Here was a plague
A sobering, finely wrought and hugely powerful narrative of the Aids epidemic in the 1980s.
Big Man Walking
“Not many people change the world. Fewer still are thanked for it.” – Neal Ascherson reviews a biography of Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, who joined that small group when he helped to bring about its end.
The Most Eligible Bachelor on the Planet
Bill Clinton and James Patterson’s thriller The President is Missing gets the London Review of Books write up it deserves.
Somerdale to Skarbimierz
A fine story from April looking at industrial history and the economics of the EU using the relocation of a Cadbury factory from Britain to Poland as a case study.
NHS SOS
A sobering but essential read on the NHS. The story dives deep on the successive policies Whitehall and Westminster have implemented to effect change, interspersed with the experiences of individual patients and staff in the system.
The Last World Cup
A look at the inevitable intermingling of geo-politics and technology with football and the World Cup. The piece’s thrust is perhaps best exemplified by the anecdote it contains recounting Sepp Blatter’s genuine ambition to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
After the Fall
John Lanchester analyses the impact of the financial crisis a decade on. A potent mix of fine writing, economic analysis, and a concern to place the narrative in a political and social context that helps the reader to make sense of what happened.
The Impermanence of Importance
A review of a new book by Obama adviser Ben Rhodes (a speechwriter and Deputy National Security Adviser who was one of the few senior officials to remain in office throughout the whole presidency). The piece reflects on Obama’s style of leadership, the nature of power and governing, and the author’s own journey. It is also replete with anecdotes from behind the scenes of elite politics such as Rhodes discussing the TV show Entourage with David Cameron over after-state-dinner drinks at Buckingham Palace.
The Problem with Winning
The historian Linda Colley proposes that the relative political stability of Britain (along with the US) over time has left its political system with more maintenance work outstanding than other countries that have experienced greater upheaval. From there, she looks to the lessons history can offer in addressing Britain’s current challenges. http://bit.ly/lrb-history