CONTENTS

KHAN

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ILLUSTRATION

COVER

Review of Books

Review of Books

ISSUE 15 SPRING 2011

NOT FORGETTING... IMPORTANT TITLES RECENTLY

REVIEWED IN THE OLDIE

• Shapely Ankle Preferr’d: A History of the Lonely Hearts Ad 1695–2010 by Francesca Beauman • The Grand Design by Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow • Life by Keith Richards • To a Mountain in Tibet by Colin Thubron • Henry’s Demons: Living with Schizophrenia by Patrick and Henry Cockburn • Levant by Philip Mansel • The Stranger in the Mirror by Jane Shilling • Whatever it Takes: The Real Story of Gordon Brown and New Labour by Steve Richards

‘A guide to literacy? And how would you be spelling that?’ ‘A guide to literacy? And how would you be spelling that?’

I N T H I S I S S UE

I N T H I S I S S UE

4. BIOGRAPHY AND MEMOIR Kiss Me, Chudleigh William Cook; The Memory Chalet Tony Judt; The Sun Hasn’t Fallen from the Sky Alison Gangel; Romain Gary David Bellos; Wolfram Giles Milton; The Man Who Recorded the World John Szwed; The Model Wife Suzanne Fagence Cooper; Tolstoy Rosamund Bartlett

7. PICK OF THE PAPERBACKS The ORB’s top five

9. AN EXERCISE IN VANITY? Quentin Letts on political biography

10. HISTORY A World on Fire Amanda Foreman; Why the West Rules – For Now Ian Morris; Gulag Boss Fyodor Vasilevich Mochulsky; Six Weeks John Lewis-Stempel; The Russian Court at Sea Frances Welch; The Golden Age Hugh Thomas; Children of Light Gavin Weightman; The Taste of War Lizzie Collingham

15. NATURE The Butterfly Isles Patrick Barkham; The Curious Gardener Anna Pavord

16. FICTION Sunset Park Paul Auster; Cedilla Adam Mars-Jones; Pulse Julian Barnes

17. FAULKS ON FICTION A review by Jeremy Lewis

19. CURRENT

AFFAIRS The New Machiavelli Jonathan Powell; Talking to the Enemy Scott Atran; Treasure Islands

Nicholas Shaxson

20. FOREIGN PARTS India Patrick French; Amexica Ed Vulliamy; Atlas of Remote Islands Judith Schalansky

ORDER FORM

22. ORDER FORM 23. SPORT 9.58 Usain Bolt; The Toughest Tour Huw Turbervill; His Father’s Son: Earl and Tiger Woods Tom Callahan

The ToughHuw Turbervill; His Father’s Son: Earl and Tiger

MISCELLANEOUS

24. MISCELLANEOUS The Invention of Murder Judith Flanders; The Immortalization Commission John Gray; Periodic Tales Hugh Aldersey-Williams;

Bright Particular Stars David McKie; Incoming! Or; Why We Should Stop Worrying and Learn to Love the Meterorite Ted Nield; Just My Type Simon Garfield; The Language Wars Henry Hitchings

30. REPRINTS The Young Ardizzone Edward Ardizzone; Barney’s Version Mordecai Richler; Ernest Hemingway on Paris; Short Treatise on the Joys of Morphinism Hans Fallada

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, Tom Fleming Reviews Editor: Sonali Chapman Design: Joseph Buckley, Matt Ward Reviewers: Jonathan Beckman, Sonali Chapman, Jennie Erdal, Tom Fleming, Lucy Lethbridge, Jeremy Lewis, Peter Lewis, Robert Low, Nick Parker, Christopher Silvester Publisher: James Pembroke Advertising: Lisa Martin, Corin West, Azmi Elkholy For advertising enquiries, call Lisa Martin on 020 7487 8405 For editorial enquiries, call 020 7436 8801 or email editorial@theoldie.co.uk

Spring 2011 Review of Books THE OLDIE 3