This felt very much like the companion to Battling the Gods, but rather than talking about non-religious beliefs it is about the crushing wave of Christian thought drowning out pagan beliefs Continue reading
Category Archives: History
Book Review: Viking Britain – A History
What I appreciated from a historian’s point of view is where he pointed out “we don’t really know” or where there were competing historical interpretations Continue reading
Book review: Village Atheists
So the full title is Village Atheists: How America’s Unbelievers made their way in a a Godly Nation, and while it’s more academic in scope, it’s still so entirely readable. Continue reading
Book review: Lost Enlightenment
In short, the book looks at the period of Central Asian history of greatest scientific and other enquiry, taking us on an amazing voyage across a huge breadth of time and geography. Continue reading
Book review: Difficult Women
It’s not a chronological history, but tells stories about particular fights in the UK to advance the rights of women. I even knew some of the stories as they intersected with my PhD (like Marie Stopes being…eccentric). Continue reading
Book review: The Five
The central premise rejects the claims that the women were all prostitutes, but more importantly it was to actually give space for their lives to be told. And they are just such heartbreaking stories: domestic abuse, infidelity, alcoholism, bereavement. Continue reading
Book review: The Silk Roads
The Silk Roads by Peter Frankopan was a really fascinating read and I enjoyed so many aspects of the book. Continue reading
Book review: Battling the Gods: Atheism in the Ancient World
Oh hi. I’ve been kind of occupied by PhD land. But this book is part of PhD land so I’ve decided to review it. I first heard about Time Whitmarsh’s book last year, when I helped organise a history conference on atheism, secularism and humanism. It was the talk of the conference! But it took … Continue reading
Book review: Hidden Figures
Hidden Figures looks at the careers of three black women in NASA (all amazing mathematicians): Katherine G Johnson, Mary Jackson and Dorothy Vaughan. It mixes their history alongside that of events in the United States, such as the Civil Rights Movement and the Cold War. Continue reading
Fantasy / History / Podcast / Science Fiction
Episode 1: The Interminables
In the first episode of Science Fiction Double Feature, I talk to Paige Orwin about the amazing The Interminables and discuss the history of magic with Professor Frank Klaassen. Continue reading
