Reviews Articles
‘The Cambridge Companion to Quakerism’, edited by Stephen W Angell and Pink Dandelion
The big surprise in this book is that unprogrammed Friends number only about ten per cent of the world’s Friends. Kenya has the greatest number of Quakers, followed by the USA, and Bolivia. Kenya once had 1,500 Quaker schools, although some have been taken over by the government. Kenya, Bolivia,...
‘Beginner’s Luck’, by UA Fanthorpe
What constitutes a voice – that outward-and-audible sign of being who we are? Finding our voice always matters, but it has a special meaning in a poet’s case. The thing that makes the reader say ‘Ah, yes, that’s so-and-so’ in a couple of lines, that’s the writer’s ...
‘Bury the Chains: The British struggle to abolish slavery’, by Adam Hochschild
In 2014 I read Adam Hochschild’s To End All Wars, his brilliantly-written ‘story of protest and patriotism in the first world war’, which served as a useful corrective to the centenary commemorations. Bury the Chains is not a new book but it is tragic, compelling and as empowering as the...
‘Adam Smith: What he thought and why it matters’, by Jesse Norman
Jesse Norman’s new book is a bravura manifesto of how our politics and economics should be run. Many of us may have heard of The Wealth of Nations with its conceptualisation of markets and the ‘invisible hand’ that steers them. But Adam Smith also wrote its later chapters with...
‘Hester and Sophie’ by John Lampen
There is a scene about halfway through this book where one of the main characters, Hester, and her mum are talking about the Quaker view on God and spirituality. I said, “Him?” “Well, her if you like – or even it. I don’t think of God as a big Daddy...
Light in Darkness: The mystical philosophy of Jakob Böhme Coventry Cathedral (Until 5 July)
Why should anyone care about natural philosophy? This exhibition – an artistic and historical interpretation of Jakob Böhme and his work – offers an explanation. The display is superbly curated and animated by: Lucinda Martin, Universität Erfurt; Cecilia Muratori, University of Warwick; and Claudia Brink, State Art Collections, Dresden, Germany,...
Living Adventurously: Experiencing Quaker testimonies in Spirit and in the world
‘Live adventurously’ is a Quaker Advice that trips easily off the tongue, but I suspect that many of us are more comfortable in familiar settings and in the company of those people we see as being of our own kind. This latest title in the series of booklets produced by...
‘William Penn: A life’ by Andrew R Murphy
William Penn’s reputation is that of a Quaker saint. His words are often quoted by Friends, as is the anecdote of George Fox telling Penn to wear his sword as long as he could. He is renowned for his ‘Holy Experiment’ seeking to establish in Pennsylvania a political environment...
‘Annihilation’ directed by Alex Garland
This sci-fi thriller provokes serious spiritual questions about the interdependent nature of human life and the ecosystem. The story in a nutshell: an object from space smashes into a remote part of the US coastline, triggering an ecological event in which an area of swampland is colonised by a mysterious...
Brief Answers to the Big Questions by Stephen Hawking
Stephen Hawking was working on this book until the time of his death. It contains a valuable introduction by a friend and scientific collaborator, Kip Thorne, and a fond memoir by his daughter, Lucy.