Pratinav Anil
@pratinavanil.bsky.social
historian, feuilletonist, clubland habitué, judgemental judge
Reposted by Pratinav Anil
Typically thoughtful review of some of this year’s history books by @pratinavanil.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/d...
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/d...
The best history and politics books of 2025
The revolutionary spirit in politics and architecture; histories of free speech and civil war; plus how the Tories fell apart and Starmer won
www.theguardian.com
December 6, 2025 at 7:20 PM
Typically thoughtful review of some of this year’s history books by @pratinavanil.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/d...
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/d...
Reposted by Pratinav Anil
Thrilled to see @pratinavanil has highlighted @pratinavanil.bsky.social 'A Historian in Gaza' in the Guardian round-up of 'Best History and Politics Books of 2025'. Get your copy at 50% off during our holiday sale, offer ends December 9th. 🇵🇸
➡️ www.hurstpublishers.com/profile/jean...
➡️ www.hurstpublishers.com/profile/jean...
December 2, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Thrilled to see @pratinavanil has highlighted @pratinavanil.bsky.social 'A Historian in Gaza' in the Guardian round-up of 'Best History and Politics Books of 2025'. Get your copy at 50% off during our holiday sale, offer ends December 9th. 🇵🇸
➡️ www.hurstpublishers.com/profile/jean...
➡️ www.hurstpublishers.com/profile/jean...
Reposted by Pratinav Anil
“Formidable female novelists, ghastly literary men, a faith-shaken poet, eunuchs, pirates, horny wolves, international terrorists…" It's been great fun to judge this prize ... and here are the six finalists ... www.thebailliegiffordprize.co.uk/inside-the-c...
The Prize announces 2025 shortlist
The Baillie Gifford Prize rewards excellence in non-fiction writing, bringing the best in intelligent reflection on the world to new readers.
www.thebailliegiffordprize.co.uk
October 2, 2025 at 8:26 AM
“Formidable female novelists, ghastly literary men, a faith-shaken poet, eunuchs, pirates, horny wolves, international terrorists…" It's been great fun to judge this prize ... and here are the six finalists ... www.thebailliegiffordprize.co.uk/inside-the-c...
Forget Wilberforce — violent resistance killed off slavery
I enjoyed Sudhir Hazareesingh’s account of how black resistance led to abolition. My latest for @thetimes.com:
www.thetimes.com/culture/book...
I enjoyed Sudhir Hazareesingh’s account of how black resistance led to abolition. My latest for @thetimes.com:
www.thetimes.com/culture/book...
Forget Wilberforce — violent resistance killed off slavery
In Daring to Be Free, the historian Sudhir Hazareesingh shows how strikes, sabotage and mutiny by slaves brought about abolition
www.thetimes.com
September 27, 2025 at 6:38 AM
Forget Wilberforce — violent resistance killed off slavery
I enjoyed Sudhir Hazareesingh’s account of how black resistance led to abolition. My latest for @thetimes.com:
www.thetimes.com/culture/book...
I enjoyed Sudhir Hazareesingh’s account of how black resistance led to abolition. My latest for @thetimes.com:
www.thetimes.com/culture/book...
Reposted by Pratinav Anil
'Welcome to my last four years.' A search for accountability and a full, detailed explanation for Martha's death . . . www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Paul Laity · After Martha
For the hospital, and for the NHS, it was a closed case, another preventable death: medicine is imperfect, such things...
www.lrb.co.uk
September 17, 2025 at 12:33 PM
'Welcome to my last four years.' A search for accountability and a full, detailed explanation for Martha's death . . . www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Reposted by Pratinav Anil
'Sam Dalrymple’s Gandhi is no saint, but a character who became progressively unhinged.'
Pratinav Anil on the reordering of India and its neighbours
Pratinav Anil on the reordering of India and its neighbours
Long divisions
www.the-tls.com
August 14, 2025 at 11:51 AM
'Sam Dalrymple’s Gandhi is no saint, but a character who became progressively unhinged.'
Pratinav Anil on the reordering of India and its neighbours
Pratinav Anil on the reordering of India and its neighbours
Reposted by Pratinav Anil
Review of The Story Of CO2 Is The Story Of Everything that is as pithily well written as the book itself : “Like life, death can be viewed unsentimentally as a slow unspooling into water and carbon dioxide” www.thetimes.com/culture/book...
A tale of fire and ice — how CO₂ shapes world history
In The Story of CO₂ Is the Story of Everything, Peter Brannen traces the importance of carbon dioxide from prehistoric swamps to the climate crisis
www.thetimes.com
August 30, 2025 at 7:11 AM
Review of The Story Of CO2 Is The Story Of Everything that is as pithily well written as the book itself : “Like life, death can be viewed unsentimentally as a slow unspooling into water and carbon dioxide” www.thetimes.com/culture/book...
On carbon dioxide, climate change, and capitalism. My latest for @thetimes.com:
www.thetimes.com/culture/book...
www.thetimes.com/culture/book...
A tale of fire and ice — how CO2 shapes world history
In The Story of CO2 Is the Story of Everything, Peter Brannen traces the importance of carbon dioxide from prehistoric swamps to the climate crisis
www.thetimes.com
August 28, 2025 at 4:21 PM
On carbon dioxide, climate change, and capitalism. My latest for @thetimes.com:
www.thetimes.com/culture/book...
www.thetimes.com/culture/book...
Reposted by Pratinav Anil
Another pan of the book: TCW has "marooned himself on an island of vacuity."
I know a little about publishing industry lag but a "summer of 2020 was CRAZY" book amid the summer of Alligator Alcatraz... yeah man maybe shoulda sent the draft in sooner.
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...
I know a little about publishing industry lag but a "summer of 2020 was CRAZY" book amid the summer of Alligator Alcatraz... yeah man maybe shoulda sent the draft in sooner.
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...
August 4, 2025 at 1:16 PM
Another pan of the book: TCW has "marooned himself on an island of vacuity."
I know a little about publishing industry lag but a "summer of 2020 was CRAZY" book amid the summer of Alligator Alcatraz... yeah man maybe shoulda sent the draft in sooner.
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...
I know a little about publishing industry lag but a "summer of 2020 was CRAZY" book amid the summer of Alligator Alcatraz... yeah man maybe shoulda sent the draft in sooner.
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...
I read a superb new history of Carthage by Eve MacDonald - a finer cicerone than Flaubert - for @thetimes.com. My lead review today:
www.thetimes.com/culture/book...
www.thetimes.com/culture/book...
Don’t believe Roman lies — Carthage was civilised
In Roman propaganda it was a place of debauchery and child sacrifice, but in her new history Eve MacDonald shows that life in the ancient empire was surprisingly sophisticated
www.thetimes.com
August 2, 2025 at 11:53 AM
I read a superb new history of Carthage by Eve MacDonald - a finer cicerone than Flaubert - for @thetimes.com. My lead review today:
www.thetimes.com/culture/book...
www.thetimes.com/culture/book...
Reposted by Pratinav Anil
I enjoyed this slogging more than — or perhaps exactly as much as — I should. “Williams’s grand subject being himself, now we have a third memoir. Summer of Our Discontent takes a caustic look at BLM from the lofty vantage point of his Parisian garret.” www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...
Summer of Our Discontent by Thomas Chatterton Williams review – the liberal who hates leftists
In his caustic critique of identity politics, Williams ends up condemning every kind of collective action
www.theguardian.com
July 25, 2025 at 3:26 PM
I enjoyed this slogging more than — or perhaps exactly as much as — I should. “Williams’s grand subject being himself, now we have a third memoir. Summer of Our Discontent takes a caustic look at BLM from the lofty vantage point of his Parisian garret.” www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...
Reposted by Pratinav Anil
Spot the fuck on: “Fixated on slagging off the left, he has marooned himself on an island of vacuity.” www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...
Summer of Our Discontent by Thomas Chatterton Williams review – the liberal who hates leftists
In his caustic critique of identity politics, Williams ends up condemning every kind of collective action
www.theguardian.com
July 25, 2025 at 2:23 AM
Spot the fuck on: “Fixated on slagging off the left, he has marooned himself on an island of vacuity.” www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...
Reposted by Pratinav Anil
what is great about this review is that the author is clearly sympathetic to the premise but can’t get past the basic fact that the author is a vacuous fool www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...
Summer of Our Discontent by Thomas Chatterton Williams review – the liberal who hates leftists
In his caustic critique of identity politics, Williams ends up condemning every kind of collective action
www.theguardian.com
July 24, 2025 at 2:22 AM
what is great about this review is that the author is clearly sympathetic to the premise but can’t get past the basic fact that the author is a vacuous fool www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...
Reposted by Pratinav Anil
‘His homeland, he says, is a “society that is frankly more democratic, multi-ethnic, and egalitarian than any other in recorded history”. The Gini coefficient and Democracy Index beg to differ.’
July 24, 2025 at 12:29 PM
‘His homeland, he says, is a “society that is frankly more democratic, multi-ethnic, and egalitarian than any other in recorded history”. The Gini coefficient and Democracy Index beg to differ.’
Reposted by Pratinav Anil
"Fixated on slagging off the left, [Williams] has marooned himself on an island of vacuity."
Ouch.
Ouch.
July 24, 2025 at 12:14 PM
"Fixated on slagging off the left, [Williams] has marooned himself on an island of vacuity."
Ouch.
Ouch.
Reposted by Pratinav Anil
“Williams’s grand subject being himself, now we have a third memoir. Summer of Our Discontent takes a caustic look at Black Lives Matter from the lofty vantage point of his Parisian garret.”
Damn
Damn
July 24, 2025 at 10:25 AM
“Williams’s grand subject being himself, now we have a third memoir. Summer of Our Discontent takes a caustic look at Black Lives Matter from the lofty vantage point of his Parisian garret.”
Damn
Damn
Reposted by Pratinav Anil
the other reason i like this review is it confirms that i’m not the only person who has read this dude’s work and thought, “him? really?”
July 24, 2025 at 2:30 AM
the other reason i like this review is it confirms that i’m not the only person who has read this dude’s work and thought, “him? really?”
Reposted by Pratinav Anil
Reposted by Pratinav Anil
This is Kendrick Lamar level takedown, good lord.
I read Thomas Chatterton Williams' new BLM memoir for @guardianbooks.bsky.social and wasn't particularly impressed:
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...
Summer of Our Discontent by Thomas Chatterton Williams review – the liberal who hates leftists
In his caustic critique of identity politics, Williams ends up condemning every kind of collective action
www.theguardian.com
July 24, 2025 at 12:44 PM
This is Kendrick Lamar level takedown, good lord.
Reposted by Pratinav Anil
"Excelling in sending up bien-pensant opinion, he has no answers. Fixated on slagging off the left, he has marooned himself on an island of vacuity."
Summer of Our Discontent by Thomas Chatterton Williams review – the liberal who hates leftists
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...
Summer of Our Discontent by Thomas Chatterton Williams review – the liberal who hates leftists
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...
Summer of Our Discontent by Thomas Chatterton Williams review – the liberal who hates leftists
In his caustic critique of identity politics, Williams ends up condemning every kind of collective action
www.theguardian.com
July 23, 2025 at 11:07 AM
"Excelling in sending up bien-pensant opinion, he has no answers. Fixated on slagging off the left, he has marooned himself on an island of vacuity."
Summer of Our Discontent by Thomas Chatterton Williams review – the liberal who hates leftists
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...
Summer of Our Discontent by Thomas Chatterton Williams review – the liberal who hates leftists
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...
Reposted by Pratinav Anil
I enjoyed reading this acute review because, honestly, you could not pay me enough to make me read the actual book.
I read Thomas Chatterton Williams' new BLM memoir for @guardianbooks.bsky.social and wasn't particularly impressed:
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...
Summer of Our Discontent by Thomas Chatterton Williams review – the liberal who hates leftists
In his caustic critique of identity politics, Williams ends up condemning every kind of collective action
www.theguardian.com
July 23, 2025 at 9:40 AM
I enjoyed reading this acute review because, honestly, you could not pay me enough to make me read the actual book.
Reposted by Pratinav Anil
A richly deserved, & precisely executed, pan.
I read Thomas Chatterton Williams' new BLM memoir for @guardianbooks.bsky.social and wasn't particularly impressed:
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...
Summer of Our Discontent by Thomas Chatterton Williams review – the liberal who hates leftists
In his caustic critique of identity politics, Williams ends up condemning every kind of collective action
www.theguardian.com
July 23, 2025 at 11:10 AM
A richly deserved, & precisely executed, pan.
Reposted by Pratinav Anil
“Williams’s other objections appear to be mostly aesthetic. Visiting BLM-ravaged Portland, he mourns that “a beloved statue of an elk has been toppled”. This in a town with a “well-deserved reputation” for “exquisite gastronomy”. Quelle horreur.”
I read Thomas Chatterton Williams' new BLM memoir for @guardianbooks.bsky.social and wasn't particularly impressed:
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...
Summer of Our Discontent by Thomas Chatterton Williams review – the liberal who hates leftists
In his caustic critique of identity politics, Williams ends up condemning every kind of collective action
www.theguardian.com
July 22, 2025 at 6:14 PM
“Williams’s other objections appear to be mostly aesthetic. Visiting BLM-ravaged Portland, he mourns that “a beloved statue of an elk has been toppled”. This in a town with a “well-deserved reputation” for “exquisite gastronomy”. Quelle horreur.”
I read Thomas Chatterton Williams' new BLM memoir for @guardianbooks.bsky.social and wasn't particularly impressed:
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...
Summer of Our Discontent by Thomas Chatterton Williams review – the liberal who hates leftists
In his caustic critique of identity politics, Williams ends up condemning every kind of collective action
www.theguardian.com
July 22, 2025 at 6:01 PM
I read Thomas Chatterton Williams' new BLM memoir for @guardianbooks.bsky.social and wasn't particularly impressed:
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...