The Naked Neanderthal by Ludovic Slimak

Following reading Alice Roberts' trilogy and having recently delved into contemporary genomics I was excited to learn more about this interesting hominid.

I often find that the transition between one writing style and another is one that takes a little time to adjust to.  Perhaps it was the case that with the recent books that I've read having been particularly well written I was expecting something similar.  From the very start I found the writing style rather opaque - I would often reread a sentence in search of meaning.  As the book is translated from the Russian this perhaps contributed to these difficulties.  On the other hand a translation can provide an opportunity rather than being a burden.

Beyond the style of the writing I found the content was rambly.  I kept going in the hope of learning something tangible while being taken off at various tangents.  The author is fond of referring to Ancient Greek thoughts which I found particularly irrelevant as the Ancient Greeks knew nothing of the Neanderthals.

In terms of genetic information this turned out to be scant.  I was frustrated to learn that modern humans contain some Neanderthal genes whereas no human genes have been located within the Neanderthal genome; but what are the implications in this ?

On the more positive side I did learn that Neanderthals inhabited Europe before Homo sapiens

arrived at which point Neanderthals rather mysteriously became extinct.  There is apparently no real explanation for this.

 

The Screaming Sky by Carles Foster

 

I noticed this book while browsing the tables in the Hillbillies Bookstore in Gairloch.  The author's name struck a cord and I remember reading 'Being a Beast' some years ago on the recommendation of a friend.  That was an extraordinary read about how he, by way of experiment lived as a badger.  I opened the book, read a few lines and went to the paying desk.

The writing was the main draw.  I just love and revel in good writing: for me it is reward enough in itself.  By the same token I have given up on books that are seemingly written without any inspiration of style; this may be quite apart from the interest in the content.

The author confesses to being obsessed with Swifts.  He travels the world at the drop of a hat to sit and watch Swifts in far flung places from southern Europe through central Africa to the far south of that continent.  I was not expecting to learn about Swifts but I did.  And I learned much about this incredible species in a very easy and enjoyable way.  Charles feeds the reader information about Swifts that he has gleaned through extensive reading of scientific papers but does so through the rich and enthralling narrative.

We learn a lot about the author's psyche and he comes across as a very emotional character with many vulnerabilities.  He clearly has a very keen intelligence and also has great self-awareness.  He walks a very fine line while speculating on what the birds may be feeling while managing to avoid the trap of anthropomorphism.  The text is amusing while the humour is light.

Current scientific tools such as geolocators and satellite trackers have given us a wealth of new and often unexpected information about many wild creatures in recent decades.  Despite this there is still much that is not understood when it comes to enigmatic and unusual species like the Swift.  Charles is clearly fascinated by these gaps in our knowledge and understanding and highlights these alongside the recent facts and hypotheses that have emerged.

These days I rarely gravitate towards the Nature Writing section in bookshops.  There's just something about the idea of reading about nature in that rather wooly way that I want to withdraw from;  rather I want to actually experienc nature in a very direct way.  It sometimes feels as if writers have a Nature Writing mission.  It did not feel this way with this book; I didn't feel as if I was being told about Nature: I felt as if the author was writing about his experiences and feelings - not so much for my benefit but more just to express his own enthusiasm, joy and ultimately his obsession.

This is a very special book written in a very special way about an even more special species of bird that has captured the imaginations of many of us.

Hiking with Nietzsche by John Kaag

This is one of the books that I picked up at the Hillbillies Bookstore in Gairloch.  I have to admit that I was so fascinated by the title that it has jumped the queue in my reading list.

The author is an academic philosopher and has mde two journeys in the Alps that retraced Nietzsche's footsteps.  One journey was as a young man and the other in middle age having become a parent.  At the onset of reading this I had only a very vague notion of Nietzsche's ideas.  I knew that the Nazis took him as a model for their malign operation. But the truth is that this was a very selective hijacking of his ideas and one that was amplified by Nietzsche's sisiter's wanting to further her nationalistic ideals.  She dealt with his affairs following his death so that she was able to manipulate his philosophical ideas for her own ends.  The truth is that he was neither nationalistic nor was he anti semitic.

I enjoyed the read which takes the reader on the author's Alpine walks while weaving in Nietzsche's thoughts and fragments of his writing.  John clearly empathises with Nietzsche's psyche and found the journeys punctuated with reading Nietzsche's books helpful in 'becoming who you are'.  I did not share that empathy and interestingly neither did John's wife whose philosophical leaning is toward Kant who was very much rejected by Nietzsche.

I was interested to get further perspective on Nietzsche so I reread Bertrand Russels section on him in 'History of Western Philosophy'.  This was useful and interesting too that Russell clearly had no affinity for Nietzsche.  I looked also at Nigel Warburton's chapter on Nietzsche in his 'A Little History of Philosophy' and at the end of this Nietzschean immersion I think I have some understanding of this brilliant but very trouled character. 

 

The Challenges of Democracy and the Rule of Law by Jonathan Sumption

I picked this book up on a recent visit to Cogito Books very much on impulse and based largely on a general interest in the subject and also having heard the author speak on the R4 Today programme.

It was not an easy read and much less so than I had expected.  I found myself rereading sentences more often than I would have liked.  While it is clearly intended for a general rather than a legal audience there are rather frequent legalese turns of phrase that I found rather unclear on many occasions.  It was not all bad news however and many of the issues that he raises were fascinating and insightful.

The idea that democracies are vulnerable mainly from within came as something of a surprise but he supports that view quite eloquently.  Jonathan tells us that we in Britain expect much more protection from the state than was once the case; we have become more risk averse.  This leads governments to make decisions based on what the public is likely to blame them for rather than what is best for society.  He clearly takes a very critical view of the covid lockdowns and describes the approach as Hobbsian.

While considering democracy he warns us that autocracy which is what many democracies degenrate into is a very bad form of government and often leads to quick and bad decision making.  This argument counters the often held view that democracy leads to paralysis and indecisive measures being taken.

There are some interesting elements of conflict discussed - that of morality versus consent for instance.  This amounts to the dichotomy  between the moral ideal and what is acceptable to the populace.  Privacy and security are in similar conflict.  He frames the undesirable result of the winning of 'consent' over 'morality' as 'majoritarian tyranny' - shades of Brexit perhaps ?

Hillbillies Bookstore and Trading Post, Gairloch

 The signpost in Gairloch pointed to the Town Square and for want of any better destination we headed that way.  Shortly we came upon two rather gaudy buildings next to a small car park.  In any other setting I would probably have dismissed the idea that this was somewhere worth investigating: it was however 'the only game in town'.

We found our way in via the Coffee Company entrance and immediately the aroma held promise.  On entering the book section the shelves of books were interspersed with cards quoting Orwell, Oscar Wilde and various other characters in that same vein.

I was not particularly in need of reading material having recently visited the excellent Cogito Books in Hexham where I came away with these four -

... more on those later.

The selection of books was very impressive and I came away with copies of Hiking with Nietzche and The Screaming Sky.  It felt very refreshing so see a range of books that seemed to have been selected with real feling rather than the more usual 'best sellers'.  And that 'real feeling' was very much in line with my own preferences and had a strong environmental and ethical leaning.  We resolved to return later that day for an afternoon coffee and cake.

The plan for the day involved being outside walking while the rain held off and then repairing to sheltered places once the grey skies threatened.  And so in advance of the coffee another browse of the books was just too tempting.  This time I selected James O'Brien's How they Broke Britain - this is an author I haven't read but I had heard him in other media and so was receptive to the idea of dipping further into his material.  I came away with In Search of one Last Song too in the interest of some balance in the direction of natural history.

These will all be reviewed in due course, as will the haul from Cogito.