The Spectator’s notes
And: Simon Danczuk’s ‘dark place’; public appointments; Matt Ridley; David Pryce-Jones; university standards
Moderate Muslims are not particularly moderate
There is an ocean between what British Muslims believe and what the rest of us believe
Oxford in my day was another, better world
We were never being boring – but we knew how to be self-disciplined and rigorous
If you’re riding the FTSE rebound you might still want to sell in May
Also in Any Other Business: Brexit forecasts, renationalising steel, the future of hotels and Standard Chartered
Obama’s overreach
The British politicians counting on his endorsement don’t understand the resentment he can cause
He speaks for America
Disagree with him if you like. But don’t underestimate his support — or the strength of his case
How to save Conservatism
The former Work and Pensions Secretary on the fallout from his shock resignation
Stress point
All I need is a clear job description, mastery of my space, and the absence of a ‘team’ that is ‘on my side’
A mirror to the world
The latest crop of anniversary books shows just what an astonishing mirror to changing culture his work can be
Get thee to a notary
John Kerrigan’s examination of the many vows, oaths, promises, pledges and profanities contained in Shakespeare’s plays provides further rewarding reading
When in Rome…
Roberto Bolaño’s ‘novelita’ of orphaned siblings and mute lookalikes planning a crime spree in Rome ends in a strange red glow of ambiguity
Two gone girls
When a cold case of child-murder is reopened, the investigator’s own daughter goes missing in Hideo Yokoyama’s spellbinding thriller, Six Four
Not so bird-brained after all
One’s a perfect genius and the other’s a perfect mystery, say Jennifer Ackerman and Tim Birkhead, in two enthralling new books on bird behaviour
More blood and tears
After a spell of clean living in Santa Barbara, Renton’s frenemy returns to Edinburgh, and more carnage, in Irvine Welsh’s The Blade Artist
Thetans under threat
Lawrence Wright’s astonishing exposé of Scientology, which appeared in the States in 2013, has finally found a brave British publisher
Symbols of eternity
Bob Brier reveals how most of these great symbols of eternity, now lost to Egypt, have ended up in the Eternal City
All the world’s a stage
Kings of War is the brainchild of Belgian director Ivo van Hove, who explains why Shakespeare is often much more dramatic when not done in English
Death and the Bard
The cause of the Bard’s demise has always been pretty shadowy. Some say he died of fever, others syphilis. Lloyd Evans examines the evidence
Shakespeare400
Shakespeare400 has made the playwright into a brand, an icon to be name-checked but rarely grappled with
