Them

“Them: Adventures with Extremists” by Jon Ronson (Kindle Edition)

This book is pretty straight-forward – Investigative journalist (and humourist) Jon Ronson travels the globe interviewing assorted extreme nutjobs, from a  comical Islamist in London to American militia through to a man who believes 12-foot tall alien lizards are our secret rulers. Along the way he discovers they all have certain beliefs in common – that a secretive group known as the Bilderbergers regularly meet to conspire against us all and arrange the great events of history. Assisted by some rather dodgy personalities he tracks down the group to a meeting in Portugal and then to their annual retreat in California. Yes the Bildeberg group actually exists but the reality seems somewhat more mundane than the conspiracy theories would have you believe. This book is highly entertaining and somewhat eye-opening when it comes to the ‘extremists’ – most are pretty sad and ineffectual little men.

Hatchet Job

“Hatchet Job” by Mark Kermode (Kindle Edition)

One of my favourite critics (I’m a big fan of the radio show/podcast he hosts with Simon Mayo) Mark Kermode writes up a storm on the topic of the role of the professional critic in the modern age. Along the way he digresses and meanders through all sorts of related topics and tangents – from how people ‘game’ the review system on Amazon.com to how he managed to piss off film makers and other critics alike. Refreshing is his positive assessment of how the rise of the internet and review sites has actually helped his job -  rather than the usual doom and gloom we hear from some of his colleagues. I enjoyed this book, but it was rather short and easily finished in one sitting.

Twilight of the Bombs

“Twilight of the Bombs” by Richard Rhodes

Some time back in the late 1980s I borrowed a fantastic book from the New Brighton library – that book was Rhodes's master work “The Making of the Atomic Bomb”, a sweeping non-fiction historical epic. Several years later came “Dark Sun” his account of the creation of the Hydrogen bomb and the genesis of the cold war. Then about a decade ago came “Arsenals of Folly” a more journalistic account of (then recent) history and attempts at super power arms control.

Now I come to “Twilight of the Bombs” the fourth and final book in his nuclear history series. Again like “Arsenal” it’s a more piecemeal approach, jumping from Iraq after the first Gulf War to North Korea then to South Africa and back to Iraq a decade on. Also, he includes musings on how to eliminate nuclear weapons all together and how that could become a possibility in our lifetimes. The strength of this book and indeed the whole series is the author’s meticulous research and the recounting of anecdotes from people who were actually involved in these matters. Overall a fascinating account of recent history (all of it within my lifetime – scary) and it’s a little sad he’s giving up on it now before the real end has come.

Solo: A James Bond Novel

“Solo: A James Bond Novel” by William Boyd (Kindle Edition)

I’ve never read any of William Boyd’s previous novels so I don’t know how much of a stretch this book is for him – he’s produced a pitch perfect impression of Ian Fleming’s style and ‘voice’ in this volume.

It is the late 1960s, after celebrating his 45^th birthday alone a troubled James Bond is sent on a mission to halt a civil war in an (imaginary) oil-rich African nation. Things don’t go entirely to plan and Bond goes rogue (or ‘solo’) following a trail back to the US capital where he exacts his revenge.

The plot is pretty simple but it’s the little Fleming-Bond touches that bring this book to life – the obsession with fine living, food, drink, clothing, cars and women. At one point there’s even a foot-noted recipe for Bond’s personal salad dressing. It reminds the reader that the literary Bond was more than the quipping action hero of the movies..although I did still picture him as Sean Connery in my mind.