In Focus

In Focus

Book reviews Comments Culture In Focus

Radek: a novel

This historical novel begins just before the outbreak of World War I with Karl Radek waiting to hear if he has been expelled from the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SDP).   Sean Sheehan   The matter is controversial and Lenin does not support his expulsion. Radek suspects, all too […]

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From beyond the grave: Ken Saro-Wiwa

Ken Saro-Wiwa was born in October 1941, the eldest son of a prominent family in Ogoni, which is today in Rivers State, Nigeria. He was executed on November 10th 1995.   Dorset Eye    After leaving university he initially pursued an academic career. During the Biafran war (1967-1970) he was […]

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Decadence, art and ideology

“Decadence” is usually a term used by right-wing people to castigate individuals and societies with whom they disagree, and whose lifestyle they disapprove of.   Steve Latham   The arts are frequently said to be in decline, embodied in paradoxical trends: a lack of originality and repetition of the past, […]

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Going nowhere

Michael Marder’s pocket-sized “Philosophy for passengers” is the perfect book to fit in your backpack or wheelie when making a journey.   Sean Sheehan   You are, at some stage, consumed by the exhilaration or dread that is prompting the travel but this book, acting as both distraction and therapy, […]