The Spirit Level by Richard Wilkinson & Kate Pickett

The Spirit Level is a non-fiction book that examines the prevalence of what we might think of as social problems in different countries (drug use, violence, obesity, poor educational performance, crime etc.). Wilkinson and Pickett argue that what matters is not how affluent a country is on average, but rather the level of inequality in the country.  All Western nations have reached a point where economic development has led to a comfortable standard of living, but the richest countries are not the happiest, or the ones with fewest social ills.   In fact, health and social problems are instead highly related to the difference in income between the top twenty and lowest twenty percent in that country, with richer countries like the USA and UK doing poorly compared to countries such as Japan and the Scandinavian nations.

This may all sound like common sense, but what Wilkinson and Pickett do in The Spirit Level is provide overwhelming evidence that inequality is damaging for all members of society, not just those at the bottom. Each chapter examines a different societal problem and time and time again, we see that inequality is strongly related to it.  Even things like the amount of trust you have in your community, your chances of developing a mental illness, the prevalence of chronic diseases and the rate of teenage pregnancies are highly correlated. And as Wilkinson and Pickett explained how the link between inequality and each 'problem' might work, the more I found myself nodding my head along with the book.  It just makes sense that the healthier societies are the ones where all members of society feel valued and like they have something to contribute.  Crucially, the authors show that inequality is damaging for the rich as well as the poor.

The sections dealing with the relationship between inequality and the different health and social problems were truly fascinating, and left me with lots to think about.  However, the book then moves on to discussing ways that inequality can be combated by ordinary members of the public, and here I felt it started to lose some steam.  I do agree with lots of their suggestions, especially employees having a stake/shares/voice in the company they work for, but this part of the book felt a bit meandering and at times, a little preachy, compared with the fast paced, factual arguments of the rest of the text.

On the whole, The Spirit Level is a truly thought provoking book that seeks to provide an answer to the question of why the richest countries aren't necessarily the happiest in the world.  It's thoroughly researched, fascinating to read and left me with lots to think about.  Recommended for anyone interested in society or politics.

Source: Personal Copy

First Published: 2009

Edition Read: Penguin Books, 2010

Score: 4 out of 5

My Promised Land: The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel by Ari Shavit

I love a bit of non-fiction, and I've always found books about other cultures and religions particularly fascinating.  When you combine that with history, politics and biography, you're pretty much on to a winner, and that's what Shavit does here.  Through the sharing of his family history and that of important Israeli figures, Ari Shavit tells the story of Israel from the initial campaign to set up a Jewish state to the present day.  It's all there, from Zionism to the communal camps or kibbutzim, to the twentieth century wars, the building of the settlements and the Palestinian intifadas.  Shavit also considers the future of Israel and the issues it faces as it moves forward into the twenty-first century.

My Promised Land is truly an excellent piece of non-fiction.  It contains a lot of history and politics, but it's all blended together with reflections and interviews and thoughts, and this makes it wonderfully easy to read and absorb.  Picking up this book never felt like a chore, and the easy going writing style made it perfect for someone like me, who has a little bit of knowledge of Israel but who would like to know more.  Although it contains a lot of information, it never feels overly stuffy or academic, and it remains completely engaging throughout.

Israel is a topic that tends to elicit strong opinions and this means it can be quite hard for someone who is completely uninvolved to find something factual and balanced.  I'm not Jewish or Muslim, and I'm not invested strongly in either side of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  Although Shavit's book is inherently biased from his point of view of a proud left-leaning Israeli, this bias is acknowledged and addressed through his interviews with others.  We hear directly from a displaced Palestinian, a nuclear scientist, a founder of the settlements and a Jewish terrorist.  Shavit reflects on the views of all the participants, but he isn't overly judgemental and the commentary is thoughtful.

In fact, that's what I liked most about this book; it made me think.  It doesn't attempt to reduce a complex political situation to a black and white interpretation, rather it exposes how complicated it is and highlights all of the shades of grey.  I knew the basics of Israeli history before reading My Promised Land, but I have a much better understanding of the nuances and the motivations of different groups now.  It's a thoughtful book for readers who like to be challenged to think and decide for themselves, and I highly recommend it.

Source: From the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Published: November 2013

Score: 5 out of 5

Half The Sky by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl Wudunn

When I first saw Half The Sky mentioned on Eva's blog, A Striped Armchair, I knew it would be something I would want to read as soon as possible.  It's a non-fiction examination of problems facing women in the developing world and includes issues such as sex trafficking, female genital mutilation, honor killings, maternal health and rape.  The examination of these topics is enhanced by individual accounts of the women Kristof and Wudunn met and also success stories of organisations working at the front line improving lives for women across the world.

Half The Sky is a shocking book.  Even though I knew about most of these issues individually, it was still a shock to read such a comprehensive account of all of them together; when I closed the book I was very grateful to be a British woman living comfortably in the Western world.  The statistics on rape were the ones that really got to me - in the Congo over 90% of women past the age of puberty had been raped, often brutally in a way that meant their health was forever ruined.  I can't even get my head round that statistic.

Kristof and Wudunn make it clear that lots of these problems are easily overcome, that it's an issue around the way women are perceived around the world.  Young girls in families are more likely to be malnourished because what food there is goes to boys.  Women given treatment to prevent them passing on HIV to their newborn children often refuse to use the powdered milk because that's 'not how it's done in their village'.  Improved maternal health is relatively easy to provide, it's just not a priority because women are not seen as a priority.

But despite all of this, Half The Sky isn't all doom and gloom.  There are many stories of women who have overcome terrible situations (one story about a young girl trafficked into being a prostitute and then infected with HIV really got to me) but who have gone on to lead positive lives.  As well as this, there are organisational success stories of normal people saying 'enough is enough' and actually doing something to make the situation better.

Interestingly, Kristof and Wudunn seem to be against traditional aid agencies.  Whilst recognising that they can do a lot of good, the emphasis is on grassroots organisations and the ways that the West can support without 'going in there to sort it all out'.  There are links provided to organisations in the appendix and it's easy for the reader to find ways to support them (I am now offering a microloan through kiva and would recommend it to others).

This kind of book isn't really about the writing but it's clear, accessible and easy to read.  I would recommend this to everyone, male and female as it's something that is worth investing time in.  These issues aren't just women's issues, they are issues facing humanity as a whole.

Verdict: Powerful read about the role of women in the developing world.
Source: Library
First Published: 2010
Score: 4.5 out of 5

Complicity With Evil: The UN In The Age of Modern Genocide by Adam Lebor

Everyone knows that, after the Holocaust, the world swore 'never again'.  Countries came together to form the United Nations, an institution with one of it's founding principles the prevention of another genocide.  The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was signed and ratified by member states.  But things didn't exactly work out to plan - three genocides later (Bosnia, Rwanda, Darfur), Adam Lebor asks in his book what exactly went wrong.  Why did the UN fail to act, despite knowing exactly what was going on?

This is a well researched yet still easy to follow book.  Lebor has interviewed all of the major players in the UN at the time of all three genocides and followed the exhaustive paper trails.

The central argument is whether people can be guilty of all the deaths through inaction.  If someone knows a genocide is occuring, has the power to stop it and does not, are those deaths on their conscience?  Lebor gives the following reasons as to why the genocides were not prevented:

*The UN is overly obsessed with neutrality, and this prevents it from acting when it needs to.  For example, when Bosnian Muslims were being slaughtered in Srebrenica, some in the UN argued against striking against the Bosnian Serbs (the perpetrators of the genocide) as the Muslims had once been involved in a civil war.  During the Rwandan genocide, Rwanda actually had a seat on the security council and could therefore derail any interventions!  In a genocide, the UN should not be neutral.

*Bureaucracy - It takes so many people to make and authorise a decision that often it was too late.  Bureaucracy was taken to ridiculous measures too; a request to bomb approaching Serbs in Srebrenica, saving the lives of thousands of Muslims, was rejected because it was filled in on the wrong form!  It wasn't even passed up to the relevant superiors.

*The permanent members of the security council do not make things easy.  Russia and China often threaten to veto any intervention and the US, UK and France are hard to win round.

*UN peacekeepers should automatically be authorised to intervene if they witness genocidal acts or human rights violations, rather than submitting a report and waiting for agreement (which often comes too late).

Lebor also makes a good case against isolationism.  I know lots of people thought and think 'It's going on in another country, what has it got to do with me?  Let them sort their own problems out.'  But that's just not possible in the world today.  Some of the Bosnian Muslims who experienced the western world looking away as they were raped and slaughtered, turned to Al Qaeda.  Three of the September 11th hijackers were Bosnian Muslims radicalised after the genocide.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in power politics, or the UN in particular.  Samantha Power's A Problem From Hell is a better general introduction to the three genocides.

Verdict: Good expose of humanity's failure to act in the face of atrocities.
Source: Owned
Score: 3.5 out of 5

Genocide: My Stolen Rwanda by Reverien Rurangwa

During the Rwandan genocide of 1994, Reverien Rwangwa was hacked with machetes and left for dead with all 43 members of his family solely because he is a Tutsi.  One of his attackers was a man who they thought had been a friendly neighbour but who was Hutu.  Reverien survived both this initial attack and further machete attacks which left him without an eye, his hand was severed at the wrist and his nose became detached from his face.  After making it to a hospital in which Tutsi victims waiting for treatment were being slaughtered by Hutus, he was flown out of the country by a charity and began treatment.  Over the following years he struggled to come to terms with what had happened to him and how normal life could ever possibly continue.

I've read lots about the Rwandan genocide before, and would recommend both Romeo Dallaire's Shake Hands With the Devil (written by the UN commander for Rwanda) and Samantha Power's A Problem From Hell (which covers all genocides, not just the Rwandan one), but this is the first time I've read such a personal account and it was harrowing to say the least.  It was as impossible for me as for Reverien to understand why or how anyone could attack others in that way, let alone in a coordinated effort.  The biggest question I had throughout reading the book was - how can you ever live normally after that?  and the answer was that it is almost impossible.  Reverien became consumed by hate and grief and found it impossible to come to terms with the genocide.

The hardest part for me to read was not the attacks, but the section where Reverien goes back to Rwanda.  He comes across his attacker, still living in the same house and going about the same job as if nothing had happened.  When he lodges a complaint, he receives death threats and is eventually forced out of the country.  No one wants to talk to or acknowledge a survivor as it makes the whole thing real.  The amount of collective looking away and not wanting to accept that anything bad happened was astonishing.  The vast majority of perpetrators were never tried or imprisoned, and if they were the sentence could be as short as only three months.

This book shows a side of humanity that we would all like to pretend doesn't exist, but I think it's important to face it and remember.  I would definitely recommend this book.

Verdict:  Harrowing but worthwhile.
Source: Library
Score: 4.5 out of 5

Life at the Bottom by Theodore Dalrymple

Theodore Dalrymple is a British consultant psychiatrist who works both at an inner city hospital and in a prison.  Life at the Bottom is a collection of essays about what he describes as the 'underclass' of British society - people without jobs or good education or stable family lives.

As you can guess from the way he labels them 'underclass', Dalrymple wasn't exactly an objective observer.  I'm sure his views come from decades of experience with thousands of patients but he came across as overly pessimistic.  He didn't seem to realise that as a psychiatrist, he would naturally see the patients that most need help i.e. those that are not responsible, functioning members of society.  From these patients, he has drawn big conclusions that aren't always true.  For example, he makes a lot of statements about the education system that as a teacher, I know are false.  If he has fabricated and exaggerated in that area, it's reasonable to think he would have in others too.

Putting his bias aside, Life at the Bottom was pretty depressive reading.  Dalrymple's main argument is that what is holding people back is not poverty or lack of opportunity, but ideas and attitudes.  And it did have a ring of truth - there are schools where your life would be made a misery if you do well in lessons, and families without aspiration, into their third generation of unemployment.  You absorb the values and attitudes of those you grow up with, and those attitudes can be a big brake on success.

In one essay, Dalrymple describes the experience of foreign doctors who come to do a year's placement in the NHS.  At first they are amazed at how well everyone is looked after, and at how no one is allowed to go hungry, sick or cold.  But as time goes on, their attitude changes as they see a poverty of ambition rather than a material poverty.  Dalrymple contrasts this with the poor he saw when he worked in Africa, who took pride in always trying to better themselves.  I do think too many people have poverty of ambition, in all sections of society, not just in the 'underclass'.

I will say that benefits and the sections of society that Dalrymple describes are an area I feel unsure of, politically.  I used to have very clear cut liberal views but experience has clouded that a bit.  Life at the Bottom hasn't made it any simpler, but it was interesting to read such a strong Conservative position.

Verdict: Interesting and a good conversation-starter
Source: Bought for my kindle
Score:  3 out of 5

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The Fear by Peter Godwin (Non-Fiction/Zimbabwe)

I am all settled in the new house.  Still awaiting bookshelf delivery and I've got too many books to make moving an easy task but the new house feels very homely already.  We're going to be spending the Easter holidays painting. 

Keeping me company during the move was an ARC copy of The Fear by Peter Godwin, which is about the recent elections in Zimbabwe and Mugabe's battle to impose his will on the voting public.  It was quite simply a wonderful book.  Godwin was born and raised in Africa and practised as a human rights lawyer in Zimbabwe before becoming a foreign news correspondent.  The Fear is part history, part politics, part travelogue and is written as Godwin travels the country as events unfold, talking to  Zimbabweans.

The name of the book comes from what Zimbabweans called the period between the two elections.  In the first Mugabe lost and before the second the ruling party used any method possible to 'convince' people the change their votes.  The Fear refers to the toture, random beatings and repression that came to anyone suspected of having voted for the opposition party.  There are some very harrowing stories of torture and rape contained in the book (for example, a man who had wire tied around his testicles and was led around by this wire) and Godwin doesn't shy away from the more horrible stories.

The courage of ordinary Zimbabweans really shines through.  Despite torture, most that Godwin talks to remain defiant and focused on their goal of change, no matter how Mugabe responds.  Godwin himself gets in quite a bit of danger throughout the book and is at one point forced to leave the country.  The technique of writing the book as a travelogue gives it immediacy, stops it from being too dry and makes it very relatable.  Even though I already knew the outcome of the crisis, I found myself swept up in the human side of it, the side that was missing from the news reports.

I would highly recommend this book as a good example of well written, readable non-fiction. 

Score: 5 out of 5
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Available now.

A Brief History of the Middle East by Christopher Catherwood

Once upon a time, before I started this blog, I used to read more non-fiction than fiction.  My favourite non-fiction genres were science, history, politics and linguistics and I read some amazing books.  But ever since I started this blog, I read about so many good fiction books that I usually now go from one fiction book to another without much non-fiction slotted inbetween.  I picked this non-fiction book up from the library to try to redress the balance and because I've always found the Middle East interesting.

Synopsis: Catherwood gives a brief overview of the Middle East from the time of the pharoahs, through the birth of the three monotheistic religions, the Ottoman Empire and finally the conflicts of today.  He shows how the roots of the present day conflicts can be traced back through history, especially to the fall of the Ottomans.

Score: 3.5out of 5

This was a well written non-fiction book that was genuniely engaging.  It wasn't overly academic (although some theories were discussed) and Catherwood didn't assume prior knowledge of the history or the area. He focused on themes  rather than dates/names/individual countries, which made it much easier for the reader to absorb and keep up with all of the information.

I did have a slight problem with the balance of the book. There was lots on the birth of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and whilst I understand that this is crucial to understanding the Middle East, I wanted a bit more politics and less religion.  The sections on the modern day situation had a balance that worked better for me personally. I also felt that the inclusion of so much religious stuff squeezed out the Ottomans. The Ottoman Empire is one of my favourite parts of history and I wanted to read more about their battles, conquests and society. Instead they only got a few pages, presumably as they don't fit so well with the religious theme.

It was nice to read a book about this area that was fully up to date (this edition was published in 2011, my library must have got a hold of it quickly!).  I haven't read the 2006 edition but the extra chapters on Iran on terrorism were very interesting.  It did feel like the revision was just a few chapters tacked on the end though, because at other points in the book Catherwood had statements like "the current situation now in 2006", which could easily have been picked up on and changed by a good editor.

To sum up, well worth a read if you're interesting in Middle Eastern history/politics, especially if you want to learn a bit more about religion too.

What on Earth is Going On? by Tom Baird & Arthur House

My boyfriend and I are one of those sad couples that like to read aloud to each other.  We don't do it every day, and it takes us a long time to get through a book.  Therefore we have the following criteria when choosing a joint book:  topic has to interest us, the book has to be relatively short and chapters must be short enough to be read aloud in ten to fifteen minutes.  Previously we read Animal Farm (my pick) and enjoyed it, and this time he picked What on Earth is Going on?

Synopsis: The subtitle of this book is 'A Crash Course in Current Affairs', and it pretty much does what it says on the tin.  It's divided into chapters arranged alphabetically, each of which is about a different current affairs issue (from topics such as politics, health, the economy, other nations etc).  Each chapter is then divided into shorter sub-sections that give you a brief outline of the issue, assuming you have no prior knowledge of the subject whatsoever.

Score: 4 out of 5

I consider myself to be a relatively well-educated person and I both watch and read the news, but whilst reading this book I was amazed at how much I didn't know.  I found the history of nations with conflicts particularly interesting, especially the chapters on Sri Lanka, Burma and Georgia.  The chapters dealing with economics or finance were less interesting for me personally, but still informative.  I would like to say I now fully understand hedge funds, but that would be a lie!

The best thing about this book is that it gave you lots of information at a beginners level and beyond without being at all patronising.  The writing style was simple and straight-forward and the information chunked into short memorable sections.  There is also the odd touch of humor to keep things light and away from the academic zone.   There could always be arguments about what is kept in and what is omitted, but as an introduction or a refresher in current affairs, I don't think it could be beaten.

The major downfall is that this is the kind of book that will date extremely quickly.  Already reading it in 2010 rather than when it was published in 2009 there was some out of date information: Gordon Brown is no longer Prime Minister, and the last UK coalition goverment wasn't in 1945 anymore!  The whole book is written from a UK perspective, but I found there to be a good balance between domestic and foreign issues. 

Overall, it was easy to read, informative and a good refresher course in what is going on in the world.  Recommended.

A Journey by Tony Blair

A Journey by Tony Blair

I am a part of 'Blair's generation' in that I was 11 when he came to power in 1997 and 21 when he left power in 2007.  I grew up in his schooling system, was one of the first to take the new AS-Levels and when I went to university, I had to pay the new top-up fees.  I voted for Labour in my first election (2005) but also joined in the marches against the Iraq war.  I was interested to read his autobiography for all of these reasons, and especially interested as he is such a divisive figure.  People either love him or hate him (and most hate him), but no one seems to actually listen to what he has to say anymore.

Synopsis: Autobiography of Tony Blair, Prime Minister of the UK between 1997 - 2007.

Score: 3 out of 5

This was a long book.  It wasn't just long in terms of the number of pages (just under 700), but it felt long due to the poor organisation of the book.  The chapters were extended and seemed to ramble round a few different topics aside from the chapter heading in no particular order.  I like that the book was organised thematically rather than chronologically, and I liked the informal, chatty writing style, but think the book would have been much improved by splitting it into many smaller chapters just restricted to one theme.  The chapter on Iraq also had a few pages on university fees and Northern Ireland, for example.  This made it hard to follow at times and hard to get an overall sense of the passing of time.

That aside, I did enjoy reading the book.  My favourite sections were the parts dealing with international issues and summits, which felt honestly told and full of fascinating characters and relationships.  There was a sense that not much was held back and Blair had made a real effort to tell his side of the story.  He wasn't apologetic or trying to covert you to his side of things, he was just telling it as he saw it.

The book was largely ideological.  As someone who is interested in politics, I enjoyed that side of it and felt that understanding the ideology helped me to understand the decisions and actions made by Tony Blair as prime minister.  However, the ideology was repeated constantly throughout the book, which is a bit unnessecary.   Well worth the read for anyone interested in politics or current events, though.

What do you think of Tony Blair?