CONTENTS CONTENTS

THE WEEK Leading article 5 Diary Andrew Roberts 9 Politics Irwin Stelzer 11 Diary of a Notting Hill Nobody 13 Letters 34 And another thing Paul Johnson 36 Another voice MatthewParris 37

BUSINESS Moscow’s empty shelves Owen Matthews 38 Investment Merryn Somerset-Webb 39 An interview with Val Gooding Rupert Steiner 40 City Life Robert Cottrell in New York 42

BOOKS

Ferdinand Mount:The Mission Song, by John le Carré 53 Charlotte Moore:Moral Disorder, by Margaret Atwood 55 Sarah Burton:Freud’s Wizard, by Brenda Maddox 55 John Casey:Everlasting Flower:A History of Korea, by Keith Pratt 56 Ian Sansom:Surveillance, by Jonathan Raban 57 Joanna Kavenna:River of White Nights, by JeffreyTayler 58 Rupert Christiansen: Divas and Scholars, by Philip Gossett 58 Diarmaid MacCulloch:From Cranmer to Sancroft, by Patrick Collinson 59 M.R.D. Foot:The Ends of British Imperialism, by Wm Roger Louis 60 Philip Ziegler:The Shadow of the Great Game, by Narendra Singh Sarila 61 Peter Porter:‘Leafing through the Latin Dictionary’: a poem61 Simon Baker:Kingdom Come, by J.G.Ballard 62 William Brett:The Ruby in Her Navel, by Barry Unsworth 62 Montagu Curzon:The Adventures and Inventions of Stewart Blacker, edited by Barnaby Blacker 63

The eight who know Britain’s future Fraser Nelson Brown’s tight-knit ‘Octet’ and how we will be governed 14

The King’s wish is his people’s command Alex Spillius The Thai coup has the tacit approval of the popular monarch 16

JohnReid is not ruling himself out Matthew d’Ancona The HomeSecretary’s manifesto for Labour ’s future 18

The Pope was not attacking Islam Piers Paul Read Benedict XVI dared to equate Europe and Christendom 22

Who is right about home schooling? Rod Liddle Teaching should be left to the professionals 24

Tea, cake, buns ‘and what have you’ Jeremy Clarke An evangelical evening of sacred songs with Dr Appleby 26

Cameron will have his own tax inquiry Allister Heath Lord Forsyth has not stuck to his cautious leader’s script 30

Hungarians speak for all voters Dan Hannan Budapest citizens’ outrage has Europe-wide significance 32

TRAVEL SPECIAL

A tropical parallel world Martin Gayford

Senior sledging Martin Vander Weyer

Berlin’s heart Michael Henderson

Gods and monsters Molly Watson

Wolf vs porcupine Lewis Jones

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Charles Moore is away.

Cover by Mike Daley. Drawings by Michael Heath, Castro, Robert Thompson, Dish, Tony Husband, Colin Wheeler, Nick Downes, Ken Pyne, Holland, Steve Way, RGJ, Paul Wood, Jorodo, McLachlan, Adam Singleton, Geoff Thompson and Nick Newman.

Website: www.spectator.co.uk To subscribe to The Spectator, turn to page 60.

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Vol 302; no 9294 ©The Spectator (1828) Ltd. ISSN 0038-6952

The Spectator is published weekly by The Spectator (1828) Ltd at 56 Doughty Street, London WC1N 2LL.

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Allan Massie:Life and Letters 64

ARTS

Robin Simon on the trail of Hogarth 65 Music Stephen Pettitt 66 Exhibitions 1:John Betjeman and Architecture Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen 68

Exhibitions 2:Tai-Shan Schierenberg: Myths Laura Gascoigne 70 Exhibitions 3:Leonardo da Vinci; Henry Moore Andrew Lambirth 71 Cinema:Children of Men Olivia Glazebrook 72

Theatre: The Trouble With Asian Men; (I Am) Nobody’s Lunch Lloyd Evans 73

Opera:Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria; Faust; Eugene Onegin Michael Tanner 73 Radio Kate Chisholm 74

Television Simon Hoggart

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LIFE The turf Robin Oakley

High life Taki

Low life Jeremy Clarke

Letter from Arcadia Roy Hattersley

Bridge Brian Senior

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STYLE AND TRAVEL The knitty gritty Jenny Wilhide 81 Sin city Bella Pollen 82 The Candy men Annabel Rivkin 83

AND FINALLY . . .

Restaurant Deborah Ross

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Chess; Competition; Crossword 86, 87

Sport; Your problems solved95

www.spectator.co.uk

THE SPECTATOR23 September 2006

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