It’s Friday! This week we look at the concept of news itself, cycling, Crimea, the upcoming Turkish election and… waffles. Happy reading!
Congrats to last week's winner, Wendy Stroud who won a hamper of books including The Very Hungry Caterpillar and The South African Story with Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
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Russia’s takeover of Crimea is still big news this week and the latest is that they’ve also seized control of Ukraine’s military dolphins, a pod of highly-trained dolphins with skills in detecting foreign objects in the ocean such as enemy divers or submarines.
Russia is an enigmatic country with a long history. Red Fortress: The Secret Heart of Russia’s History by Catherine Merridale is the story of the Kremlin. Both beautiful and profoundly menacing, the Kremlin has dominated Moscow for many centuries. Behind its great red walls and towers many of the most startling events in Russia's history have been acted out. It is both a real place and an imaginative idea; a shorthand for a certain kind of secretive power, but also the heart of a specific Russian authenticity.
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In cycling news, snow and fog may be plaguing the Volta a Catalunya but the competition is certainly still as heated as ever. Chris Froome dropped down to sixth position after a tough day yesterday with American, Tejay van Garderen pulling away to win the fourth stage. Watch out for Chris Froome’s autobiography – The Climb which hits shelves in June. Just in time to brush up your knowledge before the Tour de France. |
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Days before elections, the Turkish government has banned citizen access to YouTube, provoking condemnations from activists and Western nations. A complex country caught in a struggle between East and West it will be interesting to see how the elections play out. Next month we're releasing Feroz Ahmad’s Turkey: The Quest for Identity. A concise history, it provides a full survey of Turkey's checkered past, from its beginnings as a disparate group of tribes to its status as the first secular republic in the Islamic world. In addition to providing a detailed account of the key cultural, economic, and social events, this accessible text also examines the problems faced by modern Turkey, from the rise of Islamic militancy to the current tension in Turkey's government.
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25 March was ‘Waffle Day’. It turns out this tasty dish is popular enough to have its own day! Why not try a waffle with a difference this weekend with the waffle jaffle recipe from Roads Less Travelled: Ultimate Braai Master. Justin Bonello’s latest offering, in partnership with Bertus Basson, Marthinus Ferreira and Helena Lombard, offers mouth-watering recipes (and photography) from around South Africa.
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From the Oscar Pistorius trial to the Malaysia airlines crash, we've become completely infatuated by news stories. Alain de Botton’s The News explores our relationship with 'the news' in this book full of his trademark wit and wisdom. Following on from his bestselling Religion for Atheists, Alain de Botton turns now to look at the manic and peculiar positions that 'the news' occupies in our lives.
We invest it with an authority and importance which used to be the preserve of religion - but what does it do for us? Mixing current affairs with philosophical reflections, de Botton offers a brilliant illustrated guide to the precautions we should take before venturing anywhere near the news and the 'noise' it generates. Witty and global in reach, The News will ensure you'll never look at reports of a celebrity story or political scandal in quite the same way again.
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