After Britain
The first of a series of book reviews and features over the coming weeks. This recalls ‘After Britain’ by Tom Nairn, here reviewed by Neal Ascherson. After Britain: New Labour Continue reading
Category Archives
Archive for: Review
The Revenge of History
By Jamie Maxwell Paraphrasing Diderot, the late polemicist Christopher Hitchens once warned that he would “go on keeping score” about the refusal of some countries to participate in the invasion Continue reading
Evidence, Risk and the Wicked Questions
By Jamie Maxwell Around 200 people crammed into the Martin Hall at New College on the Mound in Edinburgh last night to attend the launch of Arguing for Independence: Evidence, Continue reading
Arguing for Independence
Arguing for Independence lifts the entire debate on Scottish independence to a new intellectual level…
Book Review: The Panopticon by Jenni Fagan
Recommending a novel is a big deal (writes Kevin Williamson). In an age of the Great Information Skim it takes time and commitment to read a book, not to mention Continue reading
Britain Must Break: The Internationalist Case for Independence
By Callum McCormick There should be no doubt that those of us who wish to see Scotland become an independent country in 2014 face an extraordinary task. The intellectual and Continue reading
The Edge of Empire
This Saturday Christopher Harvie (‘A Floating Commonwealth‘) and Michael Gardiner are at Word Power Books, Edinburgh. This is an extract from Michael’s ‘At the Edge of Empire’: According to some Continue reading
Review: The Iron Lady
(Streeps) easly as good as Rory Bremner and miles better than Mike Yarwood…
Jacob Yates and the Pearly Gate Lockpickers
Jacob Yates and the Pearly Gate Lockpickers Stereo, Glasgow, Sat 5 Nov by Tess Ferguson Early during a too-brief set, the eponymous Jacob Yates proffered Three Pieces of Glass, souvenirs Continue reading
Bella Review
What are we reading at the moment? Each month we’ll be publishing a series of book, film and music reviews. If you want to write a review articles or send Continue reading
Iain Banks & The Culture
In an article first published in Democratic Green Socialist, Steve Arnott takes a personal look at the ‘Culture’ novels of Iain Banks and argues that sceptics of the genre are Continue reading
BOOK REVIEW: A Nation Again, Why Independence will be good for Scotland (and England too). Edited by Paul Henderson Scott
Reviewed by Kevin Williamson “It ought to be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than Continue reading
Notes From The Gutter, Music To My Ears
by Kevin Williamson – And yet I feel this muckle thistle’s staun’in’ Atween me and the mune as pairt o’ a Plan.” When Hugh MacDiarmid’s whisky-fuelled ‘Drunk Man’ looks up Continue reading
Dream State
“Appalled by the rigged referendum of 1979 which in closing the door to home rule, opened the gates to Thatcher, Morgan insisted on Scotland’s imaginative viability, as a place being transformed by artists whose cultural exertions would in time produce a politics worthy of their talent and tenacity. “
Bombing Kelpies
A review by Alastair McIntosh of the journal, Dark Mountain, Vol. 1, Summer 2010 The editors of Bella have kindly drawn my attention to this debate about the Dark Mountain Continue reading
The Democracy Of Books
“I’m of the opinion that authors should avoid reviewing books of their peers” Philip Kerr. By Kevin Williamson There’s been a nice wee authorial square-go erupted between our very own Continue reading
Broonland – Two Views
Verso have just published Chris Harvie’s Broonland (available at Word Power Books) described as: ‘an essential anatomy of New Labour’s bankrupt policies and a caustic portrait of a decade that Continue reading
Burke and Hare
Burke and Hare Martin Conaghan and Will Pickering (2009) Insomnia Publications The Anatomy Murders Lisa Rosner (2009) University Pennsylvania Press Since Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon’s Watchmen (1986 ) everyone’s Continue reading
We Are All Learners
Two absolutely superb new ventures have loomed into view recently. The first is the rather luverly looking This is Central Station, who say: ‘this is a space for exploring art, Continue reading
Book of Scotlands
I don’t share Pat Kanes view of Momus (“for me, he’s one of the most challengingly brilliant Scottish minds of the last twenty years”) or his assessment of Alasdair Gray Continue reading
