Reviews

Graham Ogilvy reviews a new history of the liberation of Paris.

Robert Shiels reviews a new book on one of the UK's best-known spying scandals. There is an aphorism along the lines of history is past politics and present politics is future history, and that might well be a suitable introduction to a new book on the Spycatcher affair.

‘Necrogamy’ might sound deeply unpleasant, but in fact refers to a lawful practice in France — one of the only jurisdictions in the world to allow, in certain circumstances, posthumous marriage between a living person and their deceased partner. And Mrs, a bittersweet dark comedy

Graham Ogilvy reviews an upcoming book which brings to light Irish links to the headquarters of the world revolution. This ground-breaking new book by Irish historian Maurice Casey tells the story of Wexford woman May O’Callaghan and of the friendships and love affairs of her comrades who live

Robert Shiels reviews a new book on the psychology of killing with drones. Remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) were used initially for surveillance but, increasingly and cost-effectively, are of value when armed with guided weapons for precise targeting.

All eyes are on Paris and the publishers are cashing in on the Olympics with a raft of new books focussing on ‘The City of Light’, writes Graham Ogilvy.

If you are in Edinburgh during the Festival be sure to visit the National Gallery’s new Lavery on Location exhibition – a well-curated tour de force of the works of Sir John Lavery, the Irish Impressionist who carved out a distinguished career for himself and became one of Britain’

The monograph The Signature in Law: From the Thirteenth Century to the Facsimile explores the judicial development of the concept of the signature from the 13th century to the age of the facsimile transmission and telex — that is, down to 1990. The concept of the signature is considered in its

Robert Shiels reviews Why War?, a new book by British historian Richard Overy.

Robert Shiels reviews Operation Morthor: The Last Great Mystery of the Cold War. On 18 September 1961, a plane transporting Dag Hammarskjöld, then the secretary-general of the United Nations, flew across the Congo on a long route to avoid a vast area that had seceded from the main part of the c

Scottish lawyer Robert Shiels reviews a book on the life of Roger Casement. How do you present a biography of a person in a different age who travelled the world and attained great fame? Any such subject would test even an experienced writer and Sir Roger Casement more so.

The trial in question, of Bruno Dey, opened in Hamburg on 17 October 2019. Dey was charged with his role within the Holocaust. It was alleged that he was involved as an accessory (compared to a perpetrator which is the distinction on which the book focuses) in the murder of 5,230 inmates at Stutthof

Robert Shiels reviews Warriors, Rebels and Saints: The Art of Leadership from Machiavelli to Malcolm X. A simple question: do leaders make history, or does history make leaders? Seeking an answer formed the basis of a course by the author on leaders and leadership in history at Harvard University.

The Cleveland Torso Murderer, also known as the Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run, was an unidentified serial killer who was active in Cleveland, Ohio in the 1930s. In parenthesis, it should be acknowledged immediately that these sorts of designations assume that there is one responsible person but that

Robert Shiels reviews an account of Manchester United's "glory years" by the club's lawyer. It is rather sad that the manuscript for this book was completed by its author, Maurice Watkins, a solicitor to and director of Manchester United, shortly before his death in 2021.