How they Broke Britain by James O'Brien

 

When I came across this book all those months ago in Gairloch I was very much in two minds as to whether I wanted to read more about the woes that Britain is suffering and who was responsible.  It has taken a while for it to get to the top of my reading list.

The book starts with chapters on the right wing press from Murdoch to Andrew Neil and then gets onto politicians.  The early chapters I found rather dull and overly complex with multiple characters that I was not particularly familiar with.  The writing seemed to jump about leaving me wondering just who was being discussed at the time on many ocasions.  I was unimpressed and uninspired and felt a distinct sense that I was getting little from the book.

As the chapters turned to political figures with Farage being the first to feature it did'nt draw my attention much more.  Then as David Cameron entered the narrative I suddenly felt a sense of engagement - it became fascinating.  I wonder to what degree this was related to my own areas of interest or did the author suddenly become enlivened.

James writes about Cameron's background, the Bullingdon Club and the general sense of entitlement that stems from the elitist education that he and others of his ilk went through.  The content here was not particularly new to me but the analysis was fresh and engaging.

The next chapter dealing with Jeremy Corbyn had me even more enlightened.  It still puzzles me why so many people whom I regard as being well informed and critically thinking were so impressed by Corbyn.  It was interesting to read how figures such as Gordon Brown were concerned about his ascendency.  The background to Corbyn's association with jihadists gave me perspective on the concerns that many expressed about his sense of judgement.  I also learned that his team went to great lengths to keep him away from serious political interviewers for fear that the flaws in his policies might be exposed.

The remaining chapters on Johnson and Truss simply reinforced the views that I already had on these two.  His analysis of Johnson is particularly excoriating and frames him as being entirely driven by self interest.

It was after all a worthwhile read while not being an exceptional one. 

If Russia Wins A Scenario by Carlo Masala

Carlo Masala is Professor of International Politics at Bundeswehr University Munich.  He has an impressive CV with roles in Nato Defence College and Centre for Intelligence and Security Studies.  This book is no amateur scare story.

Recent history has shown that predicting geopolitical events is a sphere into which the wise would be well advised not to venture.  This however is a predicted scenario that is worthy of attention.  The author takes us through a series of future events that follow Putin's predicted victory over Ukraine.  These are the very events that all those who have lent support to Ukraine have feared.  The Coalition of the Willing - those thirtyone countries who pledged support for Ukraine - seemed to be a committed body at its inception.

The book describes how largely domestic events overtake the earlier resolve that members of the Coalition held.  How much does the Russian incursion into a small Estonian town matter ?  What are the risks of escalation into WW3 if Russia is confronted ?  Will this seemingly insignificant incursion be the end ?  How much have the lessons from Hitler's pathway been learned ?  

Russia's words represent a striking mismatch with its actions.  Worryingly the mismatch of the words of the West with its deeds strike a chilling chord.