« 10 Aug 04. Fishing | Main | 12 Aug 04. war profiteers »

11 August

Two interesting pieces of reading to recommend today. Firstly, a fascinating blog, written by a family living in Baghdad, which gives a revealing view of life there under American occupation. This is a genuinely interesting read - there are separate blogs on the site, written by the mother and two children of the family (the father apparently 'is not interested'). A complement to, or maybe a replacement for, the acres of guff written by newspaper columnists every day from their cosy hotel inside the Green Zone.

Secondly, a book I'm reading at the moment: The Likes of Us: A biography of the white working class, by Michael Collins. I'm not finished with this yet, but I can heartily recommend what I've read so far. Collins argues that sneering at the white working class is the last acceptable prejudice amongst the liberal intelligencia. The sort of people who would ring the police if anyone told a Paki joke at their dinner party are happy to put the boot into the Chavs instead. Maybe we all need someone to marginalise. Or maybe not. Either way, this is a good read, which tackles head-on some serious issues that aren't discussed enough in mainstream society (or in the media, anyway, which is not the same thing.)

Posted by paul at August 11, 2004 01:48 PM

Comments

Post a comment