Alexander Trocchi: An intriguing writer Sean Sheehan reviews a number of Trocchi’s key works Glasgow-born Alexander Trocchi was a fiery figure in the British literary world – an editor in Paris, an avant-garde novelist with an internationalist mindset – before he parked himself in a desolate London siding labelled ‘obscure heroin-addicted ex-writer’. With new editions […]
Henry Bell, John Maclean – Hero of Red Clydeside, Pluto, pp256, 9780745338385, £14.99 Reviewed by Dave Sherry The explosion of working-class revolt during WWI produced one of Britain’s finest revolutionaries. John Maclean was one and he broke from the leaders of his own party to become the most consistent opponent of British imperialism, becoming the […]
Kenny MacAskill, Glasgow 1919: The Rise of Red Clydeside, Biteback, pp320, 9781785904547, £20 Reviewed by Sean Sheehan Much has been written and remembered about events in Glasgow’s George Square in 1919 when civilians battled police. Troops and tanks appeared on the streets of the city and remained there for a week. It has become the […]
Tom Devine, The Scottish Clearances: A History of the Dispossessed, 1600-1900, Allen Lane, 2018, 9780241304105 Reviewed by Sean Sheehan The dispossession of people from the Highlands and rural Lowlands of Scotland cannot be dissociated from the emergence of the country as a modern nation. This is the baseline for the importance invested by Devine in […]
Greg Albo, Leo Panitch and Alan Zuege (eds.) Class, Party, Revolution: A Socialist Register Reader, Haymarket Books, 1608469190, £20.99 Reviewed by Robin Jones Current events invariably colour one’s interpretation of political texts but, for this reader, recent months of both British and world politics have not only coloured my reading, but invaded, confused and frustrated […]
Chris Bambery and George Kerevan, Catalonia Reborn; How Catalonia Took on the Corrupt Spanish State and the Legacy of Franco, 2018, Luath, £12.99, 9781912147380 Reviewed by Bill Bonnar. This recently published work is a welcome account of the current struggle for Catalan independence. Most relevant are the first chapter, Birth of a Republic, and the […]
John Kelly Contemporary Trotskyism: Parties, Sects and Social Movements in Britain, 2018, Routledge, 9781138943810, £23.99, pp296 Reviewed by Gordon Morgan The Fourth International held its first congress 80 years ago on 3 September 1938 in France. It is timely that this book has been published as it relates to the enduring legacy of Leon Trotsky, […]
Darren McGarvey Poverty Safari: Understanding the Anger of Britain’s Underclass, Luath, 2018, 9781912147038, £7.99 Reviewed by Seán Duffy Something of a surprise winner of the Orwell Prize, Darren McGarvey’s journey through the travails of growing up on the sharp end of the economic spectrum is a worthy recipient of praise and pondering. The avenue of […]
Simon Hannah A Party with Socialists in it – a history of the Labour Left, Pluto, 2018, £12.99, 9780745337470 Reviewed by Dave Sherry. Popular among younger voters and older Labour stalwarts alike, Jeremy Corbyn has proved hugely controversial and threatening to both the British establishment and Labour’s Blairite faction. Together they are ganging up on […]
Lesley Riddoch, Blossom – what Scotland needs to flourish (Post Indyref Post EUref edition), 2018, Luath, £11.99, 1912147521 Reviewed by Stephen Smellie. First published in 2013 amidst the independence referendum campaign, Blossom is a mixture of journalism and an optimistic vision that Scotland could be a much better place if the kind of efforts reported […]