Reviewed by Rod McLary The Eureka Rebellion – more commonly known as the Eureka Stockade – was a key event in Australian history and is considered to be highly significant in the development of Australian democracy and identity. The rebellion in 1854 came about partly because of the licences which gold diggers were obliged to
Reviewed by Ian Lipke Steven S. Gubser and Frans Pretorious are professors of physics at Princeton University and the authors of The Little Book of String Theory (Princeton). In the initial chapters of their ‘black holes’ volume they introduce their readers to a crash course in special and general relativity at a level that is sufficient for most readers
Reviewed by E.B. Heath Long ago, BI (Before Internet), meditation in the Western World was the domain of the bare-footed, kaftan brigade. The counter culture, amid much eye rolling, proclaimed the potency of a meditative life. Now, armed with hard evidence, medical science can verify that they indeed were right. Dr. Patrizia Collard’s The Mindfulness
Reviewed by Ian Lipke It is understandable that Princeton University Press would want to re-publish Our Cosmic Habitat by Martin Rees, a book that first hit the shelves in 2001. This edition, labelled the Princeton Science Library, boasts a new preface by the author. This quickly arouses interest and sets the reviewer up in anticipation
Reviewed by Rod McLary The Foreword to Bad to Worse recommends that this book is read five times – ‘forward quickly, forward slowly, once aloud, once backwards and once upside down’. Following this recommendation is supposed to assist in understanding the book and in allowing the reader to enter the author’s ‘dissenting universe where every
Reviewed by Antonella Townsend What could be better than a bearded, handsome man in a kilt? Well, try a bearded, bare chested, handsome man in a kilt … up side down! After the wild success of his U-Tube video, Finlay Wilson has released the book version of the same that is his fun take on
Reviewed by Clare Brook Virginia, North America, July 1911, two fifteen year old girls are coming of age. They are best friends, Mary Kirk and Wallis Warfield and their exciting young adult lives are just beginning. Paris, 31st August 1997, in a tunnel, a young woman’s life is ending. She is Princess Diana. Gill Paul
Reviewed by Angela Marie In Nineteen Letters by Jodi Perry the reader is quickly immersed into the perfect lives of a perfect twenty-something couple, Jemma and Braxton Spencer. Jemma is an interior designer rapidly accruing an impressive clientele, whilst Braxton is an up-and-coming architect on the verge of landing a major client. They are beautiful, their home
Reviewed by Rod McLary Harlan Coben is a very popular writer of crime novels – he has sold over 75 million books. Clearly, he has a significant following and this book will surely satisfy his followers. It is fast-paced with twists in the plot and sudden unexpected disclosures which will challenge any reader to foresee.
Reviewed by Rod McLary There is a strong tradition of double acts in comedy – Abbott and Costello, Martin and Lewis, Hale and Pace, even Kennedy and Newton. But one stands above the others – Laurel and Hardy. Oliver Hardy died 60 years ago and Stan Laurel died over 50 years ago, but they are
Reviewed by Ian Lipke The broader my knowledge of books the more excited I become at the quality of work that is out there to be read. Books cover virtually any topic including those as yet undreamed of. When the present volume arrived, I could not wait to get inside its cover, to find out
Reviewed by Ian Lipke One of the major innovative thinkers of the current century Rhodri Lewis has taken one of the most studied plays of this and earlier centuries, Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and turned on their head many of the grand notions we have all had about Shakespeare. Lewis’s ideas are breathtakingly original. Written in a
Reviewed by Ian Lipke To undertake a review of this book is one of the more difficult tasks I have set for myself. It’s not because Cameron Baird VC, MG does not deserve the accolades that the media (including this book) have awarded him. He was without doubt the warrior we all depended on to
Reviewed by Norrie Sanders Tali Sharot has distilled research from the last four decades to explain how we are persuaded. She analyses this from many angles – the effects of fear, risk avoidance, our desire for control and the value of information – to name a few. The book is eminently readable, even by those
Reviewed by Ian Lipke William Poole’s publication is a testament to interesting academic scholarship. He defies the mantra that scholarly publications must, by their very nature, be arid publications. His style is pitched to an academic audience but is comprehensible without much effort by a group of undergraduates. The subtlety of the English language is