Spokesman Books

Nottingham's Antenna Media Centre is set to host the launch of the physical manifestation of Dawn of the Unread . For those who may be hearing about this project for the first time, it began as a series of interactive webcomics fea turing Nottingham 's prominent literary figures , and which consider ed our contemporary engagement with books and learning resources . N ow the stories have been bound together as a paperback collection, edited by James Walker of local LeftLion magazine. It has been printed by Spokesman Books in association with the UNESCO-accredited Nottingham City of Literature project. The launch will take place on 11 November, beginning at 7.30pm and ending at 9.30pm. To purchase tickets, and for further information, see: https://nottsfol.co.uk/event/dawn-of-the-unread/

During 2016, the debate about Trident has great salience as the British government seeks parliamentary approval for its intention to build four new 'Successor' submarines to replace the ageing and increasingly decrepit Vanguard Class (see Substandard , Spokesman 129 ). This is a hugely expensive and technically challenging programme, vulnerable to cost overruns in a similar way to the programme to build the smaller Astute attack submarines at Barrow-in-Furness in northern England. Have such lessons about costs really been learned? Contents Editorial Vintage Trident - Ton y Simpson Force for good? - Cdr Robert Green Downwinders and other Casualties - Lawrence S. Wittner New Cold War? - Johnathan Steele China, Bri tain and Labour - Jenny C legg Labour Movement - Jeremy Corbyn MP 'So far as ma y be lawful' - Len McCluskey Architect or Bee? - Frances O'Grad y Suffragette - Jo Vellacott 'Economy' no more? ...

Tower Hamlets Local History Library & Archives will play host to an upcoming exhibition on News International and the Wapping Dispute. Please click on the flyer images below for a larger view. Spokesman Book's title Bad News: The Wapping Dispute , by John Lang and Graham Dodkins, is available from the Trade Union Classics section of our website.  

Another featured article from the latest issue of The Spokesman comes from the 2011 edition of J. A. Hobson's Imperialism . Jeremy Corbyn penned the book's foreword, which we reprint here under the title 'Internationalist at Work'. As a separate point of interest, we also include this comparative image of the logo of publication The Week, circa 1960s, and Corbyn's recent campaign logo. Cut from the same cloth ?  Internationalist at Work J. A. Hobson wrote his great tome at a different age. His thoughts were dominated by the zenith of the British Empire and the Boer War. The outcome of the war demonstrated Britain’s then ability in sustaining global reach, since Elizabethan times, but also its extreme vulnerability. At home the poor physique of working class soldiers led to Haldane’s investigation into working class health and living conditions. The difficulty in containing the rebellious Boers, and the huge opposition to the war, encouraged furt...

Issue 130 of The Spokesman , 'One Belt, One Road', is now available. Among the books reviewed in this issue are two titles on pacifism and conscientious objection: The World is My Country , by Emily Johns and Gabriel Carlyle, and Refusing to Kill , by Oliver Haslam and PPU Publications Group.  Cranks and Kites Two peace-oriented publishers; two different approaches to presenting the lives of conscientious objectors and opponents of the First World War. The World is My Country calls itself a ‘celebration’, whereas Refusing to Kill is a more sombre appraisal, and pulls no punches. Read together, they prove there is room to remember both the anguish and the triumphs of this extremely diverse group. Refusing to Kill is primarily intended for use by teachers and students, as the layout and language indicate. It outlines the various forms of conscientious objection, such as non-combatant COs, who would drill and train but not serve; those who submitted to alternative l...

Reds , showing Sunday 25 October, 14:00, Regent Street Cinema 'Celebrating acclaimed playwright and screenwriter Trevor Griffiths’ 80th birthday this year, Warren Beatty’s epic, Academy Award winning drama of the Russian Revolution (which Griffiths wrote) is showing where it needs to – on the big screen. Co-starring Diane Keaton, Jack Nicholson and Gene Hackman among many others, it’s a remarkable achievement.' Visit Regent Street Cinema's page here , for more information on the event, and to book tickets. Copies of Trevor Griffiths' published works will be on sale at the screening, and can also be found on the website of Spokesman Books at the following address: http://www.spokesmanbooks.com/acatalog/Trevor_Griffiths.html

Nottingham’s Albert Hall hosts the hotly-anticipated Rally for Corbyn on Thursday, 20 th August at 7pm. Doors open 6pm.   Alongside Jeremy Corbyn MP, speakers will be Richard Murphy, Manuel Cortes, Annmarie Kilcline, Tony Kearns, Nadia Whittome and Umaar Kazmi, with chair Cheryl Butler. Due to the high level of interest in this event, an early arrival is advised. Online event pages for the rally can be found on Corbyn’s campaign website ( http://www.jeremyforlabour.com/rally_for_corbyn_nottingham ) and on Facebook ( https://www.facebook.com/events/1040901972596312/ ). Venue address: Albert Hall North Circus Street Nottingham NG1 5AA Spokesman Books invites readers to revisit J. A. Hobson’s Imperialism (2011 edition), for which Corbyn penned a foreword. The following thoughts are taken from his contribution: Reading Hobson’s works now, at the end of the first decade of the twenty first century, and acknowledging all that has happened in...

'Raymond Williams was one of the left's great thinkers - he deserves to be rediscovered' So asserts Geoff Dayer's recent New Statesman article. We reproduce it here. Follow this link for Spokesman Books' selection of works by Williams: http://www.spokesmanbooks.com/acatalog/Raymond_Williams.html *** A hero of the 1968 generation, Raymond Williams was inextricably linked to where he came from and common experience. In an era of diluted politics, it's time to return to his work. “I come from Pandy . . .” The first words spoken by Raymond Williams in  Politics and Letters:   Interviews with New Left Review  (1979) may not have quite the rolling loquacity of the opening line of Saul Bellow’s  Adventures of Augie March  – “I am an American, Chicago born . . .” – but in their brisk way they bespeak a similar confidence. Bellow’s narrator immediately situates his experience in the heart of America; Williams announced one of his main concerns in the...

Our recent title A Pacifist at War caught the eye of James Walker at LeftLion magazine. You can read his review here: http://www.leftlion.co.uk/articles.cfm/title/book-reviews--february-2015/id/7228 A Pacifist at War: Letters and Writings 1914-1918 Edited by Nicholas Griffin ISBN: 978 0 85124 870 Price: £9.99 Available online from Spokesman Books at http://www.spokesmanbooks.com/acatalog/New_Products.html

War Against War! found a spot among The Observer 's Books of the Year 2014.  Paul Mason, Economics Editor at Channel 4 News, recently reviewed it as part of a reflection on war journalism - w e are excited that he has now given it a further commendation in this feature. His comments on War Against War! , printed on Sunday 30th November, read as follows: 'My favourite book of 2014 is the newly reissued facsimile of War Against War! (Spokesman Books) by Ernst Friedrich; first published in 1924, it showed the shocking pictorial truth about the injuries and devastation of the first world war. It was great preparation for reporting on the Gaza conflict...' *** War Against War!  by Ernst Friedrich is available from Spokesman Books at: http://www.spokesmanbooks.com/acatalog/shop.html [scroll down]