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Politics

Books on politics by Old Shirburnians 

Guys Like Gauguin, Writers and Artists in 1920s Tahiti – Simon Keable-Elliott ( g 78)

In the 1920s a group of previously unconnected writers and artists settled on the remote island of Tahiti, thousands of miles from home. Tahiti was the only South Pacific island at that time to have an artistic community. Why? The introductory chapters of Guys like Gauguin show how the image of Tahiti as a paradise … Read more

A Suspicion of Spies – Tim Spicer (a 71)

A Suspicion of Spies – the  biography of Wilfred ‘Biffy’ Dunderdale CMG, MBE. 1920 Odessa Ukraine. The Russian Civil War is at its height, a young British man working for Naval Intelligence picks up a report from one of his agents. The crew of the Russian submarine OUTKA are going to mutiny and throw their … Read more

The Keys to Democracy – Maurice Pope (a 44)

The Keys to Democracy: Sortition as a New Model for Citizen Power In this distillation of a lifetime’s thinking about democracy, Maurice Pope presents a new model of governance that replaces elected politicians with assemblies selected by lot. The re-introduction of sortition, he believes, offers a way out of gridlock, apathy, alienation and polarisation by giving … Read more

Eye on The World: A Life in International Service – Anthony Quainton (d 52)

In Eye on the World, volume #72 in the Diplomats and Diplomacy Series, Ambassador Anthony “Tony” Quainton offers an engaging account of the competing visions, dilemmas, and messiness of the diplomatic process, along with the candid, often self-critical story of his long and storied career in eleven countries on six continents in a diversity of … Read more

Fate of Abraham: Why the West is Wrong about Islam – Peter Oborne (d 74)

As the Cold War faded into history, it appeared to have been replaced by a new conflict – between Islam and the West. Or so we are told. After the events of 9/11 and the advent of the ‘war on terror’, this narrative seemed prophetic. But, as Peter Oborne reveals in this masterful new analysis, … Read more

The Assault on Truth: Boris Johnson, Donald Trump & the Emergence of a New Moral Barbarism – Peter Oborne (d 74)

 THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER. ‘A clinical and merciless account of Johnson’s mendacity… gripping’ Guardian When Peter Oborne wrote The Rise of Political Lying, looking at the growth of political falsehood under John Major and Tony Blair, he believed things had got as bad as they could be. With the arrival of Boris Johnson at No … Read more

Who Decides? – Paul Tyler (a 60)

If you are one of the hundreds of thousands of people in Britain who regularly take collective decisions – in a club, in business, in local or central government, or indeed in any other organisation – this book offers essential advice. The combination of Dr Edgar Anstey’s professional expertise, as a former government Chief Psychologist, … Read more

Dining with al-Qaeda – Hugh Pope (a 78)

In Dining with al-Qaeda, Hugh Pope guides the reader on an enlightening, unexpected and sometimes tragi-comic journey through more than a dozen countries, from Afghanistan to Turkey and from Sudan to Iraq. Speaking Arabic, Persian and Turkish, Pope’s experiences give a first-hand feel for warfronts and sieges, Persian poetry and Islamic revolution, and, not least, … Read more

Not the Chilcot Report – Peter Oborne (d 74)

not-the-chilcott-report‘The defining calamity of the post-cold war era’, in Peter Oborne’s words, took place in 2003. The invasion of Iraq led to the collapse of the state system in the Middle East.

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No More Champagne – David Lough (e&m 68)

The untold story of Winston Churchill’s precarious finances – and the most original and surprising book about Churchill to emerge for many years. The popular image of Churchill – grandson of a duke, drinking champagne and smoking a cigar – conjures up a man of wealth and substance. The reality is that Britain’s most celebrated … Read more