Review: Before Bletchley Park – The Codebreakers of The First World War – by Paul Gannon

I have previously read a lot of material on World War 2 codebreakers and the likes of Alan Turing and their critical work against Enigma and the invention of modern computing during that period. Of course, codebreaking and cryptography is not a new science and has been a critical part of both war and diplomacy since ancient times and has only increased in significance as time progresses. World War 1 is the second biggest conflagration to have occurred on this planet. It is no surprise that codebreaking was a key element to Allied success in this war. The first World War saw the invention of devastating new military tech such as the tank, the machine gun and the use of aircraft. In cryptography and codebreaking there were new technologies and new methods and on both sides a hard fought war was fought in these areas that really tilted the balance in the end on who became victors and who lost the war.

There was a lot of new technology in the period leading up to the war, in particular in the field of communications. Submarine cables for telegraph were still a relatively new phenomenon. Britain’s position as the bridge between Europe and America in the Atlantic, gave it disproportionate power when it came to cross-ocean cable communications. The British could cut off Germany from contacting the Americas and this they did. The Germans were forced to tactically avoid this blockade. They sent ciphered traffic across the British cables where possible. They tried setting up their own systems but achieved little success. They used neutral Madrid to route most of their telegraph traffic. The British allowed some of this as they were tapping all this traffic anyway. Often the Germans were trying to get the Latin American nations involved on their side in the war, the infamous Zimmerman telegram passed through this route where he openly tried to get the Mexican government enrolled in a border conflict with the USA.

German frustrations with British control of communications boiled over into full-scale hostilities. The Royal Navy were another dominant area where the German Navy faced an uphill struggle. The British were in effect starving the Germans into submission and denying them critical supplies, both military and civilian. In addition to communication control there was a full British Navy embargo in operation. What was the Germans’ answer to this? One of the most unpleasant aspects of the war, that did indeed provide the undoing of the German war effort was their submarine war in the Atlantic. They didn’t have the battleships or cruisers to defeat the Royal Navy but their submarine technology was more advanced and they sent U-Boats to attack not just military naval targets but also commercial vessels, of all countries, including neutral nations conducting merchant navy business across the Atlantic. The Kaiser’s hand was forced really and his people demanded action. He quivered throughout, stopping and starting the U-boat programme, bit ultimately public opinion did go in the Germans’ favour and the sinki9ng of the Lusitania was a turning point as it led to America entering the war proper.

It is interesting to note that British dominance in cable technology and communications was in a large part due to a public / private sector link up – The Italian businessman, Marconi, really embedded his business future with the British, providing the Allies with state of the art disruptive cutting edge technology that was the result of his pioneering inventiveness in the area of communication technology.

The office of Room 40, which is what the predecessor to Bletchley Park and GCHQ was known as, started very much as an informal amateur driven organisation and, by the end of World War 1, had suitably ‘professionalized’ and expanded and would later provide the core for many of the essential employees of Bletchley Park during World War 2. It was set up not far from Horseguards Parade in central London. Room 40 was the hub which controlled all the intercepted traffic and where the codebreaking, cryptanalysis and hard graft was done.

A talented bunch of people inhabited Room 40, many amateurs, a lot of women. Specialisation in certain niche areas was the norm. The new technology offered new challenges and I suppose the modern art and science of cryptography was developed in Room 40. Ancient cipher techniques such as the Caesar cipher were still in use. The German naval codebooks and traffic were encrypted using a hybrid mix of substitution and transposition ciphering. It wasn’t all that difficult to work out the German codebooks for seasoned Room 40 staff. Room 40 saw the first modern computer systems introduced. They were pretty rudimentary, based on punch cards but they did cut labour time when it came to data analysis, allowing skilled staff to utilise their time more efficiently.

I am at present a full-time cybersecurity student at Masterschool in Tel Aviv, Israel. We are studying cryptography which has an important role in internet communications – we were playing around on a virtual Enigma machine from World War 2 a few months ago. I have set up https://fourfourcyber.com as a cybersecurity business. What I particularly found intriguing in this book was that it took a detailed investigation into some example codes, seized or intercepted from the Germans and also looks direct at some of the code books. When you run though some examples as laid out by the authors it really helps to understand the exact process that is taking place. I found it pretty amazing understanding how an entire dictionary of a codebook could be constructed from just deciphering or working out a handful of words. Linguistic knowledge and skills were an important asset but fundamentally the whole process of decryption is basically like doing a crossword. In Room 40, as the war progressed these often larger-than-life cryptography eccentrics became better and better at handling German military and diplomatic systems. They were probably killing more German soldiers than any trench warfare and the efforts of Room 40 ultimately brought victory to the United Kingdom and her allies in a terrible conflict. Peace came sooner and the wisdom and knowledge gained from Room 40 was applied directly to the foundations of Bletchley Park and GCHQ, often these organisations being staffed by Room 40 veterans.

Review: Rights of Man – by Thomas Paine

Thomas Paine is an important writer at an important time that bequeaths us in his ‘Rights of Man’ a fundamental shakeup of what our democratic rights as citizens should be, drawing especially on the French Revolution and also American Revolution and the fundamental rights that their new revolutionary societies produced for their citizens. Paine delivers during the Enlightenment a wake up call to those in countries that are yet to adapt to revolutions, where traditional Royal power and political representation in not so clear democratic institutions abide. Jean-Jacques Rousseau in his ‘Social Contract’ fanned the flames of the French Revolution of 1789 and his words rang in the ears of revolutionaries right down the the last blood spilt buy the Guillotine. It was a period of political pamphleteering and Paine was no stranger to this. He was in essence the Rousseau of the English-speaking world. The thinking behind his work and through other similar political philosophers of the Enlightenment was that the American and French revolutions were no anomalies and that they were just the precursor of more to come and that like dominoes, the Monarchies of Europe were destined to topple and follow suit, paving the way for more liberty and Bills of Rights and written constitutions that would empower the masses across the globe in the dawn of a new age. It is indeed quite bizarre that the predictions of Paine et al never actually materialised. Indeed one of his main target audiences, here in the U.K., has remained almost identical politically to the present with a dual chamber of elected representatives and hereditary peers behind an historical monarch as head of state. Paine explores the rights for citizens as laid out by the French and also details the new American constitution and what it means to the general citizen. The points he makes and the evidence truly is eye-opening and remarkable and it does seem appealing. He directly contrasts the new legal rights in these revolutionary societies with the lack of actual rights we have in places like Britain. Paine elucidates a very powerful argument against hereditary political empowerment, reaching up to the King or Queen themselves. He often attacks his rival Edmund Burke who in his own literary offerings, is critical of both revolutions and defends the merits of the British system. Indeed his obsession with Mr Burke somewhat detracts from some of the points about the Rights of Man that Paine is attempting to transmit. When weighed up it isn’t as crystal clear as an obviously biased Pain might suggest and indeed he, is his complete acceptance and as

 a disciple of the new systems, almost suffered some of the more bloodies and brutal aspects of the new revolutionary societies as he only escaped being guillotined in Paris by the skin of his teeth during the height of The Terror. I am surprised that Paine managed to write this in the first place at such a tumultuous period of history. Indeed in his native Britain his work must have been viewed by the authorities with treasonous contempt.  It is a controversial and powerful book to readers today and I can see why it is celebrated as a cornerstone work for human rights and politics. I dread to think just how controversial and revolutionary it must have been to the many readers of the ‘Rights of Man’ during the period from whence it sprung.

Review: Spare – by Prince Harry

If you were a hermit living in a remote cave then I expect that even you would be well aware that Prince Harry and his wife have been in the news recently quite a lot. Initially I decided I was going to avoid the mass hysteria and not tune into the Netflix documentary and certainly not partake in the reading of the controversial autobiography but I kind of got drawn into it all, so here we are. Firstly, the Netflix was pretty damned good. I felt that Harry and Meghan came out smelling of roses really. I was a big fan of Megan, the pretty legal secretary from ‘Suits’ before she even met Harry. Regarding Prince Harry, it’s been hard not to notice his life as he has lived it in the media spotlight. If anything, one of the most tainting effects of the media story of Prince Harry was the images of him in a full Nazi uniform at a fancy dress party in the redtops back in the day. This did, to be honest disgust me and I feel like I’ve been holding it against him every since, perhaps?  

After watching the Netflix, seeing the media hate against them both and the reaction of his family and, having fully digested the book, I can honestly say that I am now a fully-fledged ‘Harryist’ and he’s one of my most favourite Royals. I think it’s all a big storm in a teacup and that he’s actually well in the right and I can see the overwhelming reasons for the Netflix and autobiography and I think anyone who continues to attack and denigrate and upset the balance of the life of Harry and his wife and children are plain and simple out of order. At the time of writing this review, we are in a week where the news of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in America and it is a sour footnote that apparently this collapse has swallowed up all of the profits Harry and Meghan have made from their ventures, which undoubtedly have attracted a lot of attention in the public worldwide. Since the release of the autobiography #SparePrinceHarry has hardly left ‘trending topics’ on twitter and every Tom, Dick and Harry has his opinion on the Prince’s affairs. Well, here’s my verdict, for what it’s worth:

Firstly I must comment that, and I make this claim being an avid reader of a wide variety of different texts so I think it is a qualified claim – ‘Spare’ is a very well-written and eminently readable text. This surprised me a lot. I never thought Harry was the brightest tool in the box. Even he admits he sort of struggled academically in school. Royal by fate of birth is indeed a unique phenomenon that Harry philosophizes about. However, I don’t think one can doubt the wisdom of ‘granny’ or Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II who has guided country and Commonwealth for longer than any previous monarch in history and was very successful in this. The high quality reputation of education at Eton is justified in the literacy and accessibility of the autobiography and Harry as much as he might try to be a ‘cool skiver’ was certainly not fully dormant during his Latin and Greek classes in school. A bit of a downer was learning that the book is in fact ghost-written, but even so, the very best ghost-writer, requires substance and a lot of input from the subject and we know when we read ‘Spare’ that it is coming straight from the horse’s mouth. It is a rare historical document in the sense that it is coming directly from a member of the Royal Family. As perhaps unimportant as the ‘Spare may be in relation to the ‘Heir’ or the King and Queen Consort, Prince Harry is a senior and very visible member of the Royal Household, carrying for many the light of his late mother, Princess Diana, as a public figure who is adored worldwide.  

Harry openly discusses the sad loss of his mother and his inner torment is laid bare for the reader. He cannot get closure and even the journey through counselling doesn’t seem to aid in his quest. To lose one’s mother is such tragedy one can only dread to imagine and I don’t think anyone who suffered such a loss could ever get over it regardless. I think Diana would be proud of her son and Harry still feels her presence and refers often to little signs that the People’s Princess is smiling down on him and his new life and family. The media scrummage that he grew up in was hated by his mother and Harry’s own war with the media just seems totally farcical and unacceptable. Intrusion is an understatement. To hear Harry’s own words about some of the sick vile things he has had to tolerate from the most scummiest red-top journalists and photographers ion a daily basis throughout his whole life is stark and revealing. It’s just unbelievable. I often look at celebrities like David Beckham and their wealth and think to myself I’d hate to have to put up with all the intrusion into my life despite the many millions and billions. It’s not a fair trade off in many ways. It all goes up a notch for royalty and this hasn’t traditionally always been the case and is a recent development really spiralling out of control during the lifetime of Harry’s mother and seemingly ongoing and getting worse in his case. It’s high time to revert to tradition and on the plus side I can’t see a rosy future for newspapers and Murdoch dominions in the digital age of the future. Social Media and the internet bring doom to tabloids. Every day that passes where people spend on wifi and not on newspapers heralds a new age and reduced power for the sort of pondlife that these press institutions foster.

Harry’s life contains and inherent duality. His Royal Blood on the one hand and on the other his desire to be just a normal human being. We can see his struggle and in the modern world where life for everyone changes so rapidly, this duality is a curse in many ways. People question the funding and very existence of the Royal family, new technologies can make the media more intrusive, a more globalised society, changing values and continuing his mother’s legacy. I remember at Prince Charles and Lady Diana’s wedding the big question was whether to allow a ‘commoner’ into the royal lineage. Harry carries dual genes and the loss of his mother drives him on in life to further the sort of goals that would make her proud. Charity work, resisting press intrusion, an affinity with the general public and using your status to benefit the most needy in the most neediest of places, Diana’s flame very much lives on in ‘Spare’. Some issues such as the removal of his security detail after later flare ups are unbelievable and when Harry says he’s only every used the London Underground a couple of times in his life it puts into perspective just how sheltered an existence living in the Royal ‘fishbowl’ actually is. I think that the best Harry can hope for is to recognise his uniqueness as an asset and not to regard it as inhibitive in any way. Don’t feel the need to apologise for blue blood but celebrate it. I think in many ways this is what Netflix and ‘Spare’ are for Harry and the public, be they fans of his or trolling haters….

I wasn’t keen on hearing juicy gossip and witnessing a publicly aired family feud really and having watched the documentary and reads the book I think that Harry is actually pretty light on the whole saga and comes out shining really as pretty much an innocent victim of unjustified decisions against him where he isn’t at fault, has done very little wrong and he doesn’t seem to harbour grudges and isn’t particularly scathing or vindictive against the other sides of the alleged war. The closeness between Prince William and him as they are growing up, especially in the way they cope with their dear mother’s passing, shows a very close brotherly bond and Prince Harry describes King Charles very much differently to how perhaps the media have portrayed him. King Charles comes across as really nice man and a good father. We get a glimpse behind the scenes. Yes, we know Charles is eccentric but I was quite touched by the intimacy and care he and love that he has for Harry. The whole burden of the Crown and governance of nation and Commonwealth is alluded to by Harry and he has enough distance as ‘Spare’ yet proximity to understand the actual benefits and drawbacks of hereditary birth. As news unfolds regarding the forthcoming coronation and the results of Netflix and ‘Spare’ I just hope that this family which are sacred to the British people can iron out their difficulties. I think it may take moves from both sides to diffuse the situation but equally I do not see it impossible for them to achieve a harmonious future for the good of all. Yes, the Royal Family, like any other family, has its ups and downs, but to me it’s not really that dysfunctional. My own close family life is an awful to more dysfunctional than Harry’s has ever been – this in one reason I really enjoyed the book and nothing is beyond hope. War and Peace and peace is the preferred path.

Harry is a bit of partier that is for sure. He is overly frank and candid regarding the use of illegal drugs. Cannabis is just part of his daily life and he mentions cocaine use too. It is a different era and a new generation where values have changed and I guess that living in the USA where cannabis is legal helps a bit for the ‘Stoned Ginger’ Prince. He should calm down a bit really though as it is a bit excessive and perhaps something he should be a bit more responsible about.  

The army stuff was great and I felt him discovering his freedom and normality during this period. It blew my head away really seeing the actual inner story of his military work. Yes, he may have been blasted for Taliban kill claims and I’ve spoken to military veterans who are disgusted by this and say it’s wrong. But I like to hear that a member of our inner core of The Royal Family is directly fighting Islamic terrorism directly. 50 kills would be better than the 25 or so mentioned in my opinion. – there was about 4000 innocents dead in the Twin Towers terrorist attack. 25 armed jihadists, totally opposed to Western life and Western values is but a drop in the ocean. If Harry’s book can inspire the end of Islamic terror and its eradication for future generations in any way then all the better.

And on to the Meghan romance and family. Harry’s situation has left him with difficulties with the practicalities of serious romantic relationships. In Meghan, I think he has found a genuine Princess, a new ‘Diana’ a people’s princess. Firstly I’m not even going to illuminate anything regarding ‘racism’ – It’s just outmoded, outdated, irrelevant and not worth talking about. Their story is a beautiful story of true love and in an age where values are eroding and families falling apart it brings light to see them making their way in life with a good solid nucleus. I hope that one day their children will grow up being able to be proud of both their parents for what they have done in documenting their own lives and feelings in the Netflix documentary and also in Harry’s autobiography.

I hope that this is not the final time we will hear from Harry direct in print. I hope things work out for the Coronation and in the future for Harry, Princess Megan and their children. I’m more of a fan after reading and offer as much support as I can. I encourage people to actually go out and buy the book and read it because you will enjoy it and gain from the experience.

Good luck Prince Harry – remember that a ‘Spare’ in bowling is actually quite a good score.

Review: World Order – Reflections on the Character of Nations and the Course of History – by Henry Kissinger

Henry Kissinger is a very famous international American statesman. This is the first book of his that I have read. I was drawn to exploring his views as I have always noticed him throughout my life as being a key figure in international politics. The book is a neat summary of global politics and its history. Divided up into the main realms or spheres of key international influence by geographic region we explore first Europe, also Middle East, Cold War, Asia and ultimately America. The facts are well presented and clear regarding history of international nation states. The whole concept of the Westphalian system is introduced early in the book and forms a key element of the author’s theoretical discussions. The position of Kissinger as a senior US politician obviously leads to much of the opinions and conclusions of the political matter being seen from a USA (imperialist) perspective with which Kissinger has obvious hands on direct experience. From such a global luminary, this book could have been much bigger in its content volume and more detailed but what is nice is that it is so concise, aimed at the general reader and it provides plenty of base knowledge whereby should the reader so desire, he can follow up in detail any of the subject matter that may be relevant. A good appetising, easy to read, neat overview of the world as it stands today.

Review: Black Russian – by Vladimir Alexandrov

This is an exciting tale from the turn of the twentieth century of an eccentric man of the world who encountered directly some of the most important global events of that era. It is a biography of Frederick Bruce Thomas or Fyodor Fyodorovich Tomas. He was born to former plantation slaves in Mississippi, USA in 1872. His parents overcame prejudice and in an age of abolition became successful farmers until ultimately the still underlying racial inequalities and injustice drove them away and led to the murder of Frederick’s father. Frederick sought pastures new and headed for the cities of Chicago and New York before ultimately setting out on an Atlantic voyage across to European waters where he disembarked and settled in London. From there he quick-footed it around the continent and seeking ever more exotic locations finally made his way to Moscow. Initially his career had been as a highly mannered waiter in top restaurants or in hotels or a a domestic aid to wealthy businessmen. In Moscow he learnt the Russian language although he never perfected it but his entrepreneurial adventure allowed him to set up successful nightclub / theatre businesses across the city in some of its most exclusive locations. He toured Europe bringing in successful stage acts and entertainers from all over, including many early Black Jazz musicians from his homeland. The nightclubs he ran often appealed to the Russian and foreign elites and were widely recognised as being some of the most successful venues in the city. Often they had manicured gardens and served high class food in fancy restaurant spaces although sometimes they could be quite seedy with many of the female entertainers expected to provide additional private services in private rooms to paying clients a symbol perhaps of the age and the lack of women’s rights. Frederick married twice and had several children. For many years he was attached to the nanny of his children with his first wife who had died. In Moscow Frederick, most probably as a business incentive, adopted Russian citizenship. He had ongoing disputes with jumped up US Embassy employees who were always chasing him over bad debts and went out of their way to disrupt his application for a new USA passport most probably down to their underlying racial attitudes. Business swung to and fro between success and failure but by the time of the Russian Revolution in 1917, Frederick had built a successful theatre empire and was a famous celebrity due to his public work. The Rise of the Bolsheviks ultimately made it dangerous for him to remain in the city and eventually he luckily fled down to Odessa on the Black Sea where he also had some businesses. White Russians failures and the advance of the Soviets made him flee again to the relative safety of Istanbul (Constantinople). The fall of the Ottoman Empire in the post World War 1 period had left the French military protecting the city. It was a cultural hive of creativity and Frederick rebuilt from scratch another nightclub / theatre / restaurant empire. The rise of Ataturk and the return of Istanbul to the new Turkish state led to problems for Westerners and disrupted Frederick’s businesses. Ultimately he ran up some serious debts and ended up fleeing and dying in a debtor’s jail.
This book challenges many of the racist stereotypes from that period. Frederick felt much less prejudice on European shores and suffered no discrimination in Moscow. The Bolsheviks were fighting a class war unlike the anti-abolitionists in America. There is much entertainment and the story is a blistering read, an adventure of a brave and joyful character at a time and in exotic places during which many significant interesting major historical events occurred. Well-researched and well written.

Review: Unrestricted Warfare – Wake Up, America! China’s Master Plan to Destroy America

Qiao Liang and Wang Xiangsui are from a new generation of Chinese People’s Liberation Army soldiers. They have mused upon the situation of modern military affairs and developed this theoretical book on war to describe the status quo as it was around the turn of the Millenium. The book is a translation of the original Mandarin Chinese and on occasion the translation, especially due to cultural references can be a little difficult to successfully grasp. The dominance of the USA in terms of a modern technologically savvy military that is the most powerful in the world is the theme of this book and I can imagine that in terms of theory it would be a very useful strategic read to any potential advocates of the US Military. America with its technological prowess is redefining modern warfare and a general theme that runs through the book is that whereas America often introduces new tech and ideas to military actions, often it fails to fully capitalise on its dominance and although the book was written prior to 9/11 and the war on Terror, I think it does show a glimpse of these future conflicts through its careful studied analysis. The authors draw on plenty of famous historical figures and events from the past in a variety of cultures to give examples of how their philosophy has developed – King Wu, Don Quixote, Alexander the Great. There is a close focus on American actions in the first Gulf War which seemingly holds the authors in awe as a new paradigm shift in modern military tactics has been produced. The range of theories cover not just pure military actions but also economic warfare that is a sign of the modern world. The book is a very good analysis of the key factors that shape military victory and details the full scope of possibilities. I think it’s otherness in coming from China leads a certain exotic and outside the box perspective to readers who may be used to more standard military analyses from the West. I enjoyed the book and although it’s quite dated now and much has changed since it was written, I do believe that it is relevant to military theorists and should happily sit on the bookshelves alongside Sun Tzu and Clausewitz

Review: The Last Empire – The Final Days of the Soviet Union – by Serhii Plokhy

When the Soviet Union ended and thus the Cold War ended on Christmas Day 1991, it was probably one of the biggest political events of my lifetime. This well-researched, detailed book, by Ukrainian author Serhii Plokhy, details the last 18 months of the Soviet Union’s existence. After USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev’s revolutionary policies of Glasnost and Perestroika were introduced throughout the Soviet Empire, the changing landscape of the union meant many things. Communism was in its death throes and there was a rise of democracy and nationalism and independence movements amongst the various states and peoples that populated the USSR. American influence became more important and after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, when Eastern Europe was surrendered to populist democracies and ceased to be part of the wider Soviet Empire, American pressure continues on the remaining state as the Baltics sought to continue the domino effect. Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia were supported in their independence by US president, George H.W. Bush and this undermined the Soviet Union as a whole. Rising stars such as Boris Yeltsin in Russia, Leonid Kravchuk of the Ukraine and other stars of independence in the EuroAsian nations of the Soviet Bloc, all were coming to the forefront. After a critical putsch, a military / KGB coup in August 1991 that sealed Gorbachev in his Crimea Dacha, these rising stars clubbed together to put down the Conservative hardliners who threatened the President, the Union itself and the status quo of the democratic freedoms they were enjoying. The Coup failed by Gorbachev was left irreparably weak and afterwards, especially the opportunist Yeltsin, capitalised on the successes of their newfound power and ultimately broke apart into a series of independent nations and states, finally managing to seal the death of the Party Centre and Union Centre itself with their creation of the CIS, Commonwealth of Independent States, that would inherit the remnants of the Soviet Union’s power system. The high point of this most excellent detailed political history of the Fall of the Soviet Union, was the detail of the August coup against Gorbachev. This Machiavellian power struggle was an amazing opening of doors and it is a surprise that the whole dismantling of the Empire didn’t erupt into a ‘Yugoslavia with Nukes’ scenario that many were fearing. The book focuses very much on the role of President Bush and his interactions with Gorbachev and later the founding fathers of the newly independent ex-Soviet nation states. It is an essential part of modern history to understand what happened to the Soviet Union and by studying this issue we can open the doors to understanding the present day troubles in the region, in particular Russia’s annexation of the Crimea and the war with Ukraine. Definitely a book worth reading for an avid political historian.

Review: Translation and Identity in the Americas – by Edwin Gentzler

Translation and Identity in the Americas by Gentzler Edwin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was the first book I have borrowed and read from Cardiff University library’s Translation section. As a Translation student focussing on the Spanish language, I felt that this book would offer plenty of interest to me, considering that the Americas has the largest hispanic population in the world. The book is subdivided into five main chapters, each directed towards a certain geographic region in the Americas. The monolingualism of the USA, with its vast multicultural population, displays problems in the cultural struggles created by the way it forces minorities to adapt to English, the arrogance of this coming to light very much in the post September 11th world where military action has often been plagued with troubles of mistranslation and at official levels, an overwhelming dependence upon the force majeure of the official tongue. Quebec offers a unique zone in the Americas and its struggles with linguistic identity and its isolation are clearly demonstrated by Edwin. I found the history of Quebec to be enlightening and was new knowledge to me. The way that its patois language, joual, struggles to define itself in a society dominated by colonial English and French, formed a major role in the Quebecois independence movement and has manifested itself in local theatre and the adaptation of translation as a device for the feminist movement. This feminist translation in Quebec has transcended to borders and come to the forefront of translation studies worldwide. The chapter on Brazilian Cannibalism was, for me, the most interesting of the whole book. It truly indicates a unique way of looking at the post-colonial world. How cannibalism itself can be viewed from within Brazil as a positive force yet to the external viewer it is seen as a negative connotation of savagery, demonstrates the Derridaean deconstruction at play in translation to a relatively understandable level for the novice initiate into translation studies. The cannibalist school of thought shows how translation redefines boundaries and how there is a struggle between cultures in the process. The works of Latin American fiction authors and their relationships to Translation was particularly relevant to me, as a student of Spanish. I discovered some new authors here and have bookmarked their work. I also, as a result of this chapter, plan to reread Garcia Marquez’ 100 Years of Solitude, to view it from the perspective of the Translation theme which is not so obvious on a first read of the great novel. The last chapter of the five focusses on border areas and the identity struggle that cultures face there. Mexico and the Caribbean have their own issues with border areas. Criollism in the Caribbean is now on the rise as a fashion and old concepts and prejudices are being redefined by the local linguists. I think the whole frontera issues on the Mexican – US border were very intriguing and analysing the history of the area plus the effects of bilingualism and the culture that arises from it, could be an area in which I would maybe consider focussing an eventual dissertation for my degree.
Each chapter concludes with a deeper analysis by the author and there is a thoroughly wholesome introduction and conclusion. If there was any criticism, then perhaps there is a repetition and over-reliance on the analytical deconstruction models of Jaques Derrida. However, I feel that this book was useful in that it successfully drew me to the attention of this man’s ideas and that had been something that prior to reading this work, I had only skirted over and had not adequately understood.
I found this book to be very readable and interesting. It broadened my mind to some of the wider issues that Translation Studies scholars have to consider. I’m sure that I’ll be returning to the library to reborrow it for reference purposes in my later studies.

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Review: The FARC: The Longest Insurgency

The FARC: The Longest Insurgency by Garry Leech
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book covers a very interesting subject for what in general there is a dearth of information and that which does exist tends to be fundamentally skewed with bias. The left wing of Colombia’s forty year civil war is headed up by the FARC-EP. This revolutionary Marxist guerrilla group holds a vast amount of Colombian territory and is the de-facto government of a large amount of mainly impoverished rural people who are in general greatly neglected by their government. The FARC have a very strong propaganda campaign in action against them and in this rather brief book, the author attempts to unravel the myths surrounding the FARC, and to determine the truth of what lies behind the propaganda against them. The Americans and Colombian government accuse them of being narco-traffickers and narco-terrorists, and use these accusations in order to fund their fight against their enemy. The book is good at unravelling many of the myths and in general one gets a decent balanced impression and a feeling that one has touched upon the truth. the FARC can be seen as a genuine combatant army and are a bit different to the way they are portrayed as a terrorist or criminal organisation. Their insurgency, although very bloody and difficult, is based in the realities of a real war. They have an ideological struggle and truly represent the feelings of their people. Some of the facts are quite surprising. I found the chapter on human rights abuses very revealing. It shows that although the FARC are very far from perfect and have committed some truly heinous acts, in general, the Colombian government forces and right-wing paramilitary groups are far more oppressive towards the average civilian.
I think the author, who is an investigative journalist based in Colombia, has done a very good job with this work. I feel that for such a subject, a much broader and deeper piece of writing could be done. If anything the account is just a bit too brief. I hope to check out some of Garry Leech’s other books.

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Review: Confessions of an Economic Hitman

Confessions of an Economic Hitman by John Perkins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is an easy to read autobiographical account of a confessing EHM, who feels the pangs of guilt for his work in expanding America’s global empire over the past few decades, at the expense of developing countries’ poor people and environments. It covers many important political situations, where the author often had a hands-on role. From Saudi Arabia and the Oil Crisis of the 1970s to Iraq and the recent wars fought there. From Panama and its loss of leaders and the controversy of its canal, to Colombia and Ecuador, with their internal problems. John Perkins is very critical of the often heartless role he had to play in creating opportunities for big US business. He has led a very fascinating life and it’s interesting to see directly how power politics and people of influence are directed by the interests of big US corporations. We see a man who struggles with guilt and who ultimately revokes this powerful lifestyle, to retire to championing the plights of indigenous people through non-profit organisations. It’s an important firsthand account of a critical era of US expansion across the globe. Whatever your views on America’s imperial tendencies, this is an enlightening read which will broaden your horizons.

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