 nods

The publication of the "what-may-have-been" books of history have found a strong and hungry market in recent decades. Yes, we all know the heroes of history - but what of the losers? The persistant dominating image continues to be the Nazi swastika flying from London's Big Ben. There has long been debate about the merits of such writing: is it simply a parlour game or rather an argument of greater weight worthy of research?

Niall Ferguson made a name for himself in this genre of history; his edited collection Virtual History is an addition at the higher end of the market. No simple articles mocked up by hack historians, but instead well weighed arguments, interestingly researched, topped off with good, exciting prose.

The reader is treated to 'England Without Cromwell', the possibility of no American Revolution, and the what if scenario of Kennedy living beyond his assassination. Furthermore, there are more meaty topics in store, such as Home Rule being enacted in Ireland in 1912 and the continuance of Communism. Of course, there is the addition of the Nazis, fantastically written by the joint efforts of Andrerw Roberts and Niall Ferguson: 'Hitler's England: What if Germany had invaded Britain in May 1940?'. Bleak, devastating and scary; and all the more thankful for the Allies actual triumph.

All of which is crowned with Ferguson's introductory essay 'Virtual History: Towards a "chaotic" theory of the past': impressive yet also daunting for an entrance to such a book. Ferguson might over-egg the pudding, chucking into the mix all he could possibly find to justify this genre's worthiness; but for certain, it proves this collection as a heavyweight. Virtual History is recommended for all those with a thirst for history and a curious mind.

Firmin - Sam Savage

Sam Savage – Firmin (2006)
Novel – 230 pages – scooped from the bookcase in Plymouth Starbucks
3 nods

The novelist, Sam Savage, wrote this – his first – novel in his sixties. His own personal history is rich and diverse, itself reading as something from fiction: a philosophy student, a bicycle mechanic, carpenter, commercial fisherman and letterpress printer. The Worm can deduce from such activity that Savage was rarely bored.

Firmin is the story of a rat born in counter-culture America in the early sixties. It follows Firmin himself, as he is neglected and eventually isolated from his brothers and sisters, his quest to find acknowledgment in the world of books, right through to his demise at the book’s end. The narrative certainly lives up to the book’s subtitle: ‘Adventures of a Metropolitan Lowlife’.

As well as being a critique on our own human relations (as too often in fiction, in tends to take a non-human to celebrate our qualities: such as Dumbo, the alien from E.T., and of course, the brave little toaster), Firmin is also a celebration of our history of literature. Firmin himself is born upon a copy of Finnegan’s Wake, the rat stating: ‘I was birthed, bedded, and suckled on the defoliated carcass of the world’s most unread masterpiece’ (p.12). He feeds himself upon a diet of Nabokov, of Lawrence and of Austen; he references the greats, always himself wanting to be one of these 'Big Ones'.

This is Firmin’s ever enduring agony: his awareness of the great, big world around him and his inability to ever fully take part. As well as being entertaining, the novel is a moving one, notably in Firmin’s encounters with humankind. He loves Norman, the book-shop owner, who sees the rat as a pest to be eradicated; he has a strong bond with Jerry, who in returns sees him as an innocent, silly plaything. Ultimately, Firmin is alone, and even sadder is his actual realisation of this loneliness.

The book is an entertaining read – made all the more worthwhile due to the oddity of the central character. It will not change the reader's world, and it is not a book to place alongside the 'Big Ones' - yet for a few hours, it will succesfully and comfortably transport them away into Firmin's mindset. An engaging first novel from an interesting author.