Archive for November, 2025


A review of “The August Uprising, 1924” by Eric Lee

November 29th, 2025 by Roger Darlington

An earlier book by Lee, “The Experiment” (2017), described, comprehensively and fairly, something unique in Eastern European history: the successful establishment of an independent Georgia, governed on the basis of democratic socialism, from 1918-1921 when it was brutally subjugated by the Bolshevik forces of revolutionary Russia. Now he revisits this place and period to examine […]

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The plans for my next book

November 28th, 2025 by Roger Darlington

It’s taken me 13 months, but today I finished writing my next (the fifth) book “Everyone Has A Story”. There are 33 profiles of friends of mine with interesting stories. The profiles are typically around 2,000 words and the total word count is 73,000. I now have to check through all the text (December), have […]

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A review of the important new film “Nuremberg”

November 26th, 2025 by Roger Darlington

Nuremberg: the German city where Hitler held his infamous rallies from 1923 to 1938 and where 22 Nazi leaders were put on trial in 1946-1947. This film centres on the interactions between two men at that trial: Hermann Göring, effectively Hitler’s deputy, and Dr Douglas Kelley, a US army psychiatrist assigned to determine the mental […]

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What the best year to have been born?

November 22nd, 2025 by Roger Darlington

The “Guardian” newspaper this week published this letter: I agree with Julian Richer: the circumstances into which we are born affect how we get on in life (It’s time to bust the meritocracy myth – I’ll be first to say I’m lucky, 18 November). I had a relatively ordinary background and worked in the public […]

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A review of the new film “The Running Man”

November 21st, 2025 by Roger Darlington

I haven’t read the 1982 novel by Stephen King, on which this film is based, and I haven’t seen the 1987 movie version, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, but it was one of those evenings when I fancied some mindless entertainment and I found that big-time by viewing this 2025 adaptation on an IMAX screen. The central […]

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How can you prevent dementia?

November 10th, 2025 by Roger Darlington

Many dementia cases might be preventable. The biological processes that may lead to dementia can begin 20 to 30 years before diagnosis. While some factors, like age and genetics, are beyond our control, many others are modifiable through changes in health habits and disease management. Scientists have identified 14 major risk factors for developing Alzheimer’s […]

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A review of the radical new film “Bugonia”

November 10th, 2025 by Roger Darlington

Yorgos Lanthimos is one of the most unconventional and exciting directors around today and Emma Stone is one of the most talented and audacious actresses in the current firmament. So any film which combines their skills is a must-see for any serious fan of cinema. “Bugonia” – actually a remake of the 2003 South Korean […]

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A review of the classic film “Kind Hearts And Coronets” (1949)

November 4th, 2025 by Roger Darlington

This deliciously black comedy from Ealing Studios is loosely based on the novel “Israel Rank: The Autobiography Of A Criminal” (1907) by Roy Horniman. The work, co-written and directed by Robert Hammer, is regarded as one of the best British films ever made and remains a popular piece of entertainment. Set in the class-ridden times […]

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Is the United States the greatest country on earth?

November 3rd, 2025 by Roger Darlington

According to a new report from Oxfam America, over 40% of the US population, including nearly 50% of children, are considered low-income, with family earnings that are less than 200% of the national poverty line. When pitting the US against 38 other higher-income countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the US […]

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A review of the French film “The Tasting”

November 2nd, 2025 by Roger Darlington

This is a small French film from 2022 that would never be shown in most British cinemas, but I managed to catch it at the Ventnor Film Society on the Isle of Wight. It is a romantic comedy which has much humour in the first half but then progressively features more serious issues of life […]

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