Nerve 16 - Round-up of Recommended Reads

Round-up of Recommended Reads

By Mandy Vere

Liverpool recently hosted a meeting with Richard Wilkinson, one of the authors of “The Spirit Level: Why Equality is Better for Everyone” (Penguin £9.99). In it he shows that the wider the gap between rich and poor, the worse a society fares on every social indicator, mental & physical health, violence, educational performance, community life, drug use, etc. The book provides the statistical ammunition we need to campaign for increased wealth taxation, grassroots community support and the social transformation needed to tackle climate change & economic crisis.

These twin problems are offered a hopeful agenda in “Prosperity Without Growth: Economics for a Finite Planet” by Tim Jackson (Earthscan £12.99). We all know our economy is in a mess but big business and politicians’ insistence on economic growth and our addiction, in the developed world, to consumerism are no longer sustainable.

Last year was Liverpool’s Year of the Environment and recognising that we have a lot to learn from elsewhere, there’s a great little book called “Red Alert! Saving the Planet with Indigenous Knowledge” by Daniel R Wildcat (Fulcrum £8.99) which seeks to debunk our civilization’s long-misguided perception that humankind exerts control over the natural world. The author draws on Native American wisdom to combat global warming and stir us to action. And back at home, we have “Local Food: How to Make it Happen in Your Community” by Tamzin Pinkerton & Rob Hopkins (Transition Books £12.95) which gives us practical support to set up allotments, food co-ops, community orchards & school projects. If you’ve walked down Cairns St, L8 you’ll have seen it in action!

In June, Independent Booksellers Week coincides with Refugee Week so News from Nowhere’s theme is “No Borders!” This reflects the demise of a certain chain bookseller, while challenging the free-market idea that money should be free to cross borders while people shouldn’t (unless it’s British ex-pats in Spain or warmongers in Afghanistan). So here are a few books which concentrate on immigration & refugees. “Bluebird: a Memoir” by Vesna Maric (Granta £8.99) is the story of a 16-year old who fled to Britain from the Bosnian war and conveys the unsettling, often magical experience of losing her roots. “Britain’s First Muslims: Portrait of an Arab Community” by Fred Halliday (I B Tauris £15.99) tells of the Yemenis - sailor communities in Cardiff & Liverpool, and industrial workers in Sheffield & Manchester - who arrived in the early 20th Century, while “The Settler’s Cookbook: Tales of Love, Migration and Food” by Yasmin Alibhai-Brown (Portobello £9.99) is her personal account of Indian migration to Britain via Uganda, complete with recipes! In another new title - “Tailors on Both Sides” (Tollington £9.99) - Anita Canter, who moved to Liverpool in 1964, shares the history of her family’s escape from the Holocaust, as a result of Danish people’s rescue of 7,000 Jews. She urges other survivors of genocide to “tell the story with pride, how your family refused to become victims, how they survived against all the odds, how the love for their children came before everything else.” And for children, there’s “The Silence Seeker” by Ben Morley (Tamarind £5.99). When Joe’s mum explains that the new boy next door is an asylum seeker who has travelled a long way, Joe says ”A silence seeker!” and goes about helping him to find some peace & quiet. A beautiful story of friendship and support.

With the resurgence of feminism apparent, here’s some more children’s books with feisty female characters. For young children, “Princess Smartypants Breaks the Rules!” (Puffin £5.99) continues Babette Cole’s subversive series about the princess who refuses to conform. And for older readers Zizou Corder (a mother and daughter team) brings us “Halo” (Puffin £6.99) a brilliant adventure tale of a girl in ancient Greece who has to dress as a boy to survive, and dreams of becoming a doctor.

One inspiring woman is Malalai Joya, an Afghan MP who has written her story in “Raising My Voice” (Rider 11.99). She ran a secret school for girls, in her first speech as an MP courageously denounced the presence of warlords in the Afghan government, and she lives in constant danger for her championing of justice and women’s rights. Back home in the West women have different problems – Natasha Walter denounces a culture that sees women’s sexual allure as their only passport to success in “Living Dolls: The Return of Sexism” (Virago £12.99) and Melinda Tankard Reist has edited a collection called “Getting Real: Challenging the Sexualisation of Girls” (Spinifex £14.95) which details how early that conditioning starts. A challenge to us all to create a more equal society, which is where we began!

News From Nowhere have produced an Alternative Futures booklist for their 36th anniversary - to see this go to: www.newsfromnowhere.org.uk

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