The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky, 1880, translated by by David McDuff in Penguin Classics series, 1993/2003, 1013 pages. These are my personal reflections on re-reading the novel. There are no spoilers and no attempt at a plot summary. A symphony Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov is a Mahler Symphony of a novel: it is… Continue reading Re-reading Karamazov
Tag: Books
Teaching the garden to weed itself
What do you get if you cross an unconventional economist with a talented journalist? If the economist if Steven D Levitt and the writer is Stephen J Dubner, then the result is a series of best-selling books and a hugely popular podcast. Along the way it will entertain and astonish a lot of people, make… Continue reading Teaching the garden to weed itself
Our Past is in the Stars
Beneath the Night: How the stars have shaped the history of humankind By Stuart Clark (2020, Guardian Faber), 290 pp. Starry night Why do we look at the stars? We are interested in the nature of the Universe, a drive to understand and interpret what we see. Equally valid is an appreciation of the beauty… Continue reading Our Past is in the Stars
Darken our Lightness
Under The Stars: A Journey into Light By Matt Gaw (2020, Elliott & Thompson) Walking in the Dark Matt Gaw is a writer and naturalist whose fascination with darkness leads him to seek out experiences of being outside at night. In Under The Stars he is inspired to write by taking walks in the moonlight,… Continue reading Darken our Lightness
Reaching for the sky
The Comet Sweeper: Caroline Hershel’s Astronomical Ambition by Claire Brock (Icon Books, 2007) Caroline Hershel’s reputation has long been in the shadow of her brother William, who was the discoverer of Uranus and first president of The Astronomical Society of London (which later became the Royal Astronomical Society). She is rightly portrayed as the utterly… Continue reading Reaching for the sky
Adoring the Deplorable
How did these flawed and indulged poets and chancers and dancers become like gods … ?
Icons of Ideas
“… not caring about understanding the Second Law of Thermodynamics is equivalent to someone boasting that they have never read anything by Shakespeare.”
Africa is not what we think
The Rift: A New Africa Breaks Free by Alex Perry (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2015) The “Rift” is … … the Rift Valley that cuts through central and north-east Africa, a vast region which was the cradle of human pre-history. It is where our hominid ancestors lived and died, leaving traces – like Lucy in the… Continue reading Africa is not what we think
You know it makes sense
Rationality: what it is, why it seems scarce, why it matters by Steven Pinker (Allen Lane, 2021) A logical argument in favour of logic? Pinker often writes with such clarity and energy that ones can be swept up in the flow and not stand back to say “hand on a minute! It’s not as simple… Continue reading You know it makes sense
Am I a robot?
12 Bytes: How artificial intelligence will change the way we live and love by Jeanette Winterson (Vintage, 2021/2022) This was Love(lace) at first byte. The book begins with a lively survey of the history of AI. This is no dry chronology but a tale bursting with brilliant personalities, none greater than Ada Lovelace, the Countess… Continue reading Am I a robot?