JOHN GREEN is fascinated by a history that excavates the enormous role played by agricultural workers in recent times
Not in it together
PAUL DONOVAN appreciates a candid analysis of the the inequality of today’s UK
shattered
ALEX HALL recommends a book that places empirical evidence at the heart of understanding racism
A recognition that individually we are powerless both politically and socially is essential, writes GORDON PARSONS
Ben Cowles speaks with IAN ‘TREE’ ROBINSON and ANDY DAVIES, two of the string pullers behind the Manchester Punk Festival, ahead of its 10th year show later this month
PAUL FOLEY is disappointed by a production that encourages the audience to laugh at rather than with the characters
Odysseus’s homecoming myth is treated as a factual story, with strong resonances for our contemporary world. This is an implicit anti-war film that has an urgent relevance, writes JOHN GREEN
The Star's critics ANDY HEDGECOCK, MARTIN HALL, MICHAL BONCZA, ANGUS REID reviews Holy Cow, One to One: John and Yoko, King of Kings, Panda Bear in Africa
Shattered Nation
Danny Dorling, Verso, £14.99
THIS excellent book from Danny Dorling provides a comprehensive picture of the way in which the UK has effectively shattered as a functioning country.
Education, health, welfare, transport and the utilities have all been destroyed by the neoliberal creed of the market knows best, making it “a society that knows the cost of everything and the value of nothing.”
The central thesis of Shattered Nation is how Britain has become one of the most unequal countries in the world. In Europe, it is second only to Bulgaria when it comes to inequality. Not that it was always thus — Britain was one of the most equal countries back in the 1970s. Income disparities were at their lowest in 1974.
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PAUL DONOVAN applauds a timely play that explores the resonances of McCarthyite nationalism in today’s US
PAUL DONOVAN is fascinated by an account of the long history of Catholic Church’s involvement in espionage