This is my favourite full length Sherlock Holmes novel so far. I like that it shows Holmes and Watson slowly finding clues and working out the case logically, and it doesn't end with several chapters of flashbacks to the founding of Mormonism, of the plundering of Indian treasures,for example.

The characters are all interesting and the climax (SPOILERS) is very exciting. I was genuinely shocked and confused when the hound actually came bounding along, and was covered in flames!

I can definitely see why this is one of the most popular Holmes stories.

Cliff's biography of Lenin from the start of the First World War until the October Revolution is a brilliantly written, thought provoking, and detailed account of the revolutionary process. Not only does it cover these four years in a chronological sense, it also diverts into discussions on moral, theoretical, and ideological points which are still of great relevance today, such as the nature of imperialism, the socialist perspective on nationalism, and the basis of reformism.

At points Cliff's presentation of the material can seem dry and mechanical (compared, for example, to Sandra Bloodworth's "When the Workers Took Power" and Trotsky's "History of the Russian Revolution" which seem a bit more lively), as he does focus mainly on discussions in parliament, between party members, and in the Soviets. However, I think this is mainly a result of conscious choice to focus on the role of the Bolshevik party. As he says in the introduction, Trotsky's "History" also made a choice to focus on Lenin and on rank and file party members to counter the then-dominant conception, pushed by the twisted Stalinist mythology, that the revolution was carried out by a uniform, monolithic, well-oiled machine of a party. Cliff shows that the party was in no way well-oiled or monolithic, but in its unique capacity to act as a two-way method of activity and communication between Lenin, Trotsky, and other revolutionary leaders on one hand, and the proletariat on the other, the Bolshevik party was indispensable in its role in bringing about a workers' revolution in Russia.

The final chapter, as Lenin fights to call up the insurrection against the bourgeois government, is thrilling. A must read.

A brilliant oral history of the Spanish Civil War. Gives a very personal understanding of the experiences and politics of the different participants.

Outstanding work, charting the history both of Lenin's political evolution to become a Marxist, and the formation and growth of the Bolshevik party into a mass, working class, revolutionary party on the eve of the first world war. By examining the events occurring, decisions made, and debates had over 100 years ago, ad the contexts of these, there are many lessons to be learnt by activists today wanting to change the world for the better.

Andy Miller is a very good writer, and this book is entertaining, ammusing and interesting. Through most of the book, he kept me wanting to read more.

The main problem with the book is Andy miller himself, who seems like an insufferable git. He seems to recognise this himself, given that in the mock reading group notes in the back of the book he repeatedly pokes fun at himself, joking that he's not the sort of person who you'd want to have a pint at the pub with. While I laughed at this, it didn't make me any more likely to want to drink beer with him, given that he doesn't seem to actually be trying to fix the fact that he is a dickhead.

While his thoughts on the books he read were often insightful, his general tone, and really the point of the whole book, is really snobbish. He has a fixed idea of what reading should be, and it should be a personal and individualistic enjoyment, self-improvement and reflection. His rigid idea of what the purpose of books and reading is really grated after its repeated reinforcement.

He is also bizarrely proud of being middle class. Early in the book he reads the Communist Manifesto along with a couple of other socialist-related book, notes that he used to be a radical in university, and really doesn't engage deeply with the meaning or purpose of the books. Later on he reads a number of books specifically dealing with middle-class life, and this is where he comes alive. Stories of being a suburban intellectual clearly are very relatable for him, and he waxes lyrical on their deeper meaning, how true their representations of middle-class life are, and whether the stories are looking down of the petty bourgeoisie or whether one should be proud to be petty bourgeois. It was quite sickening.

My biggest problem, though, was the way he skipped over half the books he said he was going to read. Rather than in-depth meditations on each of the books in his list, we get that for maybe fifteen or twenty of them, some of those grouped together in twos or threes, then the rest are noted briefly or are left entirely unmentioned, leaving me feeling somewhat short-changed.

In summary: The idea for the book was intriguing, the writer clearly has a flair for this sort of thing, but the actual implementation was flawed and the product felt lacking.