Author Archives: bernardporter2013

I’m puzzled by why I don’t feel more gutted after West Ham’s ignominious defeat by Manchester City in the third round of the FA cup last night. Well, not all that puzzled. It wasn’t as if ‘we woz robbed’, like … Continue reading →

My recent TLS piece about 1956 has given rise to some critical letters in the subsequent issue, two of which homed in on my suggestion that it was mainly men who benefitted from the period, while women – not yet … Continue reading →

My prediction for the new year. President Trump is assassinated, by his own Secret Service, which however manages to blame it on the Russians. If it happens, remember where you read it first. If not, forget it. Gott nytt År!

My chosen field of ‘imperialism’ must be one of the most worthwhile areas of historical study, as it features an aspect of what appears to be a fundamental human attribute, which is to expand. Humans have always done this: sought new … Continue reading →

What is happening just now is so obviously an existential crisis of capitalism, such as Marx foretold though not in quite the way he envisaged it – who in the nineteenth century could possibly have foreseen clowns like Trump and … Continue reading →

Great news for all real friends of Israel that the US is no longer voting against the UN’s Security Council resolution against further Jewish settlements on the West Bank. As an imperial historian I can imagine nothing more obviously and … Continue reading →

I have atheist friends who refuse to celebrate Christmas because it’s Christian, and socialist friends who grumble at it because it’s commercial. It’s certainly the latter. But one of the advantages for me, as an agnostic, of celebrating it in … Continue reading →

Featured on the cover of the current TLS, double Xmas issue; but you may have to buy it to read it. http://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/private/swinging-fifties/

I very much doubt that this really is the worst time ever in British history, though it’s beginning to feel like it. Obviously periods of war, famine, extreme poverty, political oppression and great natural catastrophes bring far more suffering to … Continue reading →

My latest review: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/dec/21/empire-of-booze-henry-jeffreys-review. Just a fun piece. But – hey! – it’s Christmas.