Michael Dwyer

Mapping the shifting mental boundaries of Europe Two books look at how so much central and eastern Europe identity has long been defined by an animosity to Moscow

'Now, Jukic writes that, in recent discussion, Ukraine has become an “archetypal Kunderian state” — a country whose heart belongs in the west but one stunted by an imperial Kremlin.' @hurstpublishers.bsky.social @ljukic.bsky.social
www.ft.com/content/6b1c...

Tasty new book makes case for the 'King of Fishes' 'Herripedia' man Graeme swims into print

www.culturednortheast.co.uk/p/tasty-new-... 'Rigby believes our attitude to the fish might be a hangover from the darkest of days when badly processed herring was shipped to the Caribbean as cheap food for slaves on the plantations.' @hurstpublishers.bsky.social

An experiment:

If you see this post, please like it. Am comparing numbers to the other place for a piece.

Rigby’s Encyclopaedia of the Herring Rigby’s Encyclopaedia of the Herring is a one-stop definitive herring information source - fisheries & fishing, history, natural history, cures, recipes & culture.

Out this month: Rigby's Encyclopaedia of the Herring, by @rigbysherrings.bsky.social. About the Atlantic Herring and its far-reaching dominions. From @hurstpublishers.bsky.social @michaeldwyer.bsky.social www.herripedia.com

Cover of a book in colour with a photograph of a suited Asian man against an urban British backdrop with an advertising poster above his head.

'This book comes at a crucial moment in Britain’s history. It redefines not only our past, but assembles the ingredients to construct a possible future from the country’s maligned and often misunderstood multicultural reality.’ — Johny Pitts, author of Afropean: Notes from Black Europe

A book cover jacket in red and black showing Kim Il-Sung the former dictator of North Korea.

Nice review by John Delury in Global Asia of the recent @hurstpublishers.bsky.social biography of Kim-Il Sung, by Fyodor Tertitskiy.

So You Want to Own Greenland?: Lessons from the Vikings to Trump Buy So You Want to Own Greenland?: Lessons from the Vikings to Trump: Read Books Reviews - Amazon.com

IR Book of the Week!

"So You Want to Own Greenland?" by Elizabeth Buchanan. Trump is only the latest leader to desire controlling the key arctic island. This book explores why and how, going forward, it will be central to the "Great Game" of arctic competition.

The Bagpipes: A Fresh Look at a Familiar Symbol The Bagpipes: A Cultural History, Richard McLauchlan, Hurst and Company, £20. Review by Vivien Williams Richard McLauchlan’s The Bagpipes: A Cultural History sets out to do something both audacious…

The Bagpipes: A Fresh Look at a Familiar Symbol bellacaledonia.org.uk/2025/09/22/t...

The Bagpipes: A Fresh Look at a Familiar Symbol The Bagpipes: A Cultural History, Richard McLauchlan, Hurst and Company, £20. Review by Vivien Williams Richard McLauchlan’s The Bagpipes: A Cultural History sets out to do something both audacious…

The Bagpipes: A Fresh Look at a Familiar Symbol bellacaledonia.org.uk/2025/09/22/t...

Is the long-feared US civil-liberties crackdown finally here? - Monocle As Disney voluntarily pulls Jimmy Kimmel Live!, much to the White House’s glee, what does the US’s latest crackdown on...

Latest Daily on Monocle Radio. @mlorimer.bsky.social and @mgmessmer.bsky.social on Trump's crackdown on the menace of late-night chat show hosts and the day's other stuff, plus @warmatters.bsky.social on his terrific new book "War In The Smartphone Age". monocle.com/radio/shows/...

'Change is coming': Brendan O’Hara reviews 'So You Want to Own Greenland?' Elizabeth Buchanan has produced a well-written and timely study of this hotly contested, gigantic frozen island

www.politicshome.com/opinion/arti...

cc: @greyhoundliterary.bsky.social @hurstpublishers.bsky.social @michaeldwyer.bsky.social

A new reckoning with caste beyond India - LSE Review of Books Caste: A Global Story by Suraj Yengde explores caste from both a Dalit and global perspective, critiquing caste’s enduring structures and calling for justice.

blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofb...

Why the young worship folk horror Why Gen-Z and Millennials are flocking to folk horror screenings of The Wicker Man at London’s St Giles’s Church.

Wrote this about the cross-generational appeal of the Wicker Man for The Spectator
www.spectator.co.uk/article/why-...

It was fantastic talking to @jshermcyber.bsky.social on the @lawfaremedia.org pod. Thanks for asking such great questions that really engaged with the things I discuss in War in the Smartphone Age.

cc: @michaeldwyer.bsky.social @hurstpublishers.bsky.social @greyhoundliterary.bsky.social

Book review: Dazzling Darkness: The lives and afterlives of the Christian mystics by James Harpur This survey of mystic whets Claire Gilbert’s spiritual appetite

www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/202... @hurstpublishers.bsky.social

Only 4 to go until St John’s Day, when the Dutch fleet would gather for the start of the herring season off the Shetlands. A little invention is always needed to see you through the dark months.

Book’s out 25th Sept and there’s a launch at Newcastle’s Lit & Phil, Thu 9th Oct, 7.30pm (free, but book: bit.ly/4lesXoU). There will be herring snacks.

Gosh! 25% off @Waterstones already and it isn’t even out yet! #WPreorder But you must order by 23.59, Thu 31 Jul and, having clicked on Add Promotion Code in the Checkout, enter SUMMER25 - someone up there wants you to know more about herrings! www.waterstones.com/book/rigbys-...

Many thanks to Dr Kathryn Brimblecombe-Fox and @aspi-org.bsky.social for publishing this review of my book.

cc @hurstpublishers.bsky.social @michaeldwyer.bsky.social @greyhoundliterary.bsky.social

The curious death of pagan Europe In Lithuania – Europe’s last pagan kingdom – the death of the old religions was neither swift nor absolute. They lingered on, revealing a slower, stranger story of Christian conversion.

'a masterful guide through Lithuania’s journey from Europe’s last pagan state to the far smaller nation-state it is today'
@hurstpublishers.bsky.social @dankaszeta.bsky.social @paullay.bsky.social
engelsbergideas.com/reviews/the-...

Gaza is a largely flat piece of land bordering to 2 countries with reasonable infrastructure. So we’re going to drop aid from the air ffs.

The secret British history of South America In Small Earthquakes, Shafik Meghji uncovers Britain’s forgotten connections with Latin America, from Welsh tea rooms to red phone boxes

www.thetimes.com/article/f371...

‘If an instrument is needed to evoke the highs and lows of human nature there is no better choice than the bagpipes.’
pipingpress.com/2025/07/09/r... @hurstpublishers.bsky.social

The Survival of Syria’s Damask Rose Every spring, the valuable flowers bloom, a symbol of the country that has persisted through bloodshed, exploitation and drought

newlinesmag.com/spotlight/th...

Worried the World Is Falling Apart? That’s OK. It’s Happened Before.

Worried the World Is Falling Apart? That’s OK. It’s Happened Before.

A review of two new books

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/06/b...

Secret Russian Intelligence Document Shows Deep Suspicion of China

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/07/w...

“Cracking the Crab: Russian Espionage Against Japan, from Peter the Great to Richard Sorge” by James DJ Brown Russia came late to Japan, but devoted considerable energies to grappling with one of the world’s great intelligence challenges and penetrating the insular Asian nation once the Japanese shifted in…

Today in the ARB: Stephen Mercado reviews “Cracking the Crab: Russian Espionage Against Japan, from Peter the Great to Richard Sorge” by James DJ Brown @hurstpublishers.bsky.social @oxunipress.bsky.social asianreviewofbooks.com/cracking-the...

Podcast with Vappala Balachandran, author of “China at Odds in the Asian Century: A Diplomatic and Strategic History” China and India have had a tense relationship, disagreeing over territory, support for each other’s rivals, and even, at times, leadership of the “Global South.” But there were periods where things…

Drops today: this week's ARB @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social podcast with Nicholas Gordon in conversation with Vappala Balachandran, author of “China at Odds in the Asian Century: A Diplomatic and Strategic History” @hurstpublishers.bsky.social asianreviewofbooks.com/podcast-with...

A gorgeous cover and an intriguing premise for a book-length study