Did you know that, before the development of modern tests in the middle of the 20th century, Britain’s National Health Service used to check whether a woman was pregnant by injecting a toad with her urine? I confess that I didn’t. Sadly, it was just about the only truly arresting thing I learnt from reading […]
Like many gregarious men, Winston Churchill had few friends. After Lord Birkenhead (F E Smith) drank himself to death in 1930, he probably had none. There were, of course, admirers. The most important of these was Churchill’s one-time private secretary John Colville, who celebrated the prime minister’s achievements, covered up his failures and curated his […]
It’s been hard to avoid Golda Meir’s presence in our cultural life in recent years. Meir, the only woman to serve as prime minister of Israel (between 1969 and 1974), has become a cinematic heroine, portrayed by Helen Mirren in a new biopic. Around a year ago, a comprehensive biography of her, The Only Woman […]
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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