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London Review of Books
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 17, 2019
If you have two hours of your time to spare, read the LRB. If not, please go to the Internet and read a 300 word piece that has it all figured out. Neither thing will stop Brexit, though.
September 24, 2025
This review is for the 'After Martha' article that appeared in the 25 September 2025 issue. The article details the aftermath of the death of Martha Mills following a bike accident, and the efforts of her parents to understand the medical errors that significantly contributed to what had happened.
It was an outstanding essay that demonstrated exceptional emotional restraint and even handedness given the circumstances, in addition to employing very carefully reasoned analysis. Sadly, the parents had to struggle for many years to cut through bureaucratic investigative processes that often served to obscure rather than illuminate events. Although there was never any suggestion of deliberate harm, there was often a grotesque mismatch between the obvious sorrow of the parents on the one hand, and the insistence of many of the doctors and administrators to view what had happened in arid organizational terminology, often speaking of the need (for example) for doctors to 'reflect' on what had happened.
There was also an interesting discussion of the way that the (not inherently unreasonable) desire to avoid 'blame culture' can be used to hide accountability for medical staff's actions. I was struck by the amount of times throughout the article where the author related how medical notes relevant to an investigation had 'gone missing', and how often doctors changed their accounts without professional consequences.
The author also gave a fascinating glimpse into medical culture, in which there exist hierarchies that would be mysterious to outsiders. For example, he described how liver specialists in the hospital where Martha died were considered an elite due to both their reputations and their ability to generate research funding. Apparently, in the past senior doctors sat in a different part of the canteen. These cultural practices, although comic, have the potential to cause patients serious harm.
Happily, some small good came out of Martha's death, in that the parent's campaigning led to 'Martha's law', which grants patients the right to request a second opinion. It is sad although perhaps inevitable that in large, complex institutions like the NHS, only tragedies will be sufficient to generate reform.
It was an outstanding essay that demonstrated exceptional emotional restraint and even handedness given the circumstances, in addition to employing very carefully reasoned analysis. Sadly, the parents had to struggle for many years to cut through bureaucratic investigative processes that often served to obscure rather than illuminate events. Although there was never any suggestion of deliberate harm, there was often a grotesque mismatch between the obvious sorrow of the parents on the one hand, and the insistence of many of the doctors and administrators to view what had happened in arid organizational terminology, often speaking of the need (for example) for doctors to 'reflect' on what had happened.
There was also an interesting discussion of the way that the (not inherently unreasonable) desire to avoid 'blame culture' can be used to hide accountability for medical staff's actions. I was struck by the amount of times throughout the article where the author related how medical notes relevant to an investigation had 'gone missing', and how often doctors changed their accounts without professional consequences.
The author also gave a fascinating glimpse into medical culture, in which there exist hierarchies that would be mysterious to outsiders. For example, he described how liver specialists in the hospital where Martha died were considered an elite due to both their reputations and their ability to generate research funding. Apparently, in the past senior doctors sat in a different part of the canteen. These cultural practices, although comic, have the potential to cause patients serious harm.
Happily, some small good came out of Martha's death, in that the parent's campaigning led to 'Martha's law', which grants patients the right to request a second opinion. It is sad although perhaps inevitable that in large, complex institutions like the NHS, only tragedies will be sufficient to generate reform.
July 1, 2023
There's something about a rainy day that makes you want to unfurl a copy of the London Review of Books like a pirate flag on the literary high seas.
The LRB is a weekly magazine that publishes reviews of new books, essays on a wide range of topics, and interviews with authors. Insightful? Yes. British? Yes. Esoteric? Like an aged Cognac. When you read the periodical should the voice in your head be Patrick Steward's? Make it so!
What is the opposite of reading the London Review of Books? Watching a Transformers movie with BBQ wings and a mustard stain on your shirt while getting trashed on cheap beer. Will I be doing that tonight as well? Make it so...and roll out!
The LRB is a weekly magazine that publishes reviews of new books, essays on a wide range of topics, and interviews with authors. Insightful? Yes. British? Yes. Esoteric? Like an aged Cognac. When you read the periodical should the voice in your head be Patrick Steward's? Make it so!
What is the opposite of reading the London Review of Books? Watching a Transformers movie with BBQ wings and a mustard stain on your shirt while getting trashed on cheap beer. Will I be doing that tonight as well? Make it so...and roll out!
April 18, 2025
I enjoy both the London Review of Books as well as the New York Review of Books. The LRB not only provides a different point of focus from the other side of the pond, but is now a place for American authors and journalists to safely ( hopefully ) offer critiques of the current U.S. administration without fear of its chilling actions, including lawsuits, retribution and potential censorship. A must now. A subscription to either also includes full access to all back issues via their respective apps. A must if you have the time. I do at 73.
See more in my review of the News York Review of Books.
See more in my review of the News York Review of Books.
June 6, 2020
a gift subscription from a friend, now an eagerly anticipated fortnightly treat!
September 2, 2024
2024 issues through July
October 8, 2023
It's a great magazine, but the articles and reviews are generally very long. I eventually decided life is too short, It comes out fortnightly and quite often a new issue would arrive before I had finished the previous one
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews