Category Archives: Review

Book Review: Abhijit V Banerjee and Esther Duflo ~ Good Economics for Hard Times – Better answers to our biggest problems (2019)

Posted on February 10, 2020 by odeboyz

It’s easy to feel intellectually intimidated by a book by two Nobel Prize winners and perhaps that’s the right response sometimes. On this occasion it isn’t.* This is a readable and homely book written in an accessible way. The ‘biggest … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Robert Harris ~ The Second Sleep (2019)

Posted on February 3, 2020 by odeboyz

Harris leaves me gasping. He’s so prolific and intelligent that it’s almost intimidating. The Cicero trilogy was a triumph on which his entire reputation could have stood but, of course, there’s more, much more. The Second Sleep is a reverse … Continue reading →

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Film Review: The Gentlemen (Michael McConaugh and Hugh Grant) (2020)

Posted on January 27, 2020 by odeboyz

Recently I saw The Irishman, which has been lauded as yet another example of Scorsese’s genius. Where does this leave Guy Ritchie? It’s easy to mock Ritchie’s so-called ‘geezer’ movies. The infamous role he gave to Vinnie Jones in Lock, … Continue reading →

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Book Review: A A Dhand ~ Streets of Darkness (2016)

Posted on January 20, 2020 by odeboyz

The ever popular maverick Detective Inspector genre attracts some of Britain’s best writers. I suppose they’re like bank robbers: they go where the money is. Dhand’s creation is the Sikh Harry Virdee, who’s married to a Muslim. His brother, Ronnie, … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Leslie Thomas ~ Virgin Soldiers (1966)

Posted on January 13, 2020 by odeboyz

Spike Milligan wrote his brilliant war autobiographies1 to considerable acclaim but he was building on this autobiographical novel by Leslie Thomas. Unlike Milligan Thomas took part in one of a series of grim colonial wars, which are now forgotten. The … Continue reading →

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Spotify quantifies the Top Beatles Album

Posted on January 9, 2020 by odeboyz

What’s the best Beatles album?  This is a question any self-respecting fan wrestles with on a regular basis.  What criteria do we use to decide?  Level of experimentation and growth?  What we revisit the most?  The album with the most … Continue reading →

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Book review: Annie Duke ~ Thinking in Bets (2019)

Posted on January 6, 2020 by odeboyz

Gambling fascinates me and I like stories associated with gamblers. Kerry Packer is an endless source of pleasure for me. He was famously irritated by a braggart in a Las Vegas casino who wanted everyone to know he had a … Continue reading →

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Book Review: John le Carre ~ Agent Running in the Field (2019)

Posted on December 16, 2019 by odeboyz

Do octogenarians write as well as they did in their pomp? On the evidence of this book they don’t they write differently. This novel is almost a satire. La Carre rails against western ‘values’, which he traduces as a mass … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Paul Theroux ~ O-Zone (1986)

Posted on November 21, 2019 by odeboyz

This book fizzes with ideas based around fear. The wealthy fear the poor and erect buildings which are fortresses inside sealed cities. Travel is by helicopter as ground level movement is hazardous as well as being slow from endless checkpoints. … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Garrison Keillor ~ Lake Woebegon Days (1985)

Posted on October 14, 2019 by odeboyz

Garrison is a radio star in the mid-West of the USA. His show is a slow conversational series of supposed memories. He speaks in a drawling and yet compelling voice and once hooked…. If you’ve heard his voice then the … Continue reading →

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