ARmy Rumour SErvice

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The History of Half-Forgotten Europe : How States die.

This is a fascinating read, which kept me happily engrossed on a train journey between Edinburgh and London. Even though I read History at university, there was a lot in Vanished Kingdoms that I did not know: I enjoyed it all the more for that reason. It is a fat book: 739 pages, excluding the extensive notes and indices. That should not intimidate the reader. The author, who lectures at the Jagiellonian University of Cracow, has a lively and humorous style. If his lectures and tutorials are as engaging as his writing, his History students must have a stimulating and enjoyable time.

The map of Europe was extensively redrawn in the course of the twentieth century, but this is not a new event. It is a continuous process that goes back a long way. Duchies, republics, kingdoms and empires that seemed a fixture of their age have disappeared and been largely forgotten. Some of us still remember about the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Yugoslavia and the USSR; all of which disappeared in the last century. But who now recalls anything about Burgundy, the Mediterranean Empire of Aragon, the Byzantine Empire, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania or (nearer home) the Kingdom of Strathclyde? Yet they were once important States. To find out more, buy this book.

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Well, at 304 pages, it hardly seemed to be Management in Ten Words. Of course, those ten words refer to the chapter headings of the book. They are Truth, Loyalty, Courage, Values, Act, Balance, Simple, Lean, Compete and Trust. Developed into a book from a series of talks by the past CEO of Tesco, Terry Leahy, each chapter is illustrated by examples, not just from the author’s time at Tesco, but by other examples, to give greater relevance to a wider readership.

There are plenty of other books about management. What makes this one stand out is the thought that appears to have gone into articulating a vision of leadership/management. This thought has been developed from his experiences at Tesco, and other organisations, from when he first joined the company in 1979, being promoted to the board in 1992, to becoming its CEO in 1997. During this time, he has propelled Tesco from a small, struggling, grocery chain to the third largest retailer in the world. He was behind many innovations, such as the Value range, Clubcard, and taking Tesco away from just grocery retail into many other sectors, such as financial services.

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This ‘floppyback’ book is the first study of the East London Group of artists. This group achieved commercial success and media attention in the 1920s and 1930s, largely because of the quality of work produced, but also because many of its members were working people, who studied at evening classes in Bethnal Green and Bow, producing their art alongside their day jobs. Some of these jobs (navvy, casual labourer, window dresser, amongst others) meant they could not afford canvas and used apron cloth or other materials on which to paint.
John Cooper, an artist and teacher, started the group and led it throughout its fifteen-year life. May famous people of the time, such as Walter Sickert, Ramsay Macdonald and Aldous Huxley, supported them either by teaching or buying the work.

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