Book learning #92 A history of modern Britain by Andrew Marr

I was in London during the summer, at a friend's house.
We had borrowed their home, some milk , towels and two Game of Thrones DVD box sets.
I simply couldn't thwaite the idea of borrowing a book from the shelf.

But during those few summer days in the capital, I did spend some time (on the loo, on the sofa) leafing through this account of British politics and society since 1945.

Manageable, readable and illuminating. A lengthy, but engrossing read. A good look at some of the hard times, false starts and failures of Britain's slow and so far, faltering decline.

Book Learning # 80 The History of England Volume 1. Foundation, by Peter Ackroyd.

Hey there summer read.
How you doing? How was your summer?
Oh look, I'm sorry about the first part, the part where I casually picked you up , read you for a while but then dumped you for something more exciting.

But who's laughing now?

I got bored of the other book (very quickly as it happened) and came grovelling back to you.

You had already told me about the infrastructure of ancient England and how cosmopolitan it was before the Romans landed. You had told me about the Norman conquest and made me marvel that it was the last time this island had been successfully invaded.

After we got back together you made me rethink a lot of casually held ideas and prejudices about the middle ages. About religion and hygiene. I loved reading about the Black death (but I have always been into that crazy stuff). You took me right up to the death of Henry VII and the beginning of what my history teacher always called 'the early modern age'.
in truth, I'm just glad you took me back. I really enjoyed you.

Book learning 61. An utterly exasperated history of modern Britain by John O'Farrell.

John O'Farrell is one of those people who wrote an outstanding, original and very, very funny book about 15 years ago and has yet to come close again. I suspect he never will. I suspect he knows this.
Having just bitch-slapped him in the first sentence it should be pointed out that I enjoyed great big chunks of this book, his analysis of the 1980's reminded me of all the reasons why Thatcher was and continues to be odious and completely mental. The take on the 1950s and 60s was great, reminding those of us born in the 1970s that it wasn't all hippies and cheeky scousers and that economically things were pretty bloody dire. He also reminded us how much decent, level headed progress we have made in the name of 'political correctness gone mad' (You mean we're not allowed to be racist? Homophobic? Sexist? How the hell are we supposed to have any fun any more?)

I particularly enjoyed the act of reading.

The twins were born in March and this was the first book I had even attempted to read. I spent part of the summer picking it up on the loo and shoving it in the back of the pushchair in case both boys fell asleep and the weather was nice and there was a bench handy. I had some good times with this book, it was what was needed.

Book Learning 56:The secret history of the IRA by Ed Moloney.

The secret history of the IRA by Ed Moloney.

I've always been interested in Irish history, always felt that republicanism made sense. Reading this didn't change anything in particular, didn't cast any new light on the main events as they were often passed over with a glance. This was not a chronological account of the last 40 years. The real story here was the internal politics of the IRA since 1969 and the dealings of a certain Gerry Adams in taking over the organisation and heading it into a peace process that continues to this day.

In some respects it read like the Sopranos, just not as nice. There were aspects of the story that baffled me, no mention of the Brighton Bomb of 1984. The Birmingham 6 and Guildford 4 were never mentioned (although the Balcombe Street gang, who one can assume had a hand in the bombings were on a number of occaisions) and many of the attrocities were quickly passed over. Reading on, you began to understand, this was not about a list of bombings and murder but how the IRA leadership dealt with it's continual internal feuding, negotiating and violent games. Still, the last split, which created the Real IRA was detailed, their most notorious action, the 1998 Omagh bombing was not.

The political side of it was fascinating, the posturing on all sides, the deals with Libya, the global angle, the role of the Catholic church and also seeing how the situation changed over the years from civil rights marches in the late 60s through the terror of the 70s into the stalemate and near defeat of the IRA in the 80s.

I enjoyed this, absorbing once I got beyond some of the annoying omissions.

Book Learning 44: Shakespeare by Bill Bryson

Shakespeare by Bill Bryson

I like Shakespeare as much as the next man ( as long as the next man quite likes most of the stuff he's seen and is comfortable to call the crap as he sees it, was taught some at high school and was taken to some of the bloodier plays as a teenager by his dad who decided that the way to culture for his kids was some militaristic glorification of a deviously interpreted past) and I also quite like local eminence Bill Bryson.

This was a quick read and just the tonic after some months of literary ennui.
The premise being that there's a lot we think we know about Shakey but an awful lot more that's myth or just plain old false.

Now I just have to wait a bit for my mum to finish her amazing looking bio of one of history's greatest characters so that I can get into that. I also need to avoid mum for a week or two as she delights in reading snippets from the aforementioned book.