“Roper: So now you’d give the Devil benefit of law! More: Yes. What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil? Roper: I’d cut down every law in England to do that! More: Oh? And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned round on you — where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country’s planted thick with laws from coast to coast — man’s laws, not…
‘Magisterial’ and ‘epic’ are all words that come to mind to describe Kissinger’s magnum opus, written in 2014 when he was 91. Certainly a book that begins a consideration of the modern international order with a detailed analysis of the Thirty Years War deserves that description – but what is more impressive, is that Kissinger then goes on to consider similar seminal moments in the history of other nations, including China, Russia, the US and the Islamic world. As the…
Chesterton is one of my favourite authors; an author of which I’ll read almost anything he wrote, regardless of what it is. His writing catches you up with his wonderfully lyrical style, filled with memorable quotes, and even when you’re disagreeing with him, you can’t help but admire the majesty of his argument. He was tremendously prolific, writing “80 books, several hundred poems, some 200 short stories, 4000 essays, and several plays.” Some of the best known of his works…
A friend recently asked me for some advice on what to see and do when visiting New Orleans. I know the city fairly well – my Dad’s whole family lives there so I’ve visited 25-30 times – so I ended up writing rather a lot, which I thought I may as well post here. New Orleans is an absolutely fantastic city to visit. The best things about it in my book are the swamps, the jazz and the food, all…
It’s hard to imagine now just how controversial and offensive Monty Python’s Life of Brian was when it first came out. BBC and ITV refused to show it, it was banned by a number of town councils and cinemas were picketed by angry people who felt it shouldn’t have been made. For someone like me, who grew up seeing it as irreverent, slightly rude humour, not particularly different to Fawlty Towers, it can be hard to see it this way….
Cornford’s ‘Microcosmographia Academica’ (1908) remains my favourite satire on academic politics. For those unfamiliar with it, it takes the form of being a guide to the young academic interested in gaining influence, and contains the warning, “…and may your soul (if you have a soul) find mercy!” Despite being a little dated in parts, it contains rich seams of pure gold, and is equally applicable to those in academia seeking to engage government as to those striving for position within…