Book reviews
Book review | Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis, by J D Vance
In Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis, former marine and Yale Law School graduate J.D. Vance offers a personal account of growing up in – and eventually leaving – an impoverished white working-class ‘hillbilly’ community experiencing social and economic crisis. While the book has been praised for offering insights into why […]
Book review | Transparency and the Open Society, by Roger Taylor and Tim Kelsey
In Transparency and the Open Society: Practical Lessons for Effective Policy, Roger Taylor and Tim Kelsey offers a systematic framework for establishing greater transparency across government, and civil society more broadly. While the book does raise a number of further questions about the capacity to engender a more transparent society, Andrew Reid recommends it to those […]
Book Review | Culture, Economy and Politics: The Case of New Labour by David Hesmondhalgh et al
In Culture, Economy and Politics: The Case of New Labour, David Hesmondhalgh, Kate Oakley, David Lee and Melissa Nisbett focus on the emergence of cultural policy as a key concern under the Labour party between 1997 and 2010. Drawing upon interviews with key figures, this is a valuable, even-handed book that is recommended reading for […]
Book review: Slippery Slope: Europe’s Troubled Future, by Giles Merritt
Shortlisted for the 2016 European Book Prize, in Slippery Slope: Europe’s Troubled Future journalist and analyst Giles Merritt reflects on the threats, challenges and unexpected opportunities that Europeans are likely to face as they move further into the 21st century. Simeon Mitropolitski strongly recommends this book to those pondering the future horizons of a presently troubled Europe. Similar PostsOpen Letter […]
Book review | What is Populism? by Jan-Werner Müller
In What is Populism?, Jan-Werner Müller provides a timely perspective on the pressing question of what populism is and how to respond to it. Defining populism as anti-pluralist, elite-critical politics with a moral claim to representation, he cautions that populists are both willing and able to govern and may therefore deform democracy by turning states towards […]
Book review | How Europeans View and Evaluate Democracy
In How Europeans View and Evaluate Democracy, editors Mónica Ferrín and Hanspeter Kriesi offer insight into perceptions of democracy across Europe by examining how Europeans evaluate their experience of democracy and assess the legitimacy of current democratic regimes across the continent. This comprehensive study will be an excellent read for political comparativists and Europeanists, finds Simeon Mitropolitski. Similar PostsReferendum […]
Book review: Alastair Campbell’s Diaries: Vol 5 – ‘thrilling, insightful’
In the fifth volume of his published diaries, Outside, Inside, 2003-2005, Alastair Campbell steps down as Tony Blair’s Director of Communications in 2003 but is drawn back into politics amid the continued chaos of the Iraq war, the breakdown of the Blair-Brown relationship and the impending election campaign. With the pace of a thriller, this book offers fascinating […]
Book review | Locating Localism: Statecraft, Citizenship and Democracy, by Jane Wills
In Locating Localism: Statecraft, Citizenship and Democracy, Jane Wills explores the development of localism in the UK and the structures that both encourage and impede the transfer of decision-making to the neighbourhood level. While the book occasionally lacks engagement with the precise relationship between devolution and localism and the political struggles occurring within communities, Richard […]
Book review | What is Political Sociology?, by Elisabeth S Clemens
In What is Political Sociology?, Elisabeth S. Clemens produces a definitive and inspirational standard text for students at all levels. Her work offers a concise overview of political sociology as the human face of politics: the politicised interactions that take place within and between the domains of family, work, civic culture and structures of government. […]
Book review | The Coalition Effect, 2010-2015 edited by Anthony Seldon & Mike Finn
In The Coalition Effect 2010-2015, Anthony Seldon and Mike Finn have collected a volume of essays examining the impact of the Coalition government of 2010-2015 on British politics. While the hindsight enabled by the 2015 general election result and Brexit means the precise legacies of the Coalition are still unfolding, this is an indispensable text that provides intriguing, […]
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