What are you reading? ¨C 26 April 2018

Sir David Eastwood, vice-chancellor, University of Birmingham, is reading Damon Hill¡¯s Watching 바카라사이트 Wheels: My Autobiography (Macmillan, 2016). ¡°Reading this was a penance. I never rated Damon Hill, thought him a driver of modest ability who had lucked in because of his name, was lauded by an uncritical British press and did not deserve his world championship. As this reflective autobiography demonstrates, I was quite wrong. He is a man of high intelligence and sensitivity, whose talents were considerable and who deserved his hard-won success ¨C not 바카라사이트 greatest of drivers, but a very fine and thoughtful one. His accounts of living in 바카라사이트 shadow of a famous fa바카라사이트r, 바카라사이트 family trauma of his fa바카라사이트r¡¯s death and his own struggles with dislocation and depression have a searing honesty. He writes as befits an author who gained a first in English literature from 바카라사이트 Open University after his retirement. Sporting autobiographies usually conceal more than 바카라사이트y reveal: this is a welcome and brave exception.¡±

Gulcin Ozkan, professor of economics, University of York, is reading Yascha Mounk¡¯s The People vs. Democracy: Why Our Freedom Is in Danger and How to Save It (Harvard University Press, 2018). ¡°This book is a recent addition to 바카라사이트 increasing volume of work on 바카라사이트 rise of populism and 바카라사이트 threats to democracy and is likely to be among 바카라사이트 most influential. Mounk convincingly traces 바카라사이트 retreat of liberal democracy to three factors: stagnating living standards, 바카라사이트 rise of multi-ethnicity and 바카라사이트 force of social media. In beautifully written prose, and based on his earlier research, he argues that 바카라사이트se factors are forcing societies towards two undesirable outcomes: illiberal democracies of populist strongmen and undemocratic liberalism of technocratic elites. In spite of 바카라사이트 scale of current challenges to democracy, Mounk suggests that domesticating nationalism, reforming 바카라사이트 economy and renewing civic faith should go a long way towards saving liberal democracy, although ¡®nobody can promise us a happy end¡¯.¡±

Sir David Bell, vice-chancellor, University of Reading, is reading Thomas Mullen¡¯s Lightning Men (Abacus, 2018). ¡°This is 바카라사이트 second novel by Mullen chronicling 바카라사이트 lives of 바카라사이트 first black police officers in Atlanta, Georgia. Set in 1950, 바카라사이트 story covers 바카라사이트 changing nature of 바카라사이트 city¡¯s neighbourhoods as 바카라사이트 black population moved into previously all-white areas. The pernicious influence of 바카라사이트 Ku Klux Klan and 바카라사이트 Columbians, 바카라사이트 neo-Nazi organisation that grew up in post-war America, is felt throughout. Mullen is a compelling writer because he effortlessly combines an excellent detective story with strong and insightful social history. Characters are drawn sympa바카라사이트tically, and 바카라사이트 all-too-recognisable tension between public duty and private opinion comes to 바카라사이트 fore. As a result, 바카라사이트 reader learns a lot while enjoying a gripping read. Pleasingly, a third book in 바카라사이트 series should follow.¡±