CONTENTS

ILSON

WBOB

BY

ILLUSTRATION

COVER

Review of Books

ISSUE 18 WINTER 2011

NOT FORGETTING... IMPORTANT TITLES RECENTLY

REVIEWED IN THE OLDIE

• The Importance of Being Awkward by Tam Dalyell • My Dear Hugh: Letters from Richard Cobb to Hugh Trevor-Roper and Others edited by Tim Heald • Explorers of the Nile by Tim Jeal • Now All Roads Lead to France: Edward Thomas by Matthew Hollis • The Ballad of Bob Dylan by Daniel Mark Epstein • Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class Owen Jones • Just Boris by Sonia Purnell

I N T H I S I S S UE

BIOGRAPHY

4. BIOGRAPHY AND MEMOIR That Woman: Wallis Simpson Anne Sebba; Charles Dickens: A Life Claire Tomalin; Becoming Dickens Robert Douglas-Fairhurst; The Necessary Aptitude Pam Ayres; The Genius in My Basement Alexander Masters; A Train in Winter Caroline Moorehead; Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness Alexandra Fuller; Georgette Heyer Jennifer Kloester; Nikolaus Pevsner Susie Harries; All Made Up Janice Galloway

The Pam

9. FILM In Glorious Technicolor Francine Stock; The Good, the Bad and the Mulitplex Mark Kermode

10. RACE FOR THE PRIZE Sam Leith on the Booker Prize

12. HISTORY Ghosts of Empire: Britain’s Legacies in the Modern World Kwasi Kwarteng; Empire:What Ruling the World Did to the British Jeremy Paxman; The Queen’s Agent John Cooper; Soldiers Richard Holmes; A Force to be Reckoned With Jane Robinson; Into the Silence Wade Davis; Spies in the Sky Taylor Downing; Foundation Peter Ackroyd; The Elizabethans A N Wilson; The Art Of Betrayal Gordon Corera; City of Fortune Roger Crowley

Taylor Downing;

18. CURRENT AFFAIRS The 9/11 Wars Jason Burke; Boomerang Michael Lewis; Confidence Men Ron Suskind

19. DIGITAL WORLD The Revolution will be Digitised Heather Brooke; DarkMarket Misha Glenny; Free Ride Robert Levine

20. MISCELLANEOUS The Better Angels of Our Nature Steven Pinker; Is That a Fish in Your Ear? David Bellos; The Magic of Reality Richard Dawkins; You Talkin’ To Me? Sam Leith

21. LITERARY LIVES Leonora Carrington, 1917–2011

22. SPORT Higgy Alastair Hignell; Vertigo John Crace

23. A FEAST OF FICTION Paperback round-up by Imogen Lycett Green

Paperback round-up by Imogen Lycett Green

25. HUMOUR One on One Craig Brown; The Ultimate Book Of Heroic Failures Stephen Pile

25. One on One Book Of Heroic Failures

25. RELIGION Ten Popes who Shook the World Eamon Duffy

25. Ten Popes who Shook the World Eamon Duffy

26. At the Yeoman’s House Why Every Man Needs A Tractor Charles Elliott; mingbirds

26. NATURE At the Yeoman’s House Ronald Blythe; Why Every Man Needs A Tractor Charles Elliott; Wild Hares and Hummingbirds Stephen Moss

30. REPRINTS Through the Woods H E Bates; Twopence Coloured Patrick Hamilton; Foliage Plants Christopher Lloyd; Good Behaviour Molly Keane

H E Bates; Coloured

31. ORDER FORM

Published by The Oldie magazine, 65 Newman Street, London W1T 3EG Editorial panel: Richard Ingrams, Jeremy Lewis, Sonali Chapman, James Pembroke, Brian MacArthur, Christopher Silvester, Sam Leith Reviews Editor: Sonali Chapman Design: Joseph Buckley, Silvia Baz Reviewers: Jonathan Beckman, Sonali Chapman, Jennie Erdal, Tom Fleming, Richard Ingrams, Lucy Lethbridge, Peter Lewis, Robert Low, Brian MacArthur, Patrick Mercer, William Palmer, Stanley Price, Christopher Silvester Publisher: James Pembroke Advertising: Lisa Martin, Azmi Elkholy, Jack Watts For advertising enquiries, call Lisa Martin on 020 7487 8405 For editorial enquiries, call 020 7436 8801 or email editorial@theoldie.co.uk

Winter 2011 Review of Books THE OLDIE 3