Book Reviews

In this section of the blog you can read reviews of all the latest books relevant to British politics and policy. Each Sunday we publish a review originating from the LSE Review of Books, aiming to cover a wide range of academic and non-academic books on all aspects of public policy and politics. Whether you’re interested in Benjamin Disraeli’s influence on David Cameron’s policies, the inside story of the Miliband Labour leadership battle, or the history of women in British politics since the 1700s, you’re sure to find all the essential information on these pages. Scroll down to browse the archive.

If you’d like to read more reviews of academic titles from across the social sciences, visit our sister blog, the LSE Review of Books. And if you’re interested in writing a review for the blog or if you would like to see your book reviewed here, please contact our our book reviews editor Amy Mollett at lsereviewofbooks@lse.ac.uk.

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Book Review | Contentious Rituals: Parading the Nation in Northern Ireland

Book Review | Contentious Rituals: Parading the Nation in Northern Ireland

In Contentious Rituals: Parading the Nation in Northern Ireland, Jonathan S. Blake offers a new examination of the complex phenomenon of Protestant parading in Northern Ireland, drawing on carefully compiled sociological and ethnographic data to argue that, in the words of his participants, what motivates the majority of paraders, musicians and spectators is not political, ethnic or religious chauvinism, but rather commitment […]

February 16th, 2020|Book Reviews, Featured|0 Comments|

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Book Review | Are Filter Bubbles Real?

Book Review | Are Filter Bubbles Real?

As references to echo chambers and filter bubbles become ubiquitous in contemporary discourse, Axel Bruns offers a riposte in Are Filter Bubbles Real?, which questions the existence of these phenomena. While not convinced by all of the author’s arguments, Ignas Kalpokas welcomes the book as a must-read for those looking to critically reflect on some of the assumptions surrounding […]

February 2nd, 2020|Book Reviews, Featured|0 Comments|

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Book Review | From Spinster to Career Woman: Middle-Class Women and Work in Victorian England

Book Review | From Spinster to Career Woman: Middle-Class Women and Work in Victorian England

In From Spinster to Career Woman: Middle-Class Women and Work in Victorian England, Arlene Young explores changing perceptions of women’s work in mid-Victorian England and the lingering anxieties surrounding the growing cultural acceptance of the figure of the middle-class working woman. This book offers a fresh perspective on the Victorian period and will be a welcome addition to the bookshelves […]

January 26th, 2020|Book Reviews, Featured|0 Comments|

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Book Review | Taking the Floor: Models, Morals and Management in a Wall Street Trading Room

Book Review | Taking the Floor: Models, Morals and Management in a Wall Street Trading Room

In Taking the Floor: Models, Morals and Management in a Wall Street Trading Room, Daniel Beunza analyses how the use of economic models and the moral disengagement this has created have significantly transformed the global financial industry through an ethnographic study conducted at an equity derivatives trading room of an international bank located in New York City. This is a significant contribution […]

January 19th, 2020|Book Reviews, Featured|0 Comments|

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Book Review | After Extinction

Book Review | After Extinction

What comes after extinction? In After Extinction, editor Richard Grusin brings together contributors to address this question by considering extinction within cultural, artistic, media and biological debates. This is a timely contribution to contemporary discussions regarding the future of our planet, writes Anda Pleniceanu, that will leave readers with a renewed perspective on the relevance of the humanities to understanding our […]

January 12th, 2020|Book Reviews, Featured|0 Comments|

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Book Review | Footsoldiers: Political Party Membership in the 21st Century

Book Review | Footsoldiers: Political Party Membership in the 21st Century

Although tens of millions of adults turn out to vote at UK general elections having decided which party’s policies and leaders they prefer, very few of them join those parties, let alone actively participate in and promote them. Who are those few, why do they join and what do they do? Ron Johnston reviews the latest book reporting on […]

January 5th, 2020|Book Reviews, Featured|0 Comments|

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Book Review | Cameron: The Politics of Modernisation and Manipulation

Book Review | Cameron: The Politics of Modernisation and Manipulation

In Cameron: The Politics of Modernisation and Manipulation, Timothy Heppell offers a new analysis of David Cameron’s leadership of the Conservative party (2005-16) and of the UK, organised around the key themes of modernisation and manipulation. In his admirably objective study, drawing on compendious reading of relevant sources, Heppell demonstrates that while Cameron’s attempts to ‘de-toxify’ his party are important […]

December 29th, 2019|Book Reviews, Featured|0 Comments|

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Book Review | Unbound: How Inequality Constricts Our Economy and What We Can Do About It

Book Review | Unbound: How Inequality Constricts Our Economy and What We Can Do About It

In Unbound: How Inequality Constricts Our Economy and What We Can Do About It, Heather Boushey offers an almost encyclopaedic account of inequality’s impact on the US economy, focusing on the way in which inequality obstructs, subverts and distorts. While this is a valuable compilation of the growing evidence that inequality is damaging the US economy, Liam Kennedy argues that the book neglects […]

November 24th, 2019|Book Reviews, Featured|0 Comments|