In Written: How to Keep Writing and Build a Habit That Lasts, Bec Evans and Chris Smith offer a concise guide to readers looking to develop effective writing practices tailored to personalised writing styles. ‘Written’ will be an invaluable guide to th…
Category: Book Reviews
Book Review: Paradoxes of Digital Disengagement: In Search of the Opt-Out Button by Adi Kuntsman and Esperanza Miyake
In Paradoxes of Digital Disengagement: In Search of the Opt-Out Button – available open access from University of Westminster Press – Adi Kuntsman and Esperanza Miyake explore digital disconnection across fields including health, the welfare system, ci…
Book Review: The Science and Art of Interviewing by Kathleen Gerson and Sarah Damaske
In The Science and Art of Interviewing, Kathleen Gerson and Sarah Damaske offer a new overview of why interviewing is a useful and powerful research tool and how we can make better use of it. Guiding us through the process, from identifying our researc…
How academics review books (and each other)
The editorial guidelines for academic book reviews regularly instruct authors to focus on the content of the works being reviewed, rather than the authors. But, how far does this hold true in practice? Drawing on evidence from historical book reviews, …
Book Review: The Surprisingly Imprecise History of Measurement
In this cross-post, Christie Aschwanden reviews James Vincent’s Beyond Measure, The Hidden History of Measurement, finding a book which highlights the social complexity and limits to measurement, whilst at the same time opening up new ways of kno…
Book Review: Horizon Work: At the Edge of Knowledge in an Age of Runaway Climate Change by Adriana Petryna
In Horizon Work: At the Edge of Knowledge in an Age of Runaway Climate Change, Adriana Petryna explores ‘horizoning’ as a conceptual device that sets up new ranges and circumstances for action in the face of climate crisis. Drawing on interviews with e…
Book Review: A Research Agenda for Experimental Economics edited by Ananish Chaudhuri
In A Research Agenda for Experimental Economics, Ananish Chaudhuri brings together researchers in behavioural economics to explore the contribution of decision-making experiments to social science research. This wide-ranging collection will be of value…
Book Review: Cloud Empires: How Digital Platforms Are Overtaking the State and How We Can Regain Control by Vili Lehdonvirta
In Cloud Empires: How Digital Platforms Are Overtaking the State and How We Can Regain Control, Vili Lehdonvirta argues that the internet has become ruled by Silicon Valley despots who govern new marketplaces and need to be held more accountable, write…
Book Review: How the World Really Works: A Scientist’s Guide to Our Past, Present and Future by Vaclav Smil
In How the World Really Works: A Scientist’s Guide to Our Past, Present and Future, Vaclav Smil explores seven fundamental areas that govern human survival and prosperity, covering topics such as food production, energy and globalisation. While Smil’s…
Book Review: Driving With Strangers: What Hitchhiking Tells Us about Humanity by Jonathan Purkis
In Driving With Strangers: What Hitchhiking Tells Us about Humanity, Jonathan Purkis argues that the nature of hitchhiking and its place in the world has important things to tell us both about who we are and who we might be. This hopeful book suggests …