CityReads│The Top 12 Book Reviews of 2016 by LSE RB

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The Top 12 Book Reviews of 2016 by LSE RB

LSE Review of Books selects the top 12 books based on the most popular reviews on the LSE RB blog.

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Branko Milanovic offers a new account of the dynamics that are driving inequality on a global scale. Duncan Green praised this brilliant and thought-provoking book for its political curiosity and insight and, more particularly, for its reflections on the possible trajectory of inequality in the twenty-first century.

Lene Tanggaard and Charlotte Wegener offer a hands-on guide for both students and supervisors that seeks to engage with the ‘actual and messy practices of doctoral training’. Contributing to an already dense field of literature on the research process, the book is at its most engaging and involving when it draws on personal anecdotes, case studies and email exchanges and risks reflecting on moments of failure as well as success.

An intellectual journey through the work of David Harvey over the past five decades, compiling chapters and article excerpts from different periods in his career accompanied by retrospective commentary and insight from Harvey himself. Taken together, this collection serves as an excellent introduction to the theorist’s influential body of thought and makes a convincing call for readers to join the struggle for social justice.

Paul Donovan gives global investors of all abilities the tools to understand inflation and how they can protect their portfolios against its risks. The book challenges lingering myths and misperceptions surrounding inflation, helping readers to better grasp what it actually is and what it is not.

Daniel Strieff seeks to reappraise Jimmy Carter’s perceived role as a peacemaker in the Middle East during his presidency. Jeff Roquen particularly welcomed the volume’s engagement with the impact of the US media on public perceptions of the ‘Palestinian Question’.

Amartya Sen offers a collection of thirteen essays that could be read as a ‘best of’ set of his reflections on Indian society, economics, culture, policy and intellectual thought. Writing on Sen’s defence of the importance of reasoned argument and plurality, Rishita Nandagiri praised this clarion call against injustice for its accessibility, dry wit and engaging conversational style.

6. Why We Can’t Afford the Rich. Revised ed. Andrew Sayer. Policy Press. 2015. 

Against the backdrop of rising economic inequality, Andrew Sayer tackles the myth that the rich are vital wealth creators. Instead, he outlines the negative societal and environmental impact of unsustainable growth and extreme concentrations of wealth. Winner of the 2015 British Academy Peter Townsend Prize, this is a readable and persuasive book.

5. Networks of Outrage and Hope: Social Movements in the Internet Age. 2nd edition. Manuel Castells. Polity. 2015.

Sociologist Manuel Castells conceptualizes the relationship between social movements and the internet age through the notion of ‘the networked social movement’. While the book utilizes an admirable empirical dataset and shows deep understanding of the fluidity of contemporary social movements, Helton Levy wondered if Castells’s optimistic vision neglects lingering issues, including state surveillance and the digital divide.

4. The Refusal of Work: The Theory and Practice of Resistance to Work. David Frayne. Zed Books. 2015 and Inventing the Future: Postcapitalism and a World Without Work. Nick Srnicek and Alex Williams. Verso. 2015.

In their long read review, ‘What Will We Do in the Post-Work Utopia?’, Mareile Pfannebecker and J.A. Smith examined two recent books offering coordinates for thinking through a future ‘end of work’ moment. While David Frayne, Nick Srnicek and Alex Williams are rigorous in outlining the desirability of ending, or radically reducing, the amount of work we do, Pfannebecker and Smith reflected on the overarching challenge of considering who we fundamentally are when we no longer depend on paid work.

Peter Frankopan seeks to counter the Eurocentric tendency to see globalisation solely as a process of Western expansion by providing a comprehensive history of intellectual, physical and commercial exchange across The Silk Roads of Persia. With the review published to coincide with , Lee Evans praised the detail, zeal and passion that characterises Frankopan’s account.

2. Israel and South Africa: The Many Faces of Apartheid. Ilan Pappé (ed.). Zed Books. 2015.

Ilan Pappé offers an edited collection that seeks to expand upon controversial comparisons between the segregated political system of apartheid South Africa and that of contemporary Israel. Claire Constant welcomed this as a nuanced volume that seeks to learn from the struggles against apartheid in South Africa and to animate important discussions about the possibilities of finding a single-state solution.

1. Realpolitik: A History. John Bew. Oxford University Press. 2016.

While ‘realpolitik’ has often been understood negatively, associated primarily with Henry Kissinger and used to denote cynical approaches to foreign policy, John Bew offers a more nuanced history of the term by tracing its development from its initial conception in mid-nineteenth-century Germany to the present day. In the most read review of 2016, Robert Ledger applauded this expertly written and fascinating text for showing the importance of considering ideas as embedded within particular, and changing, social contexts. Those who read this work will view ‘realpolitik’ in a new light.

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