Oldie Review Of Books

THE THIRD issue of our quarterly The Oldie Review of Books is free with the April issue of The Oldie. At 48 pages, it's now bigger than ever. As well as bringing you our celebrated 'review of the reviews' round-up of what the papers and magazines are saying about the quarter's best books, this issue also features a 4-page literary festivals guide by Rosie Boycott, an overview of the best 'God and Mammon' books (all those responses to Richard Dawkins, plus the business memoirs that the papers unjustly relegated to the financial pages), plus a great diary, more quirky features, and even more cartoons than ever before.

THE BRITISH are obsessed with literary festivals – there were a staggering 600 festivals in this country last year. Which ones are worth taking your folding chair to? Rosie Boycott picks her Top 10, both large and small, well established and less well-known. Read the top 10   IN THE SPRING ISSUE:

HISTORY
Lucia in the Age of Napoleon Andrea di Robilant;

The Last Thousand Days of the British Empire Peter Clark;

Byzantium: The Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire  Judith Herrin;

Dry Store Room No 1: The Secret Life of the Natural History Museum Richard Fortey;

Taste: The Story of Britain through its Cooking Kate Colquhoun;

Swindled: From Poison Sweets to Counterfeit Coffee Bee Wilson;

Satan’s Circus: Murder, Vice, Police Corruption and New York’s Trial of the Century Mike Dash;

The Death of Sigmund Freud: Fascism, Psychoanalysis and the Rise of Fundamentalism Mark Edmundson;

Spitfire: Portrait of a Legend Leo McKinstry;

The Lodger: Shakespeare on Silver Street Charles Nicholl

BIOGRAPHY
A Voyage Round John Mortimer Valerie Grove;

Jennie Churchill: Winston’s American Mother Ann Seba;

A Life of Picasso: v.3 John Richardson;

Two Lives: Gertrude and Alice Janet Malcolm;

Stan Laurel and Other Stars of the Panopticon: The Story of the Britannia Music Hall Judith Bowers;

Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know Ranulph Fiennes;

American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J Robert Oppenheimer Kai Bird and Martin J Sherwin;

Dark Victory: The Life of Bette Davis Ed Sikov;

Kipling Sahib: India and the Making of Rudyard Kipling Charles Allen;

Touch and Go: A Memoir Studs Terkel
 
GOD …
The God Delusion Richard Dawkins; The Dawkins Delusion Alister McGrath; Darwin’s Angel John Cornwell; The Secular Age Charles Taylor; The Bible: The Biography Karen Armstrong; In God We Doubt John Humphrys; Tokens of Trust Rowan Williams; Once More with Feeling Rupert Christiansen; A Little History of the English Country Church Roy Strong; Field Work Ronald Blythe

… AND MAMMON
The Rise and Fall … and Rise Again Gerald Ratner; The Second Bounce of the Ball: Turning Risk into Opportunity Ronald Cohen; Shopping, Seduction and Mr Selfridge Linda Woodhead; Richest of the Rich Philip Beresford

LETTERS AND MEMOIRS
Letters of Ted Hughes Christopher Reid (ed); Somewhere Towards the End Diana Athill; Clarissa Eden: A Memoir Clarissa Eden with Cate Haste; Letters of Noël Coward Barry Day (ed)

POLITICS AND SOCIETY
Flat Earth News Nick Davies;

Curveball: Spies, Lies and the Man Behind Them Bob Drogin;

The Age of Turbulence Alan Greenspan;

Who Runs Britain? How the Super-Rich are Changing our Lives Robert Peston;

Fall of the House of Bush Craig Unger;

Gomorrah: Italy’s other Mafia Roberto Saviano;

The Strange Death of David Kelly Norman Baker;

Counterknowledge: How We Surrendered to Conspiracy Theories, Quack Medicine, Bogus Science and Fake History Damian Thompson

SCIENCE AND NATURE
Crow Country: A Meditation on Birds Mark Cocker;

Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain Oliver Sacks;

About the Size of It: The Common Sense Approach to Measuring Things Warwick Cairns

FICTION
The People on Privilege Hill Jane Gardam;

The Book of the Dead Patricia Cornwell;

A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines Janna Levin;

Pontoon Garrison Keillor;

Up In Honey’s Room Elmore Leonard;

Homecoming Bernhard Schlink;

Ursula’s Story Sandra Howard

MISCELLANEOUS
Gadfly in Russia Alan Sillitoe;

Due Considerations John Updike;

Winning is Not Enough Jackie Stewart;

White King and Red Queen Daniel Johnson

REPRINTS
Stalin’s Nose Rory Maclean;

Under Two Dictators M Buber Neumann;

An Air That Kills Francis King;

Boy in Darkness Mervyn Peake;

The Closed Door Dorothy Whipple

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