Scoop by Waugh

Although considered by the Observer as a near masterpiece, Scoop is a short, light and very broad satire of the British newspaper industry, british foreign policy and African kleptocracies that European nations compete for and maintain. The decline of the newspaper industry and European influence in Africa has lessened the force of Waugh's satire considerably. Lampooning the mighty has a fine tradition; send-ups of the once mighty pack lees force. In addition, sixty years of sad post-colonial history makes Waugh's satire of the government of Ishmealia (Waugh's fictional African state based losely on Abyssinia) less funny too. The characters are less well etched than those in Waugh's other novels, and its tough to care too much about most of the novel's parade of cartoons. in particular, many of the puns embedded in the characters names are easy to miss for the modern American reader. But it is a fun, light, short read if one is in the mood for something highly satirical.

Book Review--The World Crisis

At 800 plus pages, Winston Churchill's 1931 overview on the First World War probably only appeals to Churchill and WWI junkies. Like many WWI overviews, the World Crisis is highly anglo-centric. The Somme, Dardenelles, and Jutland get through treatment, but developments in eastern Europe do not get much attention. And, as a political participant in Britain's prosecution in the first two years of the war, Churchill has some scores to settle and positions to protect. But the prose sparkles and Churchill clearly possesses the rare gift to see issues in broad and strategic terms. Alas, that strategic vision was not unerring.

Chris Gondek

Gondek does podcast author interviews. He is very good at it. I first subscribed to his "Invisible Hand"; series of interviews that focussed on books by business school professors. During the last year, he has started doing interviews of authors publishing under the Yale University Press and the Harvard University Press that include a wider array of subjects. All are available for free on iTunes. Good listening for the train or car commuter.

http://invisiblehandwriting.typepad.com/