Contents December 2011

In Prospect 9 If I ruled the world

A return to old-fashioned manners. ann widdecombe 10 Recommends 12 Diary 14 Letters plus stephen collins’s cartoon strip.

Opinions 16 Cameron’s euro dilemma

It’s in Britain’s interests to be more involved in Europe. peter mandelson 17 Small island

Why are we so wary of Europe? peter kellner 18 Europe’s done well

The continent is handling the crisis much better than it seems. c. fred bergsten 20 What’s in a place?

The Pompidou Centre revolutionised our relationship with buildings. amanda levete 22 Great white hunter

Fifty years on from Ernest Hemingway’s death. el doctorow

23 Cheer up

The Arab Spring may turn out better than you expect. adel dajani 24 China diary

Nobody in China stopped at level crossings—until now. mark kitto

Features

26 Is British humour dead? In our multicultural, global era, is there still a

British sense of humour? Yes, says sam leith. plus al kennedy, henning wehn & arabella weir 34 The new face of China? Bo Xilai is the rock star of Chinese politics.

dan levin 39 Goodbye to the good life Living standards may not improve, even if the economy does. gavin kelly & james plunkett. plus iain duncan smith on fighting poverty.

42 Our mutual friend Dickens’s bicentenary. david lodge

48 Out of thin air Is technology spoiling sport? david edmonds

54 The domino effect Abkhazia’s game of freedom. oliver bullough

58 The prophet Bob Dylan and me. edward docx Gifts special 61 The art of giving jemima khan, jon snow and others tell of their best and worst gifts dave broom: dark, deep spirits for winter michael bywater: the meaning of wristwatches martin bell: life as a cruise ship lecturer jamie strachan: Alpine luxury—and danger andy davis: investing for children mber 2011 ·prospect· 5