Republished from Caribbean New Now!
caribbeannewsnow.com
Book review: The iPINIONS Journal – Commentaries on the Global Events of 2013 by Anthony L. Hall
Published on March 21, 2014
As if to remind us all of the sometimes distressingly swift passage of time, Caribbean News Now op-ed columnist Anthony Hall has published his ninth retrospective compendium of insight and observations on the major events of our times.
Hall’s latest look back — The iPINIONS Journal – Commentaries on the Global Events 2013 — covers his usual wide range of subjects, conveniently ordered by region and topic, making it easy for the reader to refer to particular sections and items of interest.
The latest volume includes such geo-political topics as:
Africa and the Middle East: Iraq ten years later, and the misguided deification of Mandela.
The Americas and the Caribbean: CARICOM and Its groundhog meetings, and PetroCaribe chickens coming home to roost.
Asia: Where North Korea is playing nuclear brinkmanship… again, and where Japan and China are stoking North Korea-like tensions.
Europe: Where, alas, the First Lady of France is no lady at all, and Islamists are terrorizing London… again.
United States: George Zimmerman: ‘Not guilty’ but hardly innocent, the government shutdown over Obamacare, and ‘Nixonian’ Obama spying on journalists.
Other major topics are the Globalsphere, Sports, Entertainment, Potpourri, Public Service Announcements, and the deaths of famous people.
As always, Hall tackles all of these topics and many more in his latest volume with his trademark confidence, flair and humour as a “literary Luddite”, which explains his enduring preference for commenting on the major events of the day with thoughtful sentences in paragraphs instead of visceral snippets in 140 characters or less.
“Public debate in this age of Twitter is more about getting attention or showing off than about defending a position or making a point. Frankly, trying to get grown-ups to read reasoned commentaries instead of snarky tweets these days is like trying to get kids to eat broccoli instead of fries … As usual, I hope my commentaries serve as a provocative, informative, and even entertaining antidote to the re-tweeted and recycled rubbish that now passes for social commentary and public debate. And I hope that, for posterity, this volume will prove a reliable source for reflections on the most important (and popular) events of 2013,” Hall says.
He certainly achieves this objective and more.
Highly recommended reading.
The iPINIONS Journal – Commentaries on the Global Events of Our Times: Volume IX, 671pp, is now available at Amazon (including an e-book version for just $3.99) and all other major booksellers.