Book review

A cold weekend is the perfect time to finish Vaclav Smil’s new book. Smil restores your faith that complex issues can be communicated clearly and with real evidence.  People working in public policy and lobbying would be well served by reading Smil and emulating his style. Those who did so would stand out in Brussels … Read more

I hope every Commissioner-designate taped by their government to move to Brussels  reads Tony Blair’s new book “On Leadership”. First up, I am Blairite. This man was key to bringing peace to my homeland, Northern Ireland. When a fellow Labour Party staffer called me ” Blairite scum”, I said “Yes, I am” and took it … Read more

Charles Clover, ‘Rewilding the Sea. How to Save our Oceans‘ I owe Charles Clover a lot. He gave me a trip down memory lane and showed me optimism  is justified. I so enjoyed his other book, The End of Line , that I sent a signed copy to every Commissioner for the summer time reading. … Read more

Cal Newport Slow Productivity If you are a knowldge worker, you’ll like Cal Newport’s latest book. He makes the case for “Slow Productivity” – a philosphy for organising knowdlge work effors in a substainable and meaninful manner, based on 3 principles: Do fewer things. Work at a natural pace. Obess over quality. I’ll just extract … Read more