Carol Vincent, the author of Tea and the Queen (£40.00,
978 1447351955, hb), was on Thinking Allowed on BBC Radio 4 on
Wednesday, you can listen to that here. Carol explored the way in which
children are being taught about ‘fundamental British values’ such as democracy
and tolerance and asks whether this government-imposed requirement too easily
results in a celebration of reductionist symbols and stereotypes of Britishness?
Drawing on observations of teaching, as well as teachers' views and experiences
Carol's book which has just been published by Policy Press analyses how
teachers make sense of the mandatory promotion of these values, and what ideas
of citizenship and identity they offer to their pupils. This is the first
research book to look at this subject in detail and is highly topical, exploring
the intersection of counter terrorism/extremism policy and education.
And talking of fundamental values, here are the top ten movies that definitely
overdid the Britishness! Cor blimey guvnor, I think you’ll all enjoy these truly
painful stereotypes!
The ability to climb cracks is at the
core of a climber's craft. Crack Climbing (£26, pb, 978 1911342762) by Pete Whittaker (widely regarded as one of the best crack climbers in
the world) provides a single point of reference for all crack climbing
techniques, regardless of the grade you climb. Pete is touring throughout March
to promote his book which has just been published by Vertebrate. The tour
encompasses Horsham, Andover, Exeter, Leamington, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Inverness,
Stirling, Penrith, Brecon, Cheltenham, Malvern, Caernarfon, Chesterfield, Gateshead
and Sale and you can find out more about that here.
A really interesting guide to
contemporary Arabic literature in translation here
in RTE this week. One of the authors talked about is Hassan Blasim, the
award-winning short story writer of The Iraqi Christ and The Madman of Freedom
Square. His eagerly awaited debut novel, God
99 (978 1905583775, £9.99, pb) is
coming from Comma in July.
Terrific article here in the Guardian this week by award-winning
journalist and author Mary O Hara, author
of The Shame Game
arguing that extreme inequality and poverty is caused by political
choices, so we need a new narrative to challenge the stereotype that it is
caused by personal flaws or bad life decisions. Drawing on a two-year
multi-platform initiative, this book by, asks how we can overturn this
portrayal once and for all. Crucially, she turns to the real experts to try to
find answers the people who live it. The Shame Game (978 1447349266, £19.99, pb) was published this week
by Policy Press.
Here’s some literary Friday fun! Prof Kathryn
Sutherland, Austen expert and trustee of the Jane Austen House Museum has come
up with what BBC Arts claim is ‘the hardest Pride and Prejudice quiz ever.’
You can try it here to see if you know your Bingleys from
your Bennets, your Wickhams from your Williams, and indeed Fitzwilliams!
How can we put the ‘human’ back into
Human Resources? Combining her own research with twenty years’ experience of
leading OD and cultural change, Kath Howard encourages HR leaders to think big and to think
personal. Accessible and compelling, People Not
Paperclips (978 1788601337, pb, £14.99) is a refreshing blend of
practical insights, stories, and tools that will help you create an environment
in which people can do their best work. It’s just been published by Practical
Inspiration and there are articles in the newsletter of the Academy of Executive Coaching, the
March issue of Business & Management Magazine entitled 'How to move
beyond free fruit and table tennis to really engage staff', three pages in The
HR Director and a feature on Medium.com which you can read here.
We mentioned this a few weeks ago, and we
now have more information for you! Track Record (pb,
£13.99, 978 1902719832) the autobiography of Olympic gold medallist Darren Campbell will be published on 21 May by St
David’s Press – how exciting! Darren is one of Britain's most successful
and popular athletes, yet despite his prominence as a public figure the true
story that lies behind his fame and success has not been made public, until
now. Track Record
tells Darren’s remarkable story as an athlete, businessman and
broadcaster. From painfully humble and deprived beginnings in a father-less
home on one of Europe ‘s most notorious inner-city estates, Darren reveals his
life growing up on the streets of Moss Side, Manchester and how breaking out of
a cycle of misbehaviour and petty crime via his athletic ability transformed
his life.
Some good publicity for The Last Blue Mountain (£12.99,
pb, 978 1912560424), which is published by Vertebrate next week. There’s
a great review on LoveReading which you can read here saying ‘as I reached the end of The
Last Blue Mountain and closed the final page I confess I said a silent thanks.
It was not just to the late Ralph Barker for writing this excellent book, but to Tony
Streather and his fellow climbers, who are the kind of men who inspire us and
whose tales of bravery and resilience will continue to enthral for generations
to come.’ There’s more information in the Bookseller here.
Tune into Radio 3 tonight at
10pm to hear poet Mina Gorji on The Verb with Ian McMillan as they explores
the language of leaving, resettling and exile with songwriter Ana Silvera and
poets John McAuliffe, Igor Klikovac, and André Naffis-Sahely. You’ll be able to
listen to it here. Mina Gorji’s
colourful and vivid first collection, The Art of
Escape (pb, £9.99, 9781784108823) continues
her meticulous exploration of 'the strange and sometimes darker side of
nature' and the different forms and meanings of escape: dandelions crossing
the ocean, the journey of a gall wasp from Aleppo to England, the
transformation of an armadillo into music. It’s just been published by Carcanet.
And in this week’s Hot Topics, Compass
Points is a coronavirus-free zone, so here's the new song from Lady Gaga, here's the UK’s Eurovision entry and here's the latest Taylor Swift video!
That’s all folks, more next
week!
This weekly blog is written for the UK
book trade. If you would like to order any of the titles mentioned, then please
talk to your Compass Sales Manager, or call the Compass office on 020 8326
5696. Every Friday an e-newsletter containing highlights from the blog is sent
out to over 700 booksellers and if you’d like to receive this then please
contact nuala@compassips.london
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