Books and Arts – 20 June 2013
This week’s magazine is full to the brim with cracking book reviews. Here is a selection of quotes to whet your appetite. Sam Leith on Modernity Britain, David Kynaston’s rampaging account of the birth of the consumer age during Harold Macmillan’s premiership: ‘The jacket quotes a passage from late in the book that is an
‘We were impressed that you had the company logo tattooed on your forehead. But you haven’t got the job.’
‘The magic’s gone out of our adultery.’
‘Well, I still think using drones has taken something out of hunting.’
‘They do say that on a clear day you can see a doctor.’
‘It’s from the takeaway next door.’
Comedy and tragedy...now showing at your local multiplex
‘That’s the special effects sorted. All we need is a story to hang them on.’
‘As part of the divorce settlement, I get to keep the head.’
‘I’ve discovered this marvellous acne cream.’
‘Is advertising yourself on eBay within the spirit of the rules?’
Legal squabbles Sir: Harry Mount’s angry and unfocused polemic (‘Against the Law’, 8 June), demonstrates a fundamental ignorance of the British legal system. That is surprising from a former barrister, even if he never practised after pupillage. British justice is revered worldwide, and for good reason. Rather than deal with the disastrous effects the proposals
Souls on ice Three Oxford academics have revealed that they have paid to become cryonically preserved at death in the hope of one day being revived. A selection of the 117 clients lying in ‘patient care drawers’ at the Alcor Life Extension Foundation, Arizona: — Roy Schiavello, 30, programmer — Michael Louis Friedman, 32, lawyer