THE GENERALISSIMO Chiang Kai-Shek and the Battle for Modern China By Jay Taylor, Belknap Harvard University Press, 722pp. Reviewed: 1 August 2009 History is not kind to losers, and Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek is usually considered one of the great losers…
THE EMPIRE OF CIVILIZATION The Evolution of an Imperial Idea By Brett Bowden, University of Chicago Press, 304pp. Reviewed: 6 June 2009. How often our ears ring from the amplified calls of politicians and lobbyists rousing us to violent or…
SCIENCE AND ISLAM A History By Ehsan Masood Icon Books, 240pp Reviewed:2 May 2009 When most Westerners associate Islam with faith-based politics and socio-religious dogmatism, it is valuable to be reminded that the Quran, and the words of the Prophet…
THE FORSAKEN by Tim Tzouliadis, Little Brown, 472pp Reviewed: 10 January 2009 In the literature of holocaust and national shame, one recurrent theme is that atrocity by the powerful against the weak is passively accepted by those whose personal ideals…
1434 The Year a Magnificent Chinese Fleet sailed to Italy and ignited the Renaissance By Gavin Menzies, Harper Collins, 367pp Reviewed: 6 September 2008 The publishing industry takes some responsibility for distinguishing fact from fiction, since readers are encouraged to…
EVER, MANNING Selected Letters of Manning Clark 1938-1991 edited by Roslyn Russell, Allen and Unwin, 552pp Reviewed: 9 August 2008 Manning Clark was a catalytic figure in the formation of Australian self-image, whose quest to construct a coherent sense of…
THE STRANGE DEATH OF REPUBLICAN AMERICA Chronicles of a Collapsing Party By Sidney Blumenthal, Union Square Press. 340pp. Reviewed: 28 May 2008 Sidney Blumenthal, a committed Democrat and senior adviser to both Bill and Hillary Clinton, makes no pretence of…
