James Barr

I see my publisher has added dismaying gloop like this to the relevant page on Amazon for one of my books. It is very depressing.

Thanks Christos: I am glad you are enjoying it.

Thank you

How Did We Get Here? - Israel and the Palestinians - 1: From Earliest Times to the Romans - BBC Sounds Jonny Dymond and guests explore the complicated back-story of the Middle East conflict

Highly recommend this ten part series in which Jonny Dymond and various experts examine the origins and trace the history of the Middle East conflict. All ten episodes can be found on @BBCSounds .
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

I stayed in Wadi Dana, which is briefly mentioned, when I went in 2004. Loved it. I am very keen to go back - perhaps next year.

There’s an alluring piece on tourism in Jordan in the FT.

Of course, I already knew that Lisa Nandy didn't give a stuff what I think. I'm a freelance working in the creative sector. She doesn't give a stuff what *any* of us think.

This is very good

Was the man from HMRC?

Jerusalem Post bio description of Tommy Robinson (aka Steven Yaxley-Lennon) as a “British patriot, street-level activist, and unapologetic truth-teller” who has tackled, inter alia, “globalist elites”.

You *what*, @thejerusalempost.bsky.social? Aside from anything else, have you stopped to consider the implications of the phrase “globalist elites”?

Interview often leads to a summary of a non-fiction book; it’s fine for fiction where one has to avoid spoilers.

I think the best I have ever seen was by Simon Sebag Montefiore just after he published Young Stalin. And he simply talked about the bank robbery which starts the story. Didn’t touch on the rest of the book but gave a brilliant sense of what it would be like. Plus no one short changed.

I think this is the big difference with an author talk which ideally serves as a trailer not a summary.

Was the man from HMRC?

Wow: Meta has been working on plans to add facial recognition technology to its AI smart glasses. nyti.ms/3Os1oxf

And this was the company’s cynical view on when, and how, to do it:

It all supports @stephenkb.bsky.social’s “wishful thinking” thesis. Nothing like enough scepticism and imagination being applied to these decisions.

It is so naive

Thank you - I think there will be

I am hard at it, Mesut, I promise

Unfortunately we need to build some reservoirs to store it in first.

Alas no: I have to get this pleasure vicariously.

Something I like about this picture is the fact that, on a summer's day, the cloud formations over the Stour valley so often look like this.

In great company on the ground floor at @waterstones.bsky.social Piccadilly

Could we sell this rain to drier countries?

Let me show you my Josephus #fatbookfriday

#fatbookfriday

In great company on the ground floor at @waterstones.bsky.social Piccadilly

I wonder how long Romeo will last.

Counter-Extremism Strategy - Hansard - UK Parliament Hansard record of the item : 'Counter-Extremism Strategy' on Thursday 12 February 2026.

What to do about extremism? My 4-minute answer (starts 2.10 pm) hansard.parliament.uk/Lords/2026-0....

Another classic of the “ignore everything before the but” genre