Want to know what books Matthew D'ancona recommends on their reading list? We've researched interviews, social media posts, podcasts, and articles to build a comprehensive list of Matthew D'ancona's favorite book recommendations of all time.
2
This accessible, rigorously researched and highly revealing book lifts the lid on political party membership. It represents the first in-depth study of the UK's six biggest parties - Labour, the Conservatives, the SNP, the Lib Dems, UKIP and the Greens - carried out simultaneously, thereby providing invaluable new insights into members' social characteristics, attitudes, activities and campaigning, reasons for joining and leaving, and views on how their parties should be run and who should represent them. In short, at a time of great pressure on, and change across parties, this book helps us... more This accessible, rigorously researched and highly revealing book lifts the lid on political party membership. It represents the first in-depth study of the UK's six biggest parties - Labour, the Conservatives, the SNP, the Lib Dems, UKIP and the Greens - carried out simultaneously, thereby providing invaluable new insights into members' social characteristics, attitudes, activities and campaigning, reasons for joining and leaving, and views on how their parties should be run and who should represent them. In short, at a time of great pressure on, and change across parties, this book helps us discover not only what members want out of their parties but what parties want out of their members.
This text is essential reading for those interested in political parties, party membership, elections and campaigning, representation, and political participation, be they scholars and students of British and comparative politics, politicians, journalists and party members - in short, anyone who cares about the future of representative democracy. less 
Matthew D'anconaThis is going to be an important political book - data-driven, with analysis by the great @ProfTimBale and team. https://t.co/sSY4iaNrxQ (Source)
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3
Hashi Mohamed came to Britain aged nine, a refugee from the Somali civil war. He attended some of Britain's worst schools and was raised exclusively on state benefits. Yet today he is a successful barrister, with an Oxford degree and a CV that includes appearances on the BBC.
In People Like Us, he explores what his own experience can tell us about social mobility in Britain today. Far from showing that anything is possible, he concludes his story is far from typical: our country is still riven with deep divisions that block children from deprived backgrounds from accessing the... more Hashi Mohamed came to Britain aged nine, a refugee from the Somali civil war. He attended some of Britain's worst schools and was raised exclusively on state benefits. Yet today he is a successful barrister, with an Oxford degree and a CV that includes appearances on the BBC.
In People Like Us, he explores what his own experience can tell us about social mobility in Britain today. Far from showing that anything is possible, he concludes his story is far from typical: our country is still riven with deep divisions that block children from deprived backgrounds from accessing the advantages that are handed to others from birth.
Confronting the stark statistics that reveal the depth of the problem, the problems of imagination and confidence that compound it, and offering inspirational advice for those hoping to change their own circumstances, People Like Us is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand modern Britain - and how we could change it for the better. less Matthew D'anconaDo read #PeopleLikeUs by @hm_hashi - it is a remarkable and important book. https://t.co/4Vab5q0TqP (Source)
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4
The far right is back with a vengeance. After several decades at the political margins, far right politics has again taken center-stage. Three of the world's largest democracies - Brazil, India and the United States - now have a radical right leader, while far right parties continue to increase their profile and support within Europe.
In this timely book, leading global expert on political extremism Cas Mudde provides a concise overview of the fourth wave of postwar far right politics, exploring its history, ideology, organization, causes and consequences as well as the responses... more The far right is back with a vengeance. After several decades at the political margins, far right politics has again taken center-stage. Three of the world's largest democracies - Brazil, India and the United States - now have a radical right leader, while far right parties continue to increase their profile and support within Europe.
In this timely book, leading global expert on political extremism Cas Mudde provides a concise overview of the fourth wave of postwar far right politics, exploring its history, ideology, organization, causes and consequences as well as the responses available to civil society, party and state actors to challenge its ideas and influence. What defines this current far right renaissance, Mudde argues, is its mainstreaming and normalization within the contemporary political landscape. Challenging orthodox thinking on the relationship between conventional and far right politics, Mudde offers a complex and insightful picture of one of the key political challenges of our time. less See more recommendations for this book...
5
Julia Ebner verfolgt hauptberuflich Extremisten. Undercover mischt sie sich unter Hacker, Terroristen, Trolle, Fundamentalisten und Verschwörer, sie kennt die Szenen von innen, von der Alt-Right-Bewegung bis zum Islamischen Staat, online wie offline. Ihr Buch macht Radikalisierung fassbar, es ist Erfahrungsbericht, Analyse, unmissverständlicher Weckruf.
Als Extremismusforscherin stellen sich ihr folgende Fragen: Wie rekrutieren, wie mobilisieren Extremisten ihre Anhänger? Was ist ihre Vision der Zukunft? Mit welchen Mitteln wollen sie diese Vision erreichen? Um Antworten zu finden,... more Julia Ebner verfolgt hauptberuflich Extremisten. Undercover mischt sie sich unter Hacker, Terroristen, Trolle, Fundamentalisten und Verschwörer, sie kennt die Szenen von innen, von der Alt-Right-Bewegung bis zum Islamischen Staat, online wie offline. Ihr Buch macht Radikalisierung fassbar, es ist Erfahrungsbericht, Analyse, unmissverständlicher Weckruf.
Als Extremismusforscherin stellen sich ihr folgende Fragen: Wie rekrutieren, wie mobilisieren Extremisten ihre Anhänger? Was ist ihre Vision der Zukunft? Mit welchen Mitteln wollen sie diese Vision erreichen? Um Antworten zu finden, schleust sich Julia Ebner ein in zwölf radikale Gruppierungen quer durch das ideologische Spektrum. Sozusagen von der anderen Seite beobachtet sie Planungen terroristischer Anschläge, Desinformationskampagnen, Einschüchterungsaktionen, Wahlmanipulationen. Sie erkennt, Radikalisierung folgt einem klaren Skript: Rekrutierung, Sozialisierung, Kommunikation, Mobilisierung, Angriff. less Matthew D'ancona‘Going Dark’ by @julie_renbe is a spectacularly good book: undercover journalism of the most intelligent kind and a must-read on contemporary extremism. (Source)
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6
A short, fascinating introduction to the concept of attention from Britain's leading psychoanalyst, author of Missing Out and On Kindness.
What we find of interest may tell us more than we think...
'Everything depends on what, if anything, we find interesting: on what we are encouraged and educated to find interesting, and what we find ourselves being interested in despite ourselves. There is our official curiosity and our unofficial curiosity (and psychoanalysis is a story about the relationship between the two) . . .'
Based... more A short, fascinating introduction to the concept of attention from Britain's leading psychoanalyst, author of Missing Out and On Kindness.
What we find of interest may tell us more than we think...
'Everything depends on what, if anything, we find interesting: on what we are encouraged and educated to find interesting, and what we find ourselves being interested in despite ourselves. There is our official curiosity and our unofficial curiosity (and psychoanalysis is a story about the relationship between the two) . . .'
Based on three connected talks on the subject of attention, this pocket-sized book is a quirky and memorable introduction to the concept of our attention - how we spend it, and what it might tell us about ourselves. From Britain's pre-eminent psychoanalyst, this is an essential new addition to the Adam Phillips canon.
'The best living essayist writing in English' - John Gray
less Matthew D'anconaLooking forward enormously to talking to the great Adam Phillips about his fascinating new book 'Attention Seeking' on Wednesday evening @howtoacademy. Do come along. https://t.co/JbDtWvdOBm (Source)
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When London journalist Clare Rewcastle Brown set up a small website highlighting environmental damage in Borneo, she didn't expect to bring down a government. But she stumbled upon one of the great scoops of all time: a multi-billion dollar heist, on the orders of a prime minister, which - among other things - was splurged on a major Hollywood movie, a $250 million yacht, one of the world's largest diamonds, a supermodel's see-through grand piano - and a whole lot of Cristal champagne. Following the trail through Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Abu Dhabi, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and the beautiful but... more When London journalist Clare Rewcastle Brown set up a small website highlighting environmental damage in Borneo, she didn't expect to bring down a government. But she stumbled upon one of the great scoops of all time: a multi-billion dollar heist, on the orders of a prime minister, which - among other things - was splurged on a major Hollywood movie, a $250 million yacht, one of the world's largest diamonds, a supermodel's see-through grand piano - and a whole lot of Cristal champagne. Following the trail through Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Abu Dhabi, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and the beautiful but threatened rainforests of Sarawak, this incredible true story reveals how one woman bravely tracked down the truth behind the 1MDB affair - and exposed the ruthless criminals who thought they had got away with it. * 'Rewcastle Brown is primarily responsible for exposing the worst larceny in East Asia in decades' Peter Alford, The Australian 'Clare's dogged (and, to some, more than a little annoying) persistence, and an incredible nose for the fishy stuff, uncovered the heist of the century' Tony Pua, Member of Parliament for Damansara, Malaysia * Author: Clare Rewcastle Brown is an investigative journalist who focuses on environmental destruction in Malaysia and global financial corruption. Co-Author: Eddie Barnes is a political advisor and a former journalist. He was political editor of The Scotsman and Scotland on Sunday between 2004 and 2013. Afterword by Gordon Brown, Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom less Matthew D'anconaCheck this out: an important book in the best traditions of journalistic truth-telling. https://t.co/BEnZugGoaI (Source)
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The first full biography of the notorious spy-- and an X-ray of the British ruling class that produced him.
Once an untouchable member of England's establishment-- a world-famous art historian and a man knighted by the Queen of England-- in a single stroke Anthony Blunt became an object of universal hatred when, in 1979, Margaret Thatcher exposed him as a Soviet spy.
In "Anthony Blunt: His Lives," Miranda Carter shows how one man lived out opposing trends of his century-- first as a rebel against his class, then as its epitome-- and yet embodied a deeper paradox. In the 1920s,... more The first full biography of the notorious spy-- and an X-ray of the British ruling class that produced him.
Once an untouchable member of England's establishment-- a world-famous art historian and a man knighted by the Queen of England-- in a single stroke Anthony Blunt became an object of universal hatred when, in 1979, Margaret Thatcher exposed him as a Soviet spy.
In "Anthony Blunt: His Lives," Miranda Carter shows how one man lived out opposing trends of his century-- first as a rebel against his class, then as its epitome-- and yet embodied a deeper paradox. In the 1920s, Blunt was a member of the Bloomsbury circle; in the 1930s he was a left-wing intellectual; in the 50s and 60s he became a camouflaged member of the Establishment. Until his treachery was made public, Blunt was a world-famous art historian, recognized for his ground-breaking work on Poussin, Italian art, and old master drawings; at the Courtauld Institute he trained a whole generation of academics and curators. And yet even as he ascended from rebellion into outward conformity, he was a homosexual when homosexuality was a crime, and a traitor when the penalty was death.
How could one man contain so many contradictions? The layers of secrecy upon which Blunt's life depended are here stripped away for the first time, using testimony from those who knew Blunt well but have until now kept silent and documents from sealed Russian archives, including a secret autobiography Blunt wrote for his controllers. Miranda Carter's "Anthony Blunt" is the first full biography of the mythical Cold War warrior, and is at once an astonishing history of one the century's greatest deceits and adeeply nuanced account of fifty years in the British power elite, as experienced by one deep inside who wished to bring it down.
less See more recommendations for this book...
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Carl Honor� captured the zeitgeist with his international bestseller,
In Praise of Slow
. Now he tackles another rising global movement: our revolutionary new approach to a human inevitability--ageing.
A revolution in how we age is on its way. Yes, ageing is inevitable: one year from now we will all be a year older; that will never change. What can and will change is how we age--and how we can all take a much bolder approach to doing it with vigour and joy.
The time has come to cast off prejudices and to blur the... more
Carl Honor� captured the zeitgeist with his international bestseller,
In Praise of Slow
. Now he tackles another rising global movement: our revolutionary new approach to a human inevitability--ageing.
A revolution in how we age is on its way. Yes, ageing is inevitable: one year from now we will all be a year older; that will never change. What can and will change is how we age--and how we can all take a much bolder approach to doing it with vigour and joy.
The time has come to cast off prejudices and to blur the lines of what is possible and permissible at every stage of life. In other words: we need to learn to re-imagine our approach to later life. Emboldening ourselves in older age demands big structural changes. For a start, we will have to tear up the old script that locks us into devoting the early part of our life to education, the middle chunk to working and raising kids, and whatever is left over at the end to leisure. In an age-inappropriate world, these silos will dissolve. We'll embrace the idea that we can carry on learning from start to finish; that we can work less and devote more time to family, leisure, and giving back to our communities in our middle years; and that we can remain active and engaged in our later years.
Carl Honor� has travelled the globe speaking to influential figures who are bucking preconceived notions of age, whether at work or in their personal lives. He looks at the cultural, medical, and technological developments that are opening new possibilities for us all. Bolder is a radical re-think of our approach to everything from education, healthcare and work, to design, relationships and politics. An essential and inspiring read for everyone interested in our collective future. less 
Arianna HuffingtonGreat excerpt from Carl Honoré's new book "Bolder" about how staying active has positive consequences on far more than just your physical health. https://t.co/kIPhTbUHs3 (Source)
Matthew D'anconaLooking forward very much to speaking tomorrow to the brilliant @carlhonore about his book 'Bolder' and the thrill of a longer life at this collaboration between @circle_sq and @tortoise. Do come along. https://t.co/amOhafLCe0 (Source)
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What does it mean to be Muslim in Britain today? If the media is anything to go by, it has something to do with mosques, community leaders, whether you wear a veil, and what your views on religious extremists are. But as all our lives become increasingly entwined with our online presence, British Muslims are taking to social media to carve their own narratives and tell their own stories, challenging stereotypes along the way.
Follow Me, Akhi explores how young Muslims in Britain are using the internet to determine their own religious identity, both within their communities and as... more What does it mean to be Muslim in Britain today? If the media is anything to go by, it has something to do with mosques, community leaders, whether you wear a veil, and what your views on religious extremists are. But as all our lives become increasingly entwined with our online presence, British Muslims are taking to social media to carve their own narratives and tell their own stories, challenging stereotypes along the way.
Follow Me, Akhi explores how young Muslims in Britain are using the internet to determine their own religious identity, both within their communities and as part of the country they live in.
Entering a world of Muslim dating apps, social media influencers, online preachers, and LGBTQ and ex-Muslim groups, journalist Hussein Kesvani explores how British Islam has evolved into a multi-dimensional cultural identity that goes well beyond the confines of the mosque. He shows how a new generation of Muslims who have grown up in the internet age use blogs, vlogging, and tweets to define their religion on their terms—something that could change the course of 'British Islam' forever. less 
Alan WhiteThis will be the best book published by a barista this year, mark my words https://t.co/XZgZIj22yo (Source)
Jess BrammarRead this brilliant extract from @HKesvani in the Saturday Times mag today, then go out and buy his book. Totally fascinating.
https://t.co/xk8rkEcRxR https://t.co/Dt5nFe1OBK (Source)
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