My Goodreads reviews

author: John Lyons
name: Kim
average rating: 4.42
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2019/04/01
date added: 2019/09/07
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A wonderful read offering great insight into many world events as seen from a top rate journalist, and in particular into the Israel – Palestinian conflict. Lyons was subject to much criticism when the book was first published, mainly from the Australian Israel lobby who are masters at manipulating the public narrative in support of the often draconian stance of the Israeli Government.

It is impossible to be neutral about what happpening in the Middle East, and even harder to try to understand the historical, economical and cultural implications of a region which has not known peaceful coexistences since – well – forever. Lyons is not neutral, but his journalistic integrity and competence renders this a must read book for those wanting to understand. Highly recommended.

author: Peter Lewis
name: Kim
average rating: 4.37
book published:
rating: 0
read at: 2019/07/29
date added: 2019/07/29
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author: Sebastian Smee
name: Kim
average rating: 3.47
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at: 2019/06/23
date added: 2019/06/23
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author: George Orwell
name: Kim
average rating: 4.53
book published: 1934
rating: 5
read at: 2019/06/09
date added: 2019/06/15
shelves:
review:
Colonialism laid bare

Written with much insight into the time and the place where the story is set, characters defined by a shared destiny, the surroundings so well describe you can smell it, feel it, taste it, touch it. The heroes are few, the villains all created by an unforgiving colonial system of privilege, oppression and above all suppression of the goodness of humankind, coupled irretrievable with the greatest fear of all, the fear of the unknown.

author: Bruce Pascoe
name: Kim
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2019/02/04
date added: 2019/02/04
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Should be mandatory reading for all Australians.

Mind blowing expose on everything you probably didn’t know about our true history. Well researched, thought provoking without the author trying to be controversial – the subject matter speaks for itself. A very important book for anyone interested in trying to understand Indigenous culture.

author: Timothy Garton Ash
name: Kim
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at: 2019/01/20
date added: 2019/01/20
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author: George Orwell
name: Kim
average rating: 4.35
book published: 1938
rating: 0
read at: 2018/12/28
date added: 2018/12/28
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author: Hanif Kureishi
name: Kim
average rating: 2.75
book published: 2014
rating: 2
read at: 2018/12/01
date added: 2018/12/01
shelves:
review:
Well written – but kind of pointless

I came to this book from listening to its charming and eloquent author at the Ubud Writers and Readers festival, thinking I’d learn something new about “the human condition”. I left it an hour later (the time it takes to read it) feeling none the wiser, a bit cheated. The revelations – as they were – arrived in the first few paragraphs, to be regurgitated again and again without much additional insight. An hour lost, a lot less significant than the fortune lost by the author and the life of the protagonist.

author: Helen Dale
name: Kim
average rating: 3.75
book published:
rating: 0
read at: 2018/11/20
date added: 2018/11/20
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author: A.C. Grayling
name: Kim
average rating: 3.79
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2017/09/01
date added: 2018/11/15
shelves:
review:
A C Grayling writes well, he is easy to follow, although at times a bit too academically “heavy”. He is logical and he puts democracy in context of history and of the times we live in. Understandably it is focused on the Westminster system and the UK, but much is also relevant to Australia. Where it falls a bit short is in proposing solutions, there are books that do that much better. There are blueprints for change, just sayin’…

author: Mark Colvin
name: Kim
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2018/09/06
date added: 2018/10/06
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Even if you don’t know the name, you will remember the mellifluous soothing voice of the late Mark Colvin – ABC foreign correspondent for decades, including presenter on Four Corners, Lateline and many more. A legend of good old fashioned journalism at its best. He sadly passed away far too early in 2017. His autobiography – ‘Lights ad Shadow: Memoirs of a Spy’s Son’ is a terrific read.
From covering the American hostage crisis in Tehran in 1979 to the Rwanda genocides in 1992, Colvin reported first hand from some of the most pivotal moments of recent history. His anecdotes about those early days of his illustrious career are fascinating insights into how much technology has changed journalism and how the media works.
Like many other autobiographies by media people it is a bit light on personal insights, except for the at times fractured but enduring and ultimately loving relationship with his father, who was a spy for British Intelligence, but without Mark and his sister knowing until well after their dad was retired. It adds an extra dimension of intrigue to some of the dramatic world events that Colvin witnessed.
The book is as well written as you’d expect from a man who lived his by the word. I listened to it on Audible which added to the enjoyment as hours upon hours of listening to his voice is about as calming as it must have been for Americans to hear Walter Cronkite in the sixties and seventies. May they both rest in peace – we need more of their kind now than ever!

author: Alan Gold
name: Kim
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2018/10/01
date added: 2018/10/05
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If Winston Churchill and the other leaders of Western Europe had listened more closely to Gertrude Bell and T.E Lawrence during and after the First World War, the Middle East might have been a very different place today. Bell and Lawrence both understood the complexities of the region better than any other outsiders, both having spent decades travelling the Arab peninsula as archaeologists, unofficial envoys, cartographers, reporters and writers and (in Lawrence’s case) officer of the Army.

And if Gertrude Bell had not been a woman, the immediate aftermath of the war may also have been quite different as she battled the male dominant hierarchy of British army generals ignorant of the history and culture of the Arab nations.

Author Alan Gold has made his name writing about the forgotten women of history. The book is written almost as an auto-biography, cleverly constructing scenes and dialogue as a first hand account of events. As such there is no doubt quite a bit of ‘poetic license’, but that doesn’t detract from the accuracy of the overall narrative, quite the contrary.

Apart from being exceptionally intelligent, Gertrude Bell also had the distinct advantage of coming from a very well-to-do and well connected industrialist family. Her grandfather was Sir Isaac Lowthian Bell, a Liberal MP during Benjamin Disraeli’s second term as Prime Minister, and her father was Sir Hugh Bell, who with a title of 2nd Baronet was (almost) to be counted as gentry.

Money and connections enabled her to study at Oxford and she was one of the first two women to graduate with a first class honours degree in history, when she was only 19. Never married – another factor that made her achievements in those times even more extraordinary – she started travelling the world at an early age. She developed a passion for archaeology and mountaineering (Gertrudspitze in the Swiss Alps near Bern is named after her – being one of the first to ascend it).

But her first and enduring interest was in the lands of the Arabs – Persia, Palestine, Syria and Mesopotamia as it was known then – borders fluid and very different to the lines later drawn up by men in the smoky map rooms of the war planners and at “peace” conferences.

Gertrude Bell learnt the languages, befriended the kings, princes and sheiks of the region and made it her life’s work to understand what so many of her countrymen did not bother to. Some of the top brass did appreciate her contributions, but most were, of course, threatened by the mere thought of a woman of knowledge and influence.

Neither T E Lawrence nor Gertrude Bell were supporters of the Sykes-Picot agreement or the Balfour Declaration, which in hindsight both proved to be disastrous for the region. I doubt if there ever was a greater example of “divide and conquer” than the British (and French) strategy in the Middle East during and after the First World War. It was all about the oil, of course, making sure that no Arab nation would be strong enough by itself. “Solving” the “Jewish problem” was just a side effect. The world is still suffering from the consequences.

Bell of the Desert provides excellent insights into all of these events, places the various combatants and participants in context and illuminates the history. It is also a most enjoyable read (or ‘listen’ as I did). The author cannot hide his love and admiration for Ms Bell, and it is hard for the reader not to join in. There are doubtless embellishments in the narrative – events and conversations that the author could not possibly be privy to. But it works as a great yarn whilst providing fascinating insights into an extraordinary woman in extraordinary circumstances.

Highly recommended.

PS> The movie “The Queen of the Desert” is no way of getting to know and understand Gertrude Bell. It is as narrow in scope as (lead actress) Nicole Kidman’s facial expressions.

author: Helen Dale
name: Kim
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2018/07/01
date added: 2018/10/05
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I respect anyone that acknowledges their mistakes, apologises and moves on – Helen Dale (“nee” Helen Demidenko) is a good example. Her debut novel “The Hand that Signed the Paper” won the Miles Franklin but she was later heavily criticised for having falsely presented herself as of Ukrainian ancestry and that the story was based on interviews with relatives. She later apologised unreservedly.
The book was also criticised for being anti-semitic. In my opinion utter nonsense, instead it was a brilliant expose of how war has no winners, that those that partake in atrocities are all sinners and that what we like to see as black and white are just shades of grey in an utterly confusing world.
In “Kingdom of the Wicked” Dale may still be accused of anti-semitism by the Jewish dogmatics, but again she manages to navigate through the various shades of human failings and hypocrisy to great effect. A fascinating re-telling of the story of the well documented attack on the moneychangers in the Jerusalem Temple during the times of a historic character also known as Jesus. All four of the gospels tell the story of his participation in it, as do many historians. Dale uses it to recast the role of both Jesus and Judas in what is a very clever work of historical fiction and courtroom drama. The Romans are in charge, but not unlike Baz Luhrmann’s version of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet modernity is brought forward to add texture and intrigue.
The Romans are cast as the debauched elite, they drive cars, watch TV and use sophisticated electronic surveillance and high tech instruments of torture. They also adhere to a sophisticated code of conduct and the letter of the law is mostly adhered to. As such the book is also an interesting reminder of how much the legal constructs of today is based on the jurisprudence originally instituted by the Romans.
The characters are many and varied, some times hard to keep track of, but all well crafted in their nuances of conflicting loyalties and confused values. The depictions of the hyper-sexualised life may well be historically accurate, who knows, but at times both camp and overdone, and rarely titillating (if indeed that was the purpose).
But overall I found “Kingdom of the Wicked” a fascinating read, a very clever idea well executed. It is the first in a trilogy, I look forward to the next installment.

author: Rudyard Kipling
name: Kim
average rating: 4.17
book published: 1901
rating: 0
read at: 2018/10/04
date added: 2018/10/04
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author: Laura Tingle
name: Kim
average rating: 4.38
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2018/07/19
date added: 2018/07/23
shelves:
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Laura Tingle does something few of our political commentators manage: to write with the deep insight of an insider without revealing her partisan leanings and maintaining the perspective of an outsider. She also has a keen appreciation not only of recent history, but also puts things in a historical light. (I particularly enjoyed her drawing parallels with the reporting from the Crimean War of the 19th century with the short memory of the modern news cycle.)
But above all, I learnt a lot from the way she put the last 3 decades of Australian politics into context, drawing broad developments from both the seminal events as well as lesser known anecdotes, offering perspective to both the actors and the times in which they acted.
Read her book for a thorough understanding of why our democracy finds itself in the malaise we are in – then read mine: “Why Democracy is Broken – A Blueprint for Change” for the solutions.

author: Kim Scott
name: Kim
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2018/04/01
date added: 2018/07/14
shelves:
review:
This was the first of Kim Scott’s books that I have read. It won’t be the last! Scott is of Aboriginal origins and it shows up in both the way he writes and how the story unfolds. The opening chapter provides a sense of wonder and magic, with underlying menace.

Bit by bit, the story unfolds, the source of the menace slowly unveiled, exploring the depth of hurt throughout the generations, offering insights into how the protagonist have become who they are, why they do what they do, without judgement. The horrors are hinted at, cleverly told as hidden mirages, suppressed in the way (I suspect) they really are for victims wanting to forget the unforgettable.

Bleak as the story is on many levels, it also offers hope, and in particular how art can bridge the gaps between past and present and between those oppressed and their oppressors.

A poignant read.

author: Anthony Grey
name: Kim
average rating: 4.35
book published: 1982
rating: 5
read at: 2018/02/01
date added: 2018/07/14
shelves:
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Read this after watching Ken Burns’ excellent documentary on the Vietnam War. Although this book is historical fiction, it is still an excellent expose on the background and events that led to the tragedy of the region, starting with colonialism in general, and the French exploitation in particular. It’s an epic story centered around an American family and their interaction with Vietnam spanning generations and five decades.

Grey very cleverly places his characters into actual events, and he manages to paint all the main characters as human beings with all their flaws and ambiguities, leaving it to the reader to take sides (or not).

An excellent read for anyone interested in the history of the region and the devastating effects of colonialism.

author: T.E. Lawrence
name: Kim
average rating: 3.93
book published: 1926
rating: 4
read at: 2018/06/01
date added: 2018/07/14
shelves:
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The movie is one of my all time favourites, the man an intriguing character of a tragic period of history. I have always had the sense that if the British generals (and more importantly the politicians) had listened a bit more to T E Lawrence (and Gertrude Bell) the Middle East just might have been a different place today. But of course, they didn’t – it was all about power – divide and conquer. Lawrence’s incredibly detailed account goes a long way to reveal why they could do so with ease in Arab lands that weren’t really countries, but diverse communities of nomads and tribes with no real notion of nationhood. United only by a common enemy, the Ottoman Turks.
The detailed narrative does get a bit tedious after a while, but at the same time it is also fascinating and very, very impressive in the detailed recollection. Lawrence was no doubt a complex man, full of contradictions, fiercely intelligent and with an acute observer of both his surroundings and the men (and there are only men) he encounters.
For anyone interested in the history of Word War I in general and the Middle East in particular it should be mandatory reading.