A friend sent me this last year and I recently started to read it. Written in 1937, it feels relevant today and Mussolini's ambitions for empire seem now to be mirrored by Putin's.
One short extract:
Italy also learnt this lesson from Japan. Both in Abyssinia and Spain she attempted to make her invasion take the covering of a civil war. ... This kind of intervention has the further advantage that no formal declaration of war is needed, and we may take it that nearly all future wars will begin in the same way - intensive propoganda and bribery to build up some semblance of a party or of a minority in revolt, followed by a military expedition, or more probably by the destruction of some large town.
Quite enjoyed "Pachinko", the TV series, though the story jumps from generation to generation, so got the book to make more sense of it.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/...ones-unturned?
No Bones Unturned - Porntip Rojanasunan
it seems that the belief in ghosts and other intangible phenomena pervades all education levels in Thai and across asia - I smile at the weird magic beliefs of PNG residents , but they are in the same league as the societies from there to KoreaDr Porntip Rojanasunan is Thailand's most famous forensic scientist. Nicknamed 'Dr Death' by the mass media, her findings often contradicted those of the Thai police, leading to numerous clashes between the two. She gained international attention for her work on identifying victims of the December 2004 tsunami and has since raised public awareness of forensic science work in Thailand.
In her second book, No Bones Unturned, Dr Porntip delves into some of her most well-known cases, including the grisly murder of medical student Jenjira Ploy-angunsri, the mysterious disappearance of Thai-Muslim human rights activist Khun Somchai Neelapaijit, and the death of Malaysian political aide Teoh Beng Hock. She also discusses the role of forensic science in stabilising the violent insurgency in southern Thailand and reflects on the milestones in her life. Brutally honest, Dr Porntip never flinches from the gruesome possibilities as she unearths the truth despite obstacles at every turn.
How to Read Numbers by Tom Chivers and David Chivers...
While I was in Cheltenham, I managed a few hours in the bookshop and picked a few books to read over a cup of tea on the balcony and a couple to buy and take home.
This one was worth a read and should be read by all journalists before producing their click-bait headlines. It is presented in a very readable set of short chapters and explains typical statistical processes and how they can used to manipulate data. Some excellent examples in each chapter, but I bought it for the quote I happened upon when skimming through...
Black people are more likely to smoke than white peopleWhile it is easy to lie with statistics, it is even easier to lie without them
Swearing makes lifting something heavy easier
Britain's favourite lockdown snack is cheese on toast
Men eat more when women are around
... etc.
You'll think twice when you read these sort of headlines after reading this
Interesting so far as it's the first book I've read about this particular prison.
This is a true account of life in Alcatraz prison written by William G. Baker 1259AZ, a former prisoner of Alcatraz.
This is how we lived, what we thought and said and did, the good and the bad.
This is the true story of Alcatraz.
Lang may yer lum reek...
A couple of little books that my Dad gave me to read...
They Have Their Exits, Airey Neave... a 1955 Pan Books edition giving his account of escaping from Colditz
Escape Alone (We Die Alone), David Howarth...1962 London & Glasgow Press: another true story about Jan Baalsrud escape following the failed mission Operation Martin.
They are both very good reads.
I'm currently reading With A Mind To Kill- and enjoying it immensely.
As a fan of the films, I have no idea why I haven't read more Bond books...
Beautiful Star, by Yukio Mishima
"Beautiful Star is a 1962 tale of family, love, nuclear war and UFO's situated in Japan.
Considered by the author as his masterpiece.
Translated into English for the first time, this atmospheric black comedy tells the story of the Osugi family, who come to the sudden realization that each of them hails from a different planet: Father from Mars, mother from Jupiter, son from Mercury and daughter from Venus.
This extra-terrestrial knowledge brings them closer together, and convinces them that they have a mission: to find others of their kind, and save humanity from the imminent threat of the atomic bomb..."
Penguin Classics
Reviews -
"'Interplanetary, quite extraordinary... awash with dark humour and scenes of intense beauty' - The Financial Times
'One of the greatest avant-garde Japanese writers of the twentieth century' - New Yorker"
A tray full of GOLD is not worth a moment in time.
Just started Mercury Pictures Presents... by Anthony Marra
The Man Who Played with Fire: Stieg Larsson's Lost Files and the Hunt for an Assassin by Swedish Journalist Jan Stocklassa and translated by Tara Chase.
An intriguing true crime book written by Stocklassa using Stieg Larsson's files, notes and letters on the unsolved murder of Swedish prime minister, Olaf Palme, in 1986. It has been written in the style of a fictional account, which will either bring it to life and context or totally annoy depending on your point of view. I'm enjoying it.
Rotting in the Bangkok Hilton by TM Hoy
It’s quite ok. Apparently given life imprisonment for not disclosing a friend’s murder (court documents say he was an accomplice) he does not mention his crime or innocence in the novel. Instead, the book is a series of disconnected vinegarettes about life in Chiang Mai Remand & then Bangkok’s Bang Kwan prisons from 1995-2000.
A brutal and depressin life. His writing is descriptive and interesting if somewhat a little cliché (Eg: the Thai all hate farang because they are jealous)
The overall lack of connection between each chapter is the only problem.
Any online Thai retailer stocking it? Would order a copy.Rotting in the Bangkok Hilton by TM Hoy
Though some parts could be a bit saucy.
...Shuggie Bain and Young Mungo: 2 excellent novels by Booker Prize winner Douglas Stuart...Both focus on gay sons, alcoholic mothers and the misery of being poor, badly educated and stuck in Glasgow, Scotland with deteriorating families and little hope of escape...
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