Great idea - dissapointingly executed - Rated 
Its hard to find an academic philosopher in the UK today who actually makes the big bad Roger Scruton look like a chilled out anarchist, but Anthony O'Hear almost manages it. In this collection of chapter long rants, each on a seperate theme of decaying Britain, O'Hear tries to dissect the contemporary left's enforced vision of moral progress by means of an ingenious comparison with Plato's story of the Cave (and its popular updating in the Matrix film franchise).
This is an excellent idea, and enables O'Hear to get to the heart of the corrupt and superficial soul of New Labour and the shallow 'progressive' philosophy behind it. The citizens of 21st century Britiain are indeed like the prisoners in Plato's cave. Content to see flickering shadows on the walls of their limited lives as the only reality and reacting with righteous fury to anyone who dares to show them anything that is different and (at first) more painful to behold. The Enlightenment ideal of truth and reason leading man into a nobler and better world has been hijacked by the the moral elites and the progressive left and perverted into a shadow of its original goals. Now, all that matters is the feeling of being morally better, the pretence that you care about things and people other than your widescreen tv or expensive gym membership. Attending a 'Cancel Third World Debt' rock concert, O'Hear observes, is easier and feels better, than actually addressing any awkward and complex realities of African poverty. Showing you 'care' in a superficial manner to the rest of your middle-class tribe whilst doing nothing concrete is the 'third way' now, the 21st century secular version of religious indulgences, the easy fix for inconvenient priviliged guilt and moral vacousness.
O'Hear has much to play with here and has the politcally incorrect character to tackle it without fear. Despite this, its still not a brilliant book. Each chapter rambles on a bit and despite the easy prey expertly located in his cross hairs, O'Hear seems to fall just short of the kill on each chosen topic. For example, the chapter on 'Stalinist Speech' could have been a demolition of the psychology behind the culture of PC and the contemporary thought police. Instead, O'Heare rambles on too long about the vapidity of school performance targets and comparisons with Stalin's five year plans. He mentions several times the appaling and disastrous retirement rate of headmasters and the dissapearance of the male teacher from our schools yet seems content to pin all this down to the pressures of living up to those neo-Stalinist performance targets. How about the anti-male hysteria that our culture promotes being a rather larger factor? A hysteria that O'Heare unfortunately perpetuates himself rather too often with his ill-judged essays for the Daily Mail, a newspaper that now only speaks for conservative values when they happen to coincide with the primitive reproductive needs of it's suburban housewife readership.
To sum up : a rather dissapointing execution of an excellent idea for what could have been a devastating expose of what really is wrong with contemporary Britain.
enjoyable - Rated
An amusing tale of a girl who loses contact with her Italian father and spends the early years in England growing up with her Swedish mother. The mother seems to collect a bad selection of boyfriends/new stepfather for her daughter, culminating in mother and daughter occaisionally having to flee the house.
Her Italian father is rich, handsome and famous,whilst her mother is beautiful, but cannot stand 'this italian'. The father recommends the daughter take lovers to acquire the skills needed in life (particularly an understanding of Dante, and multi linguistic skills)
Theres a lot of humour in this book as well as angst as the daughter seeks the love and respect she would want from a father. It's colourful insight into italian 'psyche' is amusing and sensitive.
Its factual content on the brief Italian 'grand tour' is full of great content
All in all an easy book to read that wont tax your mind too much
Grumpy old philosopher. - Rated 
Beginning with the famous image of the cave from Plato, jumping to a spurious link with the film, 'The Matrix', and ending with fond glances at Wittgenstein and Pascal, the stuff in-between is a posh tabloid rant at the dullness and vapidity of modern life, including celebrities, TV and shopping - all perhaps reasonable targets. But in this book, he shows little knowledge or understanding of the actual nature of our 21st century global society, its real pursuits, interests, politics and so on. In showing such a lack of analytical skill, the author shows himself to be an ideal candidate for a TV show called 'Grumpy Old Philosophers.' Getting older and despising change is perfectly normal (as I confess, having myself fallen prey to some degree of complaining!)but it should not be disguised as any deep philosophical comment.
Ciao Bella - growing up with a clash of cultures. - Rated 
An excellent, honest, human account of growing up torn between three cultures: an over indulged, sensual, once wealthy, Italian Father with very decided views, a Bridget Bardot look alike Swedish mother who always seems to pick the wrong male partner, and the affect of a classic English education. Helena struggles generously to keep the peace between warring adults, whilst slowly learning who she really is herself - a good read with a surprising ending and never a dull moment.
An Italian original. - Rated
This is a remarkable book, combining a profound understanding of Italy and the Italian psyche, with a vivid and moving account of the author's eccentric and extraordinary father. Her mother is, to say the least, almost equally unconventional. As with all her books, the tale is told with a lightness of touch and an ever present sense of humour which shines through what must have been some dark and difficult times.
The descriptions of Florence, Venice, and Rome , based around the lives of family and friends, bring these wonderful cities to life and serve as a backdrop to the portrait of her father, surely one of the most outstanding depictions of a deeply complex and unusual human being.
Beautifully written,if you are interested in people in all their amazing diversity, you must buy this book.
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