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UK | Arts | Architecture and environment | History UKBritain: the rough guide (2nd ed.) The Rough Guides series, June 1998, paperback £14.99 (1-85828-312-4) A practical guide to England, Wales and Scotland, this text includes detailed coverage of every type of attraction, along with recommendations of the best places to stay, eat and drink; discussion of multi-cultural Britain and practical tips on exploring the Scottish Highlands. (Reviewed by Alan Durant in BSN 7). Readership: general Our destiny: a treasury of travellers' verse Shamus
McPhee, Scottish Cultural Press, May 1998, paperback £7.99 A collection of modern verse from a group of travellers from Pitlochry in Scotland. Many of the poems included in this book are based on stories that have been handed down through the generations, whilst others describe the bigotry and hatred experienced by travellers from their critics. Readership: general Englishness and National Culture Antony Easthope, Routledge, paperback £15.99 (0-415-19688-4) A book which promises to be controversial with philosophers, social scientists and cultural analysts through its discussion of 'Englishness' in relation to 'a set of shared discourses'. The title itself provokes thought: does it imply there exists a specifically English-bound national culture or is the 'national culture' a British or perhaps a generic political entity? The style is lively and accessible (the opening analogy between national identity and driving is a good example) and insights such as the sexual gloss on Larkin's poem, 'The Whitsun Weddings', are memorable. There is the same historical sweep in this work as in the earlier ‘Poetry as Discourse’ which connects the seventeenth century with our own. A concluding section, Englishness Today, argues that contemporary journalists, historians, novelists, poets and comedians continue to speak through the voice of a long-standing empiricist tradition. Readership: undergraduate, postgraduate The English: a portrait of a people Jeremy Paxman, Michael Joseph, October 1998, hardback £20.00, A book on what constitutes Englishness, and what are considered the essential characteristics and values. Using literary sources and interviews, Jeremy Paxman attempts to define how 'Englishness' has changed over this century, and what it is now both in our own and outsiders’ views. ArtsDistorted images: British national identity and film in the 1920s Kenton Bamford, I.B Tauris, May 1998, 224pp, 234 x 156mm, illustrations, hardback £29.95 (1-86064-358-2) An exploration of the cultural construction of 'Britishness' by the British film industry in the 1920s. It investigates the image of nation and of British people as depicted in films, the underlying class attitudes and values, and the reception of British and American films across classes. Readership: general; research, professional England is mine: pop life in Albion from Wilde to Goldie Michael Bracewell, Flamingo, paperback £7.99 (0-00-655015-0) The paperback of this widely praised study of the idea of Arcadia and English pop culture. Critics from all quarters liked its dazzling style and the way its nine chapters encompass artistic visions from such a wide cultural spectrum of the recent past. An excerpt of index entries for the letter 'B' gives some idea of its scope: Bennett, Alan; Betjeman, John; Big Jim and the Figaro Club; Bildungsroman; Billy Liar; Birmingham; Björk; Black Sabbath; Blake, Peter; Blake, William; Blanche, Anthony; Blast ... Its chapter on suburbia will be especially useful for British Studies courses looking at such topics as The City, Youth, and Popular Culture. Readership: undergraduate, general Creative Britain Rt
Honorable Chris Smith, MP, Faber and Faber, May 1998,
paperback £6.99 Chris Smith, Britain's Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport has authored this work bringing together speeches and specially written chapters on British film, music, theatre, dance, fashion, television, the visual arts and technology in libraries and education. He emphasises the themes that Government policies must address: access for the many and not the few; the enabling of the creative imagination; the role of creativity in education throughout life; links with social regeneration and the huge economic importance of the creative industries which are worth over fifty billion pounds a year. The government does not regard the arts as a luxury item in British society - this book spells out its view that the nurturing of creative talent must be at the heart of Britain's new political agenda. Readership:
general Architecture and environmentA chronology of the castles of Scotland: 1100-1685 Ian
B.D. Bryce, Scottish Cultural Press, June 1998, paperback
£9.95 A listing of over 1420 castles, both nationally and by regions, with dates of phases of construction, masons, and plans. The book places individual structures and their later additions in their historical context of contemporary buildings, kings, masonic schools, and occasional battles. Readership: general, professional Docklands: urban change and conflict in a community in transition Janet Foster, UCL Press, June 1998, paperback £11.95 (1-85728-274-4), hardback £35.00 (1-85728-273-6) This text is a sociological study of a community in transition and the impact of urban regeneration. The process of change on London's Isle of Dogs is revealed from the differing perspectives of Islanders, developers and business, and yuppies attracted to the area. Readership:
undergraduate, postgraduate HistoryJulian Rathbone, Abacus fiction, 1998 (sixth reprint) £6.99 (0-349-10943-5) Migration and mobility in Britain since the eighteenth century Readership: undergraduate,
postgraduate, research, professional International relationsBritish politics and Europe Alan
Davies, Series: Access to Politics, Hodder &
Stoughton Educational, This text covers the syllabus requirements for ‘A' level Government and Politics (London Board) Paper 4, which is an optional part of the syllabus, requiring students to place British politics within the European picture. Students taking Paper 1 are also required to have some knowledge of this area. Readership: advanced secondary; undergraduate The last governor Jonathan Dimbleby, Warner, July 1998, paperback £8.99 (0-7515-2272-4) In July 1997, Hong Kong ceased to be a British Colony and reverted to the People's Republic of China. This text provides an insight into events leading up to the handover from the appointment of Conservative Party Chairman Chris Patten in 1992, and examines relations between the two countries. Readership: general Biographical dictionary of British prime ministers Robert Eccleshall (Ed), Routledge, August 1998, paperback £20.99 (0-415-18721-4), hardback £65.00 (0-415-18721-4) A guide to the political lives of Britain's Prime Ministers from Sir Robert Walpole to Tony Blair. Written by some of the leading authorities on British politics this dictionary provides information about each premiership, including facts and analytical debate. Readership: undergraduate, postgraduate, research, professional, general Bring home the revolution: How Britain can take back the American dream Jonathan Freedland, Fourth Estate, July 1998, paperback £9.99 (1-85702-547-4) Surveying the political cultures of the UK and the US, this book questions why America has such a strong influence over the United Kingdom. It seeks to select the American influences that will genuinely enhance life in the LTK, rather than diminish it. Readership:
general PoliticsThe Belfast agreement: an agreement reached at the Multi-Party Talks on Northern Ireland Stationery Office, May 1998, paperback £5.90 (0-10-138832-2) This paper was presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland during April 1998. It sets out the full text of the agreement between the British and Irish governments on the future of Northern Ireland. Its contents include: declaration of support; draft clauses and schedules for incorporation in British legislation; Irish government draft legislation; Strand One - Democratic institutions in Northern Ireland; Strand Two - North/South Ministerial Council; Strand Three - British-Irish Council and British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference; rights, safeguards and equality of opportunity (including human rights); decommissioning of weapons; security; policing and justice; prisoners; validation, implementation and review. The agreement will be put to all residents of Ireland, North and South, on the 22nd of May, in two separate referenda, for their acceptance or rejection. Readership: professional, general D.I Y culture: Party and protest in nineties' Britain George McKay (ed), Blackwell Verso, May 1998, paperback £11.00 (1-85984-260-7), hardback £11.00 (1-85984-878-8) This is a collection of in-depth and reflective pieces by activists and other key figures in 'DIY culture', who tell their own stories and histories. The book argues that popular protest of the 1990s is characterized by a culture of immediacy and direct action. Readership:
undergraduate, postgraduate, research, professional,
general SocietyQueens’ country Paul Burston Little, Brown, June 1998, hardback £16.99 (0-316-88174-0) Providing accounts of the many and varied social, political and commercial structures shaping gay life in Britain today, the author asks what it means to be gay in a country where gay style is chic, yet gay equality remains a dream. He reveals the endemic bickering of much of gay culture. Readership: general Breadline Britain in the 1990s Joanna Mack, Stewart Lansley, Harold Frayman (2nd ed) Routledge, June 1998, paperback £12.99 (0-415-07610-2), hardback £35.00 (0-415-07609-9) The first edition of this work was a pioneered study of relative poverty, providing a graphic report on the growing incidence of poverty in Britain. This book is a revised, up-to-date look at this issue. Poverty is the sole focus of the text and the authors provide information on trends since 1985. Readership: undergraduate, postgraduate The Sixties: cultural revolution in Britain, France, Italy, and the United States 1958-1974 Arthur
Marwick, Oxford University Press, October 1998, hardback
£25.00 This study considers the social and political changes wrought by the 1960s in the USA and across Europe. The author demonstrates the historical significance of the era, analysing phenomena as diverse as the rise of youth culture, the impact of the civil rights movement and feminism. Readership: general, undergraduate, postgraduate, research, professional Comparative policing: Issues for the twenty-first century R.I. Mawby (ed), UCL Press, June 1998, paperback £12.95 (1-85728-489-5), hardback £38.00 (1-85728-488-7) This wide-ranging text provides an overview of policing across different societies, and considers the issues facing the US and British police in a wider international context. The book is designed as a coherent introduction to the police and the challenges they face. Readership: undergraduate, postgraduate, research, professional After Diana Mandy Merek (ed), Blackwell Verso, May 1998, paperback £10.00 (1-85984-265-8) The death of Diana, Princess of Wales, was met by the greatest public mourning witnessed in the 20th century. For those perplexed by the events surrounding Diana's death, this book seeks to provide some answers. It brings together writings which analyze her death rather than lament it. Readership:
general SportThe end of the terraces: The transformation of English football in the 1990s Anthony
King, Leicester University Press, June 1998, hardback £49.50
In analysing the transformation of English football in the 1990s, this text provides a comprehensive account of football culture in contemporary Britain. It examines the political economy of football since the 1960s, and the public debates for the reform of the game in the mid-1980s. Readership: undergraduate, postgraduate, research, TeachingLanguage learning in intercultural perspective: approaches through drama and ethnography Michael Byram, Michael Fleming (eds) Cambridge University Press, series Cambridge Language Teaching Library, paperback £12.95 Fourteen papers from Belgium, France, Denmark, UK, Ireland and the US on the way in which language learning is related to encountering other cultures and communicating across frontiers. It argues that learners need to develop sensitivity to cultural difference and its impact on communication. Two of the three sections look at approaches through ethnography; the third will be of interest to all teachers of language and literature since it focuses on drama. The theory is always at the service of practical problem solving and the whole collection is a rich source of ideas for materials, projects and strategies for modern language teachers who are skilling both themselves and their students for an intercultural future. Readership: postgraduate, professional Collaborative action research for English teachers Anne
Burn, Cambridge University Press, February 1999, hardback
£35 This book proposes that action research should be a collaborative process emerging from the practical concerns of groups of teachers working in a common or similar context. Teachers' first-person accounts provide the basis for exploring the challenges and constraints of action research. For this reason alone it will be of interest to teachers seeking new directions for their own professional development as well as to tea educators, program administrators and researchers interested in integrating collaborative action research into current practice and curriculum renewal. Readership: postgraduate, professional
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