Guest Review: The Croucher A Biography of Gilbert Jessop By Gerald Brodribb

Review: Gilbert Jessop (1874-1955) was a cricketer who played for Gloucestershire and England. In his early days he was known for his fast bowling, but it was as a big-hitting batsman that he gained more fame, his crouching stance at the wicket earning him the nickname “The Croucher”. His most famous innings came in the fifth Test Match against  Australia at the Oval in 1902. Needing 263 runs to win, England were quickly reduced to 48 runs for 5 wickets on a rain-affected pitch when Jessop went out to bat. He decided to attack the bowling in his own inimitable style and scored 104 before he was finally out with the score at 187 for 7. His century was scored in only 75 minutes off 76 balls and, to this day, is still the fastest century in a Test Match by an England batsman. The match was still not over, but England’s tail end managed to accumulate the winning runs, with the last pair anecdotally “getting ‘em in singles” to give England a dramatic victory by one wicket.

Jessop’s childhood and his early career as a teacher before breaking into first class cricket with Gloucestershire and Cambridge University is outlined. As well as describing “Jessop’s Match” at the Oval in 1902, the book details his career with Gloucestershire for whom he made his debut in 1894. He took over the captaincy of the county from the great W. G. Grace in 1900, his performances often outshining the rest of the team. His cricketing career was effectively ended following the outbreak of the First World War, but he continued to play and be involved in golf. He also worked as a journalist and writer. At the end of the book is a short statistical section detailing his cricketing achievements, particularly his remarkable fast-scoring feats.

As an informative biography of one of the lesser-known cricketers of the so-called “Golden Age”, and having seen the bat that Jessop used in scoring his famous century in 1902 in the museum at Lord’s cricket ground, I found this to be an interesting and enjoyable book. It should appeal to all cricket lovers.

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Guest Review: The Dictionary People By Sarah Ogilvie

What do three murderers, Karl Marx's daughter and a vegetarian vicar have in common?

They all helped create the Oxford English Dictionary.

The Oxford English Dictionary has long been associated with elite institutions and Victorian men. But the Dictionary didn't just belong to the experts; it relied on contributions from members of the public. By 1928, its 414,825 entries had been crowdsourced from a surprising and diverse group of people, from astronomers to murderers, naturists, pornographers, suffragists and queer couples.

Lexicographer Sarah Ogilvie dives deep into previously untapped archives to tell a people's history of the OED. Here, she reveals, for the first time, the full story of the making of one of the most famous books in the world - and celebrates the extraordinary efforts of the Dictionary People.

Review: The sub-title of this book is “The Unsung Heroes Who Created The Oxford English Dictionary”. The author, Sarah Ogilvie, is a lexicographer who has worked as an editor of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). The first edition of the OED was compiled between 1858 and 1928. The aim of its editors was to create a dictionary that not only gave the definitions of the words but also described how they originated and were used over time, using quotations from written sources to provide examples. During this period, the longest serving editor, from 1879 until 1915, was a former schoolteacher called James Murray. The editors realised that the task of tracing words from their earliest sources would require a huge input, so they requested volunteers from across the English-speaking world to send in examples of words and their use in quotations. This crowdsourcing project was made possible following the launch of the uniform penny post and the growth of the railways in the mid-nineteenth century.

There was a total of three thousand volunteers. This book describes a selection of these unpaid and unsung people and also provides biographical details of James Murray. Sarah Ogilvie was aided in her research by her discovery in the archives of James Murray’s address books which contained the names and addresses of these contributors. The book comprises twenty-six chapters which, unsurprisingly for a book about a dictionary, start at the letter A and end at the letter Z. What emerges is an eclectic mix of Victorian and Edwardian characters from across the globe. These people were mostly amateurs who were only too ready to contribute to an intellectual project at a time when many, especially women, were denied access to higher education. There were some unusual contributors, including the daughter of Karl Marx, three murderers and a number of inmates of mental institutions.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started reading this book, but quickly found it to be a fascinating insight into both the process of compiling a dictionary and also the lives of a wide-ranging mix of the contributors. The author’s enthusiasm for her subject is evident throughout. I did find that a tome written by a lexicographer contained many long words that, ironically, I had to look up in a dictionary (including the word lexicographer: noun - a compiler of dictionaries). As an informative guide as to how a classic reference work first saw the light of day and an insight into some of the characters involved, I would recommend this book.

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Guest Review: Broadly Speaking By Stuart Broad

Stuart Broad is the ultimate competitor - someone addicted to the pressures of Test cricket, the big occasions and being thrust into the heat of battle.

For over seventeen years, he's left it all on the field. A multiple Ashes winner and World Champion, Broad was integral to some of the greatest England teams of all time. His awards and achievements, however, don't tell the whole story. He has always been a cricketer of more than mere numbers. Broad's passionate and spontaneous behaviour has mad him a fan favourite. No other player feeds off the crowd quite like he does.

In his autobiography, Broad shares the moments from the game which have made him and those that almost broke him. What's clear, however, is his unwavering belief in his own ability to become one of the best ever.

Candid, entertaining, and refreshingly honest, this book reveals the personal side of a true cricketing great.

Review: Stuart Broad was a professional cricketer who played for Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire and appeared in 167 Test Matches for England, as well as numerous One Day and Twenty 20 Internationals. He announced his retirement just prior to the end of the final Test Match in the 2023 Ashes series against Australia. This is his autobiography, written with the assistance of the journalist Richard Gibson.

The book covers his childhood, starting with his premature birth, weighing in at just 2 pounds 2 ounces, and his first couple of weeks of life in an incubator, before growing into the 6 foot 6 inches fast bowler who took 604 wickets in Test Matches. The story finishes with the 5th, and final, Test against Australia, when it appeared he had written his own script for how he wanted to finish. Although an autobiography, with the author’s personal reflections on his life in cricket and on what the future may hold, the timeline jumps around and the chapters are interspersed with ones describing the five games in that 2023 Ashes series.

With numerous colour photographs and a section at the end giving his career statistics, this is an interesting, although brief, autobiography by one of the more colourful characters in cricket. It should appeal to all lovers of the game.

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Guest Review: Unruly: A History of England’s Kings and Queens By David Mitchell

Think you know your kings and queens? Think again.

In UNRULY, David Mitchell explores how England's monarchs, while acting as feared rulers firmly guiding their subjects' destinies, were in reality a bunch of lucky sods who were mostly as silly and weird in real life as they appear today in their portraits.

Taking us right back to King Arthur (spoiler: he didn't exist), David tells the founding story of post-Roman England right up to the reign of Elizabeth I (spoiler: she dies). It's a tale of narcissists, inadequate self-control, excessive beheadings, middle-management insurrection, uncivil wars, and at least one total Cnut, as the population evolved from having their crops nicked by the thug with the largest armed gang to bowing and paying taxes to a divinely anointed king.

How this happened, who it happened to and why it matters in modern Britain are all questions David answers with brilliance, wit and the full erudition of a man who once studied history - and won't let it off the hook for the mess it's made.

Review: David Mitchell is a comedian, actor and writer who also studied history at Cambridge University. This book is his version of the history, and his interpretation of the personality, of the monarchs that ruled the land equating roughly to present day England from the period following the withdrawal of the Romans in the 5th century up to the end of the Tudor dynasty at the beginning of the 17th century.

Most of England from AD 43 had been part of the Roman Empire, and was known as the province of Britannia. Following the withdrawal of the Romans, tribes from north-western Europe, such as Angles, Saxons and Jutes, began to settle the land and rule specific regions. The leaders of these regions were usually the ones with the biggest armies who were prepared to use them in order to claim allegiance from their neighbours. These leaders came to be referred to as kings and England was divided into various kingdoms which came to dominate at different times, with the kingdom of Wessex eventually becoming dominant. Eventually, in the 10th century, one of their kings Athelstan styled himself Rex Anglorum, or King of the English. This was notwithstanding the fact that another series of invaders, the Vikings, had taken over large parts of the north of England, and indeed in subsequent years Anglo-Saxons and Vikings vied for the kingdom of England. Eventually, the last Anglo-Saxon king was replaced as a result of an invasion by Normans. From that point on, monarchs of England were given regnal numbers.

David Mitchell has provided a comprehensive and humorous account of the kings and queens of the various dynasties that ruled England during the twelve centuries described in the book. Although nominally following the line of the eldest male, he describes how quite often the succession was a result of an individual with even a slight claim seizing power by the time-honoured method of imprisoning or killing (sometimes both) rival claimants. Family trees of the various dynasties are provided, showing just how interrelated the royal families were. The introduction of various statutory institutions, such as Magna Carta and parliament, in an attempt to curb the power of the monarch are also described. The book contains illustrations of several of the monarchs, and there is a section at the end with suggestions for further reading.

David Mitchell, in the acknowledgements section, states that he wanted to write a book about kings and queens that was both funny and fascinating. In this, I feel that he has succeeded. I learnt a lot, particularly about the period before the Norman conquest because, for me, the teaching of history, as well as regnal numbering, began at this point. I also found the book extremely funny, with many laugh out loud moments. I liked the way the author used comparisons between historical figures and events with contemporary situations. I should add a warning that, for a book on history, there is a lot of strong language. As an entertaining, if sometimes irreverent, and highly informative read, I would thoroughly recommend this book.

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Guest Review: Not Far From Brideshead: Oxford Between the Wars By Daisy Dunn

 Oxford thought it was at war. And then it was.

After the horrors of the First World War, Oxford looked like an Arcadia - a dreamworld - from which pain could be shut out. Soldiers arrived with pictures of the university fully formed in their heads, and women finally won the right to earn degrees. Freedom meant reading beneath the spires and punting down the river with champagne picnics. But all was not quite as it seemed.

Boys fresh from school settled into lecture rooms alongside men who had returned from the trenches with the beginnings of shellshock. It was displacing to be surrounded by aristocrats who liked nothing better than to burn furniture from each other's rooms on the college quads for kicks. The women of Oxford still faced a battle to emerge from their shadows. And among the dons a major conflict was beginning to brew.

Set in the world that Evelyn Waugh immortalised in Brideshead Revisited, this is a true and often funny story of the thriving of knowledge and spirit of fun and foreboding that characterised Oxford between the two world wars. One of the protagonists, in fact, was a friend of Waugh and inspired a character in his novel. Another married into the family who inhabited Castle Howard and befriended everyone from George Bernard Shaw to Virginia Woolf. The third was an Irish occultist and correspondent with the poets W. H. Auden, Louis MacNeice and W. B. Yeats.

This singular tale of Oxford colleagues and rivals encapsulates the false sense of security that developed across the country in the interwar years. With the rise of Hitler and the Third Reich came the subversion of history for propaganda. In academic Oxford, the fight was on not only to preserve the past from the hands of the Nazis, but also to triumph, one don over another, as they became embroiled in a war of their own.

Review: This is a factual book about Oxford and its university during the period between the First and Second World Wars. It focuses on three academics in classics, Gilbert Murray, Maurice Bowra and Eric Dodds, and the writers, such as W. H. Auden, T. S. Eliot, Evelyn Waugh and W. B. Yeats, that they influenced. Evelyn Waugh was the author of the novel “Brideshead Revisited”, published in 1945, which evokes Oxford during the inter-war years. In the novel, the author based some of his characters on people he encountered as an undergraduate at Oxford University during this time. In addition, the acclaimed television series of the book used Castle Howard, a stately home in Yorkshire, as a location for Brideshead Castle. Gilbert Murray married into the Howard family, owners of Castle Howard. This explains the reference to Brideshead in the title of Daisy Dunn’s book.

The book highlights the differences between the 1920s and the 1930s in Oxford. During the former, there was an optimistic mood as people emerged from the First World War and the Spanish Influenza pandemic of 1918-1919. This may explain the excesses of this period among the Oxford undergraduates. However, the economic crash at the end of the 1920s and the rise of fascism in Europe during the 1930s, led to a more pessimistic outlook, with another war appearing more and more likely. The rivalry among the various academics is also described.

Not having any knowledge of Ancient Greek and Roman writers meant that most of the references in the text to their works were lost on me. I also found that the narrative tended to jump around at times. However, as a snapshot of a bygone era and the way that teachers can exert an influence on their pupils, I found this book to be an interesting read.

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Guest Review: The Cricketer Book of Cricket Disasters & Bizarre Records Edited by Christopher Martin-Jenkins

Review: Christopher Martin-Jenkins (1945-2013) was a cricket commentator and journalist. He was also editor of the magazine “The Cricketer”. The sport of cricket lends itself to all sorts of unusual statistics and records, and this book, published in 1984, is a lighthearted compilation of some of the more unusual or remarkable achievements that were sent to the magazine.

The entries come from all over the world, including places as diverse as Fiji and Denmark, as well as from the more well-established cricketing nations. There are unusual records involving batting, bowling and wicket-keeping, together with bizarre incidents involving animals. There is also a chapter on some of the more esoteric local rules governing both first class and village cricket grounds. The book is well-illustrated with numerous photographs, several of which are from a bygone age, and humorous cartoons.

I found this to be an amusing collection of bizarre and unusual events and one which should appeal to all cricket enthusiasts.

Guest Review: Gone Fishing By Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse

 Two comedy greats talk life, friendship and the joys of fishing...

Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse have been friends for 30 years, but when life intervened, what was once a joyous and spontaneous friendship dwindled to the odd phone call or occasional catch up. Then, Glory Be! They were both diagnosed with heart disease and realised that time is short. They'd better spend it fishing...

So they dusted off their kits, chucked on their waders and ventured into the achingly beautiful British countryside to fish, rediscover the joys of their friendship and ruminate on some of life's most profound questions, such as: How did we get so old? Where are all the fish? What are your favourite pocket meats? What should we do if we find a corpse?

Following the success of the BBC's Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing series, this wonderful book by two lifelong friends is a love letter to the joys of angling, the thrill of the catch and the virtue of having a right daft laff with your mates. On the fish, the equipment, the food, and the locations, Gone Fishing is the perfect book for fans of Bob Mortimer, Paul Whitehouse and for anyone who wants to read a brilliantly written and endlessly funny joint memoir on life, friendship and joys of fishing.

Review: Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse are two comedians and friends. After both underwent heart operations / heart procedures, Paul Whitehouse, a keen angler, suggested fishing trips as a way of recuperating, getting out of the house, enjoying the countryside and partaking of a hobby that is mentally relaxing. These trips ticked all those boxes, so they came up with the idea of making a television series, with the two of them ruminating on a riverbank about the meaning of life and the universe whilst trying to catch fish. Several series later, this book was published in 2019 as an accompaniment to the television programmes.

Whilst not a definitive guide to angling, this book covers the authors’ introductions to angling and how they found the trips therapeutic, giving them the idea for the tv programmes. There is even a chapter on healthy recipes, including one for an example of one of Bob’s famous “pocket meats”. I am not a fan of angling, having had a bad experience on my one and only fishing trip in my childhood, but I found the book entertaining, sprinkled throughout with the duo’s anarchic humour. There are also some thought provoking chapters covering the ecology of rivers and how anglers are best placed to know when fish stocks become depleted. There is a lot of jargon in the book, which I found difficult to follow at times. So if you want to know the difference between a waggler and a quill (types of float), or Quantum Radical and Dynamite Crave (types of synthetic bait), then this book will help.

Overall, I found this to be an entertaining and humorous book; less an earnest guide to angling but more about enjoying the pleasures of the countryside.

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Guest Review: Fifty Years in Cricket By Len Hutton

 

Review: Len Hutton (1916-1990) was a professional cricketer for Yorkshire and England. This is his autobiographical account, written with the assistance of the journalist Alex Bannister. Len Hutton made his first class debut in cricket for Yorkshire in 1934. This book, published in 1984, marked 50 years since that debut, hence the title.

A prolific batsman for Yorkshire, Len Hutton made his debut for England in 1937. His career was interrupted by the Second World War, and could have been curtailed altogether as a result of a bad accident during training with the Army, resulting in a broken left arm and wrist. After enduring bone grafts and periods in hospital, his left arm was healed but was found to be 2 inches (5 centimetres) shorter than his right. Nevertheless, when first class cricket resumed after the War he continued making big scores for Yorkshire and England. At the time, there was a distinction between amateur and professional cricketers, and it was the custom for the captain of England to be an amateur. However, he achieved the distinction of being the first professional to captain England in 1952. He had a successful time as captain, winning 11 matches and losing 4, including a famous Ashes series win in the 1954-1955 tour of Australia, the first win in Australia since the “Bodyline” tour of 1932-1933. However, ill health and the the constant strain on his body were taking their toll and he was forced to retire from playing later in 1955. He was knighted for services to cricket in 1956 and was later appointed an England cricket selector.

The book covers his childhood and his formative years playing club cricket for Pudsey St Lawrence before being invited for trials with Yorkshire. He also describes meeting various legends of Yorkshire cricket such as Wilfred Rhodes and George Hirst. Other chapters go on to describe the various highs and lows of his career and the characters he played with and against. The final chapters describe who, at the time of publication, were the outstanding players of the day, and conclude with reflections on the state of the game, particularly the turbulent events that had been happening to his home county of Yorkshire.

Although I thought the narrative of the book jumped around quite a lot, I found it to be a fascinating and nostalgic account of cricket either side of the Second World War. There are accounts of many of the cricketers of the era, accompanied by several photographs. I occasionally found the author’s views a little outdated, but they were the common views held at that time, and ones with which I was familiar from my own parents. Overall, this book was an interesting window into cricket during the pre and post-war years and will appeal to anyone wanting to know more about that era.

Guest Review: Flannelled Fool and Muddied Oaf The Autobiography of Peter West

Autobiography of the BBC's cricket anchor man for many years, also famous pipe smoker and car lover. 

Review: Peter West (1920-2003) was a radio and television sports commentator and presenter, and a newspaper sports columnist. This is his autobiography, published in 1986. The title is a quote from the poem “The Islanders” by Rudyard Kipling, and is a reference to Peter West’s two favourite sports of cricket and rugby.

A keen sportsman at school, he was unable to continue playing seriously due to back problems. On leaving school, he entered the Army shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War. However, the same back problems led to his being invalided out of the Army in 1944. Faced with having to find a new occupation, he turned to journalism and, as a result of meeting the legendary cricketer C. B. Fry who recommended him to the BBC, he started working on a freelance basis as a commentator on outside broadcasts. He worked in broadcasting for many years, commentating on over thirty different sports, but mainly on cricket, rugby and tennis. He also appeared as a presenter on a number of light entertainment programmes. He compèred a number of the televised “Miss World” competitions, but is probably best remembered for his stint as presenter of “Come Dancing”. This was a long-running programme in which teams of amateur ballroom dancers from various regions of the UK competed against each other in categories such as Modern, Old Time, Latin American and Formation.

The book’s chapters cover the sports of cricket, rugby and tennis, and the various light entertainment radio and television programmes with which the author was associated. There are a number of photographs of the various characters he encountered over the years. At the end, there is a concluding chapter outlining his plans for retirement. Overall, I found this to be an interesting and nostalgic account of someone who was a familiar voice on radio and a familiar face on television over a considerable number of years.

Guest Review: How to be an Ex Footballer By Peter Crouch

Often recruited before they've worn long trousers, today's footballers become superstars who earn huge amounts without ever learning much about the world beyond the training ground. Coddled by their support teams, everything is done for them. They live their lives in the glaring media spotlight, yet only really develop one life skill - how to kick a ball better. Then inevitably, when age catches up with them or injury strikes, these

man-children are thrown out into the real world, utterly defenceless apart from their multi-million-pound bank accounts.

So what do these Peter Pans, whose careers end just as most people's are getting going, do with the rest of their lives? Crouch speaks from his own experience and discusses with fellow former professionals too - just how do you safely release a near seven-foot striker back into the wild?

Peter goes in search of the answer to what his second career might be and encounters stories far more bizarre than anything you'll find on the pitch. From the pleasure and pain of management to the lessons we can learn from Jamie Carragher and Joe Cole on not going to seed. From those staying in the sport - the diehard veterans, coaches, managers, owners and of course the legion of pundits, to those moving on to pastures new. Peter talks to entrepreneurs, men of the cloth, eco warriors, artists, private detectives and budding actors, as well as those who've lost their way in addiction, crime and NFTs.

Review: Peter Crouch is a former footballer who, in his 20 year professional career, scored over 100 goals in the Premier League and holds the record for the most headed goals in that League (he may refer to this record once or twice in the book). He also represented England on 42 occasions, scoring 22 goals for his country. He retired from playing at the end of the 2018-2019 season. This book is a natural sequel to his previous two books, “How to be a Footballer” and “How to be Footballer 2”.

In this book, the author documents how ex footballers move from a high earning and heavily regimented world into one where they have to fend for themselves. He does this by exploring the different opportunities that may lie ahead. The book is divided into chapters covering the various options available, including the more obvious ones of coaching and management to radio and television punditry. There are also chapters covering other career options such as the worlds of finance or politics. There are a number of interviews with former footballers about the path they have followed since retiring and why they chose it, together with the author’s thoughts on how he would cope with that particular choice. As in his previous books, his sense of humour comes through. However, there is a more serious note in one chapter that discusses the struggles that a number of ex players have had with various issues since retiring.

So, if you want to know which ex footballers went on to have careers as: a funeral director; a hedge fund manager; a police detective; a pastor; or even President of Liberia, then this book, which is both humorous and thought provoking, is the one for you.

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Guest Review: The Ordnance Survey Journey Through Time By Ordnance Survey and Tim Dedopulos

Join the nation's favourite puzzle brand as we take a journey through landscape and history.

In this brand new puzzle book in the bestselling Ordnance Survery series, take a trip through time - from the earliest recorded footsteps of humans in Britain, to the spot where Caesar first surveyed Britannia, to the beaches where the battle of 1066 took place, and on through some of the most iconic moments in British history (as well as plenty of less well-known historical treasures!).

Including 40 new regional maps and hundreds of puzzles, mind-boggling brainteasers, navigational tests, word games, code-crackers, anagrams and mathematical conundrums, there will be plenty to keep you occupied as you go!

With maps covering the whole of the UK and puzzles ranging across four levels of difficulty, The Ordnance Survey Journey Through Time is an adventure for all the family.

Review: This is another treat for all map addicts! It comprises a collection of forty maps produced by Ordnance Survey, Britain's mapping agency, selected for their connection to particular historical events. Alongside each map there is an introductory explanation about the historical event connected with it, together with a set of puzzles about features shown on the map.

The puzzles are graded under four headings: Easy; Medium; Tricky; and Challenging, although to be honest, I found them all equally difficult. They range from identifying certain features on the maps and navigational skills to word puzzles, anagrams and ciphers, so there is something for people with different aptitudes. An eye for detail is definitely an asset for solving the puzzles.

However, it is the maps and their introductory notes that are the book's crowning glory. The maps are of various locations in cities, towns and the countryside throughout Britain. Some of the areas, such as the city of York, were familiar to me, but others were less so. The book is divided into eight sections, each covering a distinct historical period, starting from the Prehistoric, Mesolithic and Neolithic Era and finishing in the 20th century.

Hence, if you enjoy maps, journeying through time and solving clues, then get out your magnifying glass since this is the book for you.

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Guest Review: Ask a Historian: 50 Surprising Answers to Things You Always Wanted to Know By Greg Jenner

Why is Italy called Italy? How old is curry? How fast was the medieval Chinese post system? How do we know how people sounded in the past? Who invented maths?

Responding to fifty genuine questions from the public, Greg Jenner takes you on an entertaining tour through history from the Stone Age to the Swinging Sixties, revealing the best and most surprising stories, facts and historical characters from the past. From ancient joke books, African empires and the invention of meringues, to mummies, mirrors and menstrual pads - Ask A Historian is a deliciously amusing and informative smorgasbord of historical curiosities.

Review: Greg Jenner is a historian who has been involved in the television series “Horrible Histories”. His aim has always been to make the subject of history accessible to everyone. This book was compiled during the Covid lockdown and is an attempt to give answers to 50 questions that have been posed by the public, either during tours to publicise earlier books or, mostly, via an online questionnaire.

The questions vary from ones about statues in Ancient Greece, via the origins of curry, to the treatment of immigrants of the Windrush generation on their arrival in the UK. As can be seen, the questions posed are extremely wide ranging, and the author does his best to answer them in as succinct and readable way as possible. He also makes a lot of witty remarks, and this is what made the book so entertaining for me. For a book on history, it is reasonably short, at a little over 300 pages. However, the author’s aim, as stated in the introduction, was to make it light and entertaining, and in this I feel that he has succeeded. However, he also hopes that the book will have whetted peoples’ appetites to explore further, and to this end there is an extensive list of recommended reading for the various topics covered.

Overall, this book is an entertaining and accessible overview of the question “why?” regarding an eclectic range of historical topics and, hopefully, will encourage readers to continue asking questions.

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Guest Review: Black Gold: The History of how Coal Made Britain By Jeremy Paxman

From the best-selling historian and acclaimed broadcaster 

Coal is the commodity that made Britain. Dirty and polluting though it is, this black rock has acted as a midwife to genius. It drove industry, religion, politics, empire and trade. It powered the industrial revolution, turned Britain into the first urban nation and is the industry that made almost all others possible.

In this brilliant social history, Jeremy Paxman tells the story of coal mining in England, Scotland and Wales from Roman times, through the birth of steam power to war, nationalisation, pea-souper smogs, industrial strife and the picket lines of the Miner’s Strike.

Written in the captivating style of his best-selling book The English, Paxman ranges widely across Britain to explore stories of engineers and inventors, entrepreneurs and industrialists - but whilst coal inevitably helped the rich become richer, the story told by Black Gold is first and foremost a history of the working miners - the men, women and often children who toiled in appalling conditions down in the mines; the villages that were thrown up around the pit-head.

Almost all traces of coal-mining have vanished from Britain, but with this brilliant history, Black Gold demonstrates just how much we owe to the black stuff.

Review: Jeremy Paxman is a television journalist and presenter. He has also written a number of books on historical topics. This, his latest book, covers the history of coal, its extraction from the ground, the people who carried out the work, and the uses to which it was put.

Because Britain had large reserves of good quality coal, and this was used to power the Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries, Britain became the first urban nation. The book traces the history of coal mining, examining the social history of: those who exploited the coal reserves; those who carried out the often back-breaking, dirty and dangerous work of mining it; and those who exploited its uses for generating heat, power and new chemical compounds.

As may be expected, the most recent history of coal mining, from the 20th century onwards, is covered in greater depth. This encompasses: the year 1913, just prior to the First World War, when a record amount of coal was extracted from mines; the nationalisation of the coal industry in 1947; its subsequent privatisation in 1994; and the closure of the last deep coal mine in 2015. Also featured in the book is the effect of labour organisation in the mines, with the General Strike of 1926 and the year long miners’ strike of 1984-1985 being given prominence.

The author, Jeremy Paxman, has a reputation for being a formidable interviewer and not suffering fools gladly, and this comes across in the book. Some of his comments about certain individuals are quite scathing. Overall, I found this this to be an interesting book about an industry, and way of life, that appears to have run its course. I would recommend it to all with an interest in social and industrial history.

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Top Ten Nonfiction Books I Read in 2022

It's time for that yearly tradition...Since I read under 100 books this year (it's been a busy one for me!) I decided not to break it down into as many categories this year so this is my nonfiction list and then you'll have my fiction list as an alternate as well as my top ten best and worst movies of the year!

November 2022 Reading Wrap Up: Netgalley and Nonfiction November

 November wasn't a bad reading month for me but everything I read seemed to be very long and so in terms of getting to the things that were actually on my TBR it wasn't great but in terms of reading Netgalley and Nonfiction reads it was great!

Physical Books

Audiobooks

Guest Review: Fry’s Ties By Stephen Fry

Every single one of Stephen Fry's ties - whether floral, fluorescent, football themed; striped or spotty, outrageous or simply debonair - tells an intimate tale about a moment in Stephen's life.

Inspired by Stephen's hugely popular Instagram posts, this book will feature beautiful, hand-drawn illustrations and photographs to celebrate his expansive collection of man's greatest clothing companion: The Tie, in all its sophisticated glory.

Review: I had always looked on the comedian and television presenter Stephen Fry as a posh person who always seems to “talk down” to people. Therefore, it was with a sense of trepidation that I started to read this book, which was a gift, about ties. I needn’t have worried. Although it does confirm the author’s posh credentials, I was pleasantly surprised to find that a book about neckwear was an interesting read with snippets about the history of this fashion accessory and sprinkled throughout with witty comments.

I understand that the book, published in 2021, is a compilation based on a series of Instagram posts during the Covid lockdown in which Stephen Fry posted a picture of a tie from his vast collection alongside notes detailing its provenance. There is an introduction describing the dress code for men during his early years. I am a few years older than the author, so I too remember a time when my father wore shirts with a detachable, starched collar, and when boys and men almost always wore ties (just look at pictures of the crowd at Wembley for the 1966 World Cup Final in which most of the spectators are wearing a tie). The main part of the book comprises colour images of ties from the author’s collection with accompanying text describing the tie, the history of its designer and manufacturer and when and from where the tie was acquired. There are also illustrations demonstrating the different ways of knotting a tie.

Having accrued a reasonable tie collection during my working life and having seen changes in fashion over the years, I found this to be an entertaining and witty book about this particular clothing item. It was quite nostalgic to read about some of the retailers that no longer have a presence on British high streets. It is an easy read since one can sit down for a long session, or just dip into a few selections at a time. If you enjoy an amusing introduction to such a niche topic, then I would recommend this book.

To order your copy now, just click the link: UK or US

November 2022 TBR: Netgalley and Nonfiction Reads

I always look forward to November reading because I always challenge myself to read Netgalley and nonfiction titles and I love that I make myself have that balance between the 2!

This is by no means the books I will definitely read this month (i wish!) this is a list I have to choose from!

I have 1 new release that I will be reading this month:

Nonfiction & Netgalley Title

Netgalley Books

Nonfiction Titles