Reviewed by Ian Lipke This book is about the man called John Cleese, widely known as a comedian in the popular Fawlty Towers, The Monty Python Show, and The Life of Brian, but his talents as an academic and his correspondingly wide interest in academic matters are not so well known. The book Professor at

Reviewed by E B Heath If any living thing has been kicking around this planet since the Eocene epoch, some 45 million years, one can assume that its organisational abilities have been honed to perfection.   And so it is with bees.   Jürgen Tautz and Diedrich Steen, in their absorbing book The Honey Factory, give readers

  Reviewed by Dr Kath Huxley This informative novel is penned by Martin Duberman; a recognised, well-accomplished writer and Professor of History at the City University of New York where he founded and directed the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies. He has written several biographies, memoirs and other works and is the recipient of

    Reviewed by Rod McLary An Orchestra of Minorities is deeply imbedded in the religious practices and the cultural beliefs of the Igbo people of Southern Nigeria. The title of the book – An Orchestra of the Minorities – refers to the sound a flock of chickens makes when one of its members dies

Reviewed by Norrie Sanders How does a penal colony become a bastion of liberal thought? With its autocratic governors appointed by Britain, military control and exploitative monopolies, colonial Australia could well have decomposed to dictatorship and poverty. David Kemp is preparing “a biography of liberalism in Australia” in five volumes. By any measure, this is

  Reviewed by Angela Marie Is it Christmas? It must be because The Japanese Larder by Luiz Hara is a gift. Long-awaited by this lover of (eating) Japanese food. Is there another cuisine that balances so exquisitely appearance and taste? You are delighted by your dish before tasting and take a (scant) moment to appreciate the presentation

The Librarian of Auschwitz Reviewed by Ian Lipke This book has an interesting history. The subject of the book Dita Kraus tells its readers of the request that came via her internet address from the Spanish author Antonio Iturbe for details about the books on the children’s block in the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. Correspondence followed

  Reviewed by Angela Marie Shaun Tan has a rare talent; in reality, many rare talents. Most obviously he is a superb artist and illustrator. Within his works, as we take in the page, our eyes are drawn to the essence of the illustration, whether this be to focus on a point of colour or