Sarah Bakewell

2016

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To the extent that one can have an introduction to existentialism, this is it.

Part extended biography and part philosophical exploration, this book weaves the tale of existentialism into a readable and comprehensible form. It manages to do justice to the philosophy <>and the philosophers, both the big names and the more minor players whose contributions have perhaps been unfairly forgotten.

The towering figure in the narrative is inescapably Sartre, with all his inconsistencies and personal weaknesses set again his intellectual and written power. Bakewell doesn't try to make him appear better than he is: his willingness to tie himself in knots to support a cause he felt he should justify doesn't detract from the clarity of some of his other contributions. But for me the most interesting figure is Simone de Beauvoir, who – while by no means forgotten – often seems to be almost a bit-player rather than a powerful (and in some ways more consistent) exponent in her own right. There's certainly enough of a temptation here to read her work in its own right.

5/5. Finished 26 December 2016.

(Originally published on Goodreads.)

Amy Liptrot

2015

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A story of city addiction and island recovery.

This the second study of addictive personalities I've read recently This is a much more satisfying read than So Sad Today, partly because of its outcome and partly because of its setting. The author leaves the Orkney of her youth for London, where she falls into an alcoholism that's only really relieved when she returns to the island to detox. It's impossible to avoid the suspicion that city life itself was the cause, both its anonymity (which can be positive after time in a small place) and its restricted spaces. She returns to Orkney and experiences a range of environments, culminating most powerfully in an extended period on Papa Westray, one of the smallest islands. It's here she re-discovers herself, really: find the sense of self and self-sufficiency that was missing during her time in the city.

It's an interesting question whether a dedicated city-dweller could replicate Liptrot's journey: could someone used to the 24/7 lifestyle thrive in such quiet with just themselves for company? (Of course you're never actually forced to have only yourself for company: there's always the infinite distant company of the internet, even on the outer isles.) I suspect the answer is "no", at least for born or adopted city-zens; for people (like me) with a closer relationship with solitude and a need for just their own company, then it's tantalising.

2/5. Finished 21 December 2016.

(Originally published on Goodreads.)

Vin Arthey

2010

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This is a spy story in the finest tradition, with the added advantage of being true.

There are plenty of surprises, not least the fact that the protagonist "Rudolf Abel" – whose name I knew from other histories – actually adopted this, the name of a colleague (dead, unknown to him) to muddy the waters of his interrogation. In fact, Willie Fisher was raised in Newcastle upon Tyne, left for Russia with his Leninist parents and only accidentally avoided being purged by Stalin as part of the Great Terror. His time as the main "illegal" on the US east coast was largely uneventful, and (it's possible to argue) a waste of his other talents that might have been more profitably exploited in research and training. It captures the romance and the dedication of spycraft – but also the tedium, the danger, and the fact that much of it is often pointless in even the medium term.

There remain some questions. Were the Rosenbergs really spies? – this story suggest so, whereas a lot of modern research denies it. It a story that will be revisited again as more archives are opened.

4/5. Finished 28 October 2016.

(Originally published on Goodreads.)

Eugene Rogan

2015

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An excellent history of a rather forgotten and mis-understood piece of First World War history. This is a subtle and balanced review of the precursors and consequences of the war for the Ottoman lands, and puts a lot of history that we think we know well into perspective. Given how much of recent history has been shaped by these events – the Sykes-Picot agreement, the Balfour Declaration, and even in some ways the recent attempted military coup in Turkey – it deserves to be far better known and appreciated.

4/5. Finished 12 October 2016.

(Originally published on Goodreads.)

Nathaniel Philbrick

2000

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What was it like to be a sailor in the mid-nineteenth century? This book provides an evocative and compelling story. From the way in which Nantucket Island was once the centre of the world's most valuable commercial trade, to the privations and hardships associated with whaling, the detail and contextualisation is impressive – and that's before we even get to the main events, a whale turning and sinking the ship hunting it, the crew's subsequent wandering the eastern Pacific in small open boats, their resort to cannibalism to stay alive, and the aftermath of their rescue. On the way we also encounter some wonderfully out-of-the-way islands, as well as a time when people – even sailors familiar with the waters – could reasonably (if inaccurately) fear murder and savagery on the various Pacific islands.

4/5. Finished 04 September 2016.

(Originally published on Goodreads.)