Philip Spires commonplace book

I have kept a commonplace book for many years. It's a place where scraps of impressions are filed for future reflection. It's not a diary, it's just a mental scrapbook, concentrating on book reviews, concert reviews, visual arts and some occasional pieces on travel. It is also a place where I occasionally reflect on what I write. Details of my books can be found at http://www.philipspires.co.uk

Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts

Thursday, May 30, 2024

The Work Of Nations by Robert B Reich

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The Work Of Nations by Robert B Reich was published in 1991, written, therefore, prior to that year. In the book, the author describes the r...

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

The Theory of the Leisure Class by Thorstein Veblen

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I was unaware of Veblen’s ideas until a recent edition of In Our Time on BBC Radio 4 devoted an hour of discussion to his life and work. So ...

Tuesday, October 10, 2023

The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafaq

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The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafaq is a novel about Cyprus and its recent history. Via the love affair and developing relationship b...

United States - Essays 1952-1992 by Gore Vidal.

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I remember watching Gore Vidal on television, usually on one of those talk shows he seems to view with contempt. He seemed to be a living op...

Tuesday, January 11, 2022

Capital and Ideology by Thomas Piketty

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Thomas Piketty’s Capital and Ideology is a monumental achievement. Its scope is vast, its size is daunting, its scholarship and vision bot...

Wednesday, May 26, 2021

Tribes by David Lammy

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Tribes by David Lammy promises much, delivers something, but ultimately fails to convince. Its problem lies in the very nature of its visi...

Thursday, May 13, 2021

The Master of Petersburg by J M Coetzee

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J M Coetzee’s The Master of Petersburg had a particular effect on this reader in that it prompted me to read From The House of the Dead by D...

Friday, March 19, 2021

Capital and Ideology by Thomas Piketty

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Thomas Piketty’s Capital and Ideology is a monumental achievement. Its scope is vast, its size is daunting, its scholarship and vision bot...

Tuesday, January 5, 2021

Tribes by David Lammy

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Tribes by David Lammy promises much, delivers something, but ultimately fails to convince. Its problem lies in the very nature of its vision...

Thursday, December 31, 2020

Capital and Ideology by Thomas Piketty

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Thomas Piketty’s Capital and Ideology is a monumental achievement. Its scope is vast, its size is daunting, its scholarship and vision both ...

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About Me

philipspires: I was born in Wakefield and was brought up in Sharslton, a mining Village. I went to London University and then became a maths teacher, working initially as a volunteer teacher in Kenya. I spent sixteen years in London, in Balham and Islington. In 1992, I left Britain for Brunei and then Zayed University in Abu Dhabi. I currently live in La Nucia, near Benidorm in Spain. I am interested in the relationship between nature and nurture, birthright and experience. Themes of culture and identity and their relation to economic and social roles underpin my writing. What we are born into relates to what we become, but we are rarely in control. What others do, our interests and intellects and the way we choose to earn a living, all of these shape us into what we become. It may be that culture is the sum of all assumptions that others make on our behalf, whereas identity represents our reactions to them. I did a PhD on the effects of education in economic development in the Philippines. I was President of Alfas del Pi Music Society for twelve years.

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