Michael Burleigh
A Churchillian Task
A History of the English-Speaking Peoples since 1900
By Andrew Roberts
Weidenfeld & Nicolson 691pp £25
Among the cultural consequences of the danger symbolised by Al Qaeda has been a growing scepticism towards the multicultural, ‘black armband’ view of history, with its instrumental emphasis upon division, grievance and victimhood rather than the positive values, both past and present, which shaped our society and which most immigrants to these shores wish to share. Even that expatriated ragamuffin ‘Sheikh’ Omar Bakri Mohammed thought better of the country he wished to destroy once he faced the grim alternatives of Israeli shelling or capture by his Syrian fellow-countrymen in the Lebanon in addition to separation from a large family that lives on handouts from British taxpayers.
Many parents complain that history-teaching in schools consists of disconnected bits and pieces, and a lot of the Third Reich, at the expense of what used to be called ‘our island story’ – that is, how we came to be a constitutional monarchy under the rule of law, with the
Sign Up to our newsletter
Receive free articles, highlights from the archive, news, details of prizes, and much more.@Lit_Review
Follow Literary Review on Twitter
Twitter Feed
Knowledge of Sufism increased markedly with the publication in 1964 of The Sufis, by Idries Shah. Nowadays his writings, much like his father’s, are dismissed for their Orientalism and inaccuracy.
@fitzmorrissey investigates who the Shahs really were.
Fitzroy Morrissey - Sufism Goes West
Fitzroy Morrissey: Sufism Goes West - Empire’s Son, Empire’s Orphan: The Fantastical Lives of Ikbal and Idries Shah by Nile Green
literaryreview.co.uk
Rats have plagued cities for centuries. But in Baltimore, researchers alighted on one surprising solution to the problem of rat infestation: more rats.
@WillWiles looks at what lessons can be learned from rat ecosystems – for both rats and humans.
Will Wiles - Puss Gets the Boot
Will Wiles: Puss Gets the Boot - Rat City: Overcrowding and Urban Derangement in the Rodent Universes of John B ...
literaryreview.co.uk
Twisters features destructive tempests and blockbuster action sequences.
@JonathanRomney asks what the real danger is in Lee Isaac Chung's disaster movie.
https://literaryreview.co.uk/eyes-of-the-storm