Invisible ink or secret writing (SW, as it is known in the trade) has probably been used since not long after mankind learned to communicate in writing. Often viewed as the poor relation of its sophisticated sibling cryptography, it nonetheless thrived in the 20th century. Perhaps, with the recent decline of written communication, it will […]
Would Victoria have been shocked had she known her collected letters were to be edited by two homosexuals? Did she even know what a homosexual was? This is the only question left unexamined by Yvonne Ward, who has written an unusual and fascinating book. James Lees-Milne in his 1986 biography was the first to reveal […]
What is genius like? Newton left over 8 million words of notes at his death, and somewhere in that mass was the answer. But many of those who first got a glimpse of them were so appalled at what they found that, as Sarah Dry, the author of this fascinating tale recounts, they made sure […]
In the 1970s and 1980s there was a ‘shop’ in Pimlico where visitors to – and from, if they were daring – the USSR could select free of charge any number of books, largely Russian poetry, fiction and history banned by the Soviets, as long as they promised to distribute them to Soviet citizens. The […]
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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