Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Michael Dwyer @michaeldwyer.bsky.social · 1d

'Now, Jukic writes that, in recent discussion, Ukraine has become an “archetypal Kunderian state” — a country whose heart belongs in the west but one stunted by an imperial Kremlin.' @hurstpublishers.bsky.social @ljukic.bsky.social
www.ft.com/content/6b1c...

Mapping the shifting mental boundaries of Europe

Two books look at how so much central and eastern Europe identity has long been defined by an animosity to Moscow

www.ft.com

1

Michael Dwyer @michaeldwyer.bsky.social · 5d

www.culturednortheast.co.uk/p/tasty-new-... 'Rigby believes our attitude to the fish might be a hangover from the darkest of days when badly processed herring was shipped to the Caribbean as cheap food for slaves on the plantations.' @hurstpublishers.bsky.social

Tasty new book makes case for the 'King of Fishes'

'Herripedia' man Graeme swims into print

www.culturednortheast.co.uk

1

Reposted by Michael Dwyer

Jonn Elledge @jonnelledge.bsky.social · 5d

An experiment:

If you see this post, please like it. Am comparing numbers to the other place for a piece.

71 140 7.4K

Reposted by Michael Dwyer

Brian Groom @groomb.bsky.social · 11d

Out this month: Rigby's Encyclopaedia of the Herring, by @rigbysherrings.bsky.social. About the Atlantic Herring and its far-reaching dominions. From @hurstpublishers.bsky.social @michaeldwyer.bsky.social www.herripedia.com

Rigby’s Encyclopaedia of the Herring

Rigby’s Encyclopaedia of the Herring is a one-stop definitive herring information source - fisheries & fishing, history, natural history, cures, recipes & culture.

www.herripedia.com

4 7

Michael Dwyer @michaeldwyer.bsky.social · 12d

'This book comes at a crucial moment in Britain’s history. It redefines not only our past, but assembles the ingredients to construct a possible future from the country’s maligned and often misunderstood multicultural reality.’ — Johny Pitts, author of Afropean: Notes from Black Europe

Cover of a book in colour with a photograph of a suited Asian man against an urban British backdrop with an advertising poster above his head.

2 3

Michael Dwyer @michaeldwyer.bsky.social · 12d

Nice review by John Delury in Global Asia of the recent @hurstpublishers.bsky.social biography of Kim-Il Sung, by Fyodor Tertitskiy.

A book cover jacket in red and black showing Kim Il-Sung the former dictator of North Korea.

1 1

Reposted by Michael Dwyer

Paul Poast @profpaulpoast.bsky.social · Sep 4

IR Book of the Week!

"So You Want to Own Greenland?" by Elizabeth Buchanan. Trump is only the latest leader to desire controlling the key arctic island. This book explores why and how, going forward, it will be central to the "Great Game" of arctic competition.

So You Want to Own Greenland?: Lessons from the Vikings to Trump

Buy So You Want to Own Greenland?: Lessons from the Vikings to Trump: Read Books Reviews - Amazon.com

www.amazon.com

4 16

Reposted by Michael Dwyer

Michael Dwyer @michaeldwyer.bsky.social · 19d

The Bagpipes: A Fresh Look at a Familiar Symbol bellacaledonia.org.uk/2025/09/22/t...

The Bagpipes: A Fresh Look at a Familiar Symbol

The Bagpipes: A Cultural History, Richard McLauchlan, Hurst and Company, £20. Review by Vivien Williams Richard McLauchlan’s The Bagpipes: A Cultural History sets out to do something both audacious…

bellacaledonia.org.uk

1

Michael Dwyer @michaeldwyer.bsky.social · 19d

The Bagpipes: A Fresh Look at a Familiar Symbol bellacaledonia.org.uk/2025/09/22/t...

The Bagpipes: A Fresh Look at a Familiar Symbol

The Bagpipes: A Cultural History, Richard McLauchlan, Hurst and Company, £20. Review by Vivien Williams Richard McLauchlan’s The Bagpipes: A Cultural History sets out to do something both audacious…

bellacaledonia.org.uk

1

Reposted by Michael Dwyer

Andrew Mueller @andrewmueller.bsky.social · 23d

Latest Daily on Monocle Radio. @mlorimer.bsky.social and @mgmessmer.bsky.social on Trump's crackdown on the menace of late-night chat show hosts and the day's other stuff, plus @warmatters.bsky.social on his terrific new book "War In The Smartphone Age". monocle.com/radio/shows/...

Is the long-feared US civil-liberties crackdown finally here? - Monocle

As Disney voluntarily pulls Jimmy Kimmel Live!, much to the White House’s glee, what does the US’s latest crackdown on...

monocle.com

1 4 3

Michael Dwyer @michaeldwyer.bsky.social · 26d

www.politicshome.com/opinion/arti...

'Change is coming': Brendan O’Hara reviews 'So You Want to Own Greenland?'

Elizabeth Buchanan has produced a well-written and timely study of this hotly contested, gigantic frozen island

www.politicshome.com

Reposted by Michael Dwyer

Matthew Ford @warmatters.bsky.social · 26d

cc: @greyhoundliterary.bsky.social @hurstpublishers.bsky.social @michaeldwyer.bsky.social

2 1

Michael Dwyer @michaeldwyer.bsky.social · 26d

blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofb...

A new reckoning with caste beyond India - LSE Review of Books

Caste: A Global Story by Suraj Yengde explores caste from both a Dalit and global perspective, critiquing caste’s enduring structures and calling for justice.

blogs.lse.ac.uk

Reposted by Michael Dwyer

Colin Freeman @colinfreeman99.bsky.social · Sep 3

Wrote this about the cross-generational appeal of the Wicker Man for The Spectator
www.spectator.co.uk/article/why-...

Why the young worship folk horror

Why Gen-Z and Millennials are flocking to folk horror screenings of The Wicker Man at London’s St Giles’s Church.

www.spectator.co.uk

1

Reposted by Michael Dwyer

Matthew Ford @warmatters.bsky.social · Aug 27

It was fantastic talking to @jshermcyber.bsky.social on the @lawfaremedia.org pod. Thanks for asking such great questions that really engaged with the things I discuss in War in the Smartphone Age.

cc: @michaeldwyer.bsky.social @hurstpublishers.bsky.social @greyhoundliterary.bsky.social

Lawfare @lawfaremedia.org · Aug 27

On Lawfare Daily, @jshermcyber.bsky.social spoke to @warmatters.bsky.social about his new book “War in the Smartphone Age,” the role of smartphones and related technologies in war, how smartphones and other devices are reshaping open-source intelligence, and more.

3 6

Michael Dwyer @michaeldwyer.bsky.social · Sep 1

www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/202... @hurstpublishers.bsky.social

Book review: Dazzling Darkness: The lives and afterlives of the Christian mystics by James Harpur

This survey of mystic whets Claire Gilbert’s spiritual appetite

www.churchtimes.co.uk

3 1

Reposted by Michael Dwyer

rigbysherrings.bsky.social @rigbysherrings.bsky.social · Jun 20

Only 4 to go until St John’s Day, when the Dutch fleet would gather for the start of the herring season off the Shetlands. A little invention is always needed to see you through the dark months.

1 1 1

Reposted by Michael Dwyer

rigbysherrings.bsky.social @rigbysherrings.bsky.social · Jun 24

Book’s out 25th Sept and there’s a launch at Newcastle’s Lit & Phil, Thu 9th Oct, 7.30pm (free, but book: bit.ly/4lesXoU). There will be herring snacks.

1 4 6

Reposted by Michael Dwyer

rigbysherrings.bsky.social @rigbysherrings.bsky.social · Jul 28

Gosh! 25% off @Waterstones already and it isn’t even out yet! #WPreorder But you must order by 23.59, Thu 31 Jul and, having clicked on Add Promotion Code in the Checkout, enter SUMMER25 - someone up there wants you to know more about herrings! www.waterstones.com/book/rigbys-...

1 1

Reposted by Michael Dwyer

Matthew Ford @warmatters.bsky.social · Aug 19

Many thanks to Dr Kathryn Brimblecombe-Fox and @aspi-org.bsky.social for publishing this review of my book.

cc @hurstpublishers.bsky.social @michaeldwyer.bsky.social @greyhoundliterary.bsky.social

Matthew Ford @warmatters.bsky.social · Aug 19

Another review in of my book, “War in the Smartphone Age”.

Brimblecombe-Fox notes the book “informs while provoking more questions”, is written for a “broad… audience [&] is a timely catalyst for brave & creative thinking about war, peace & the future”

www.aspistrategist.org.au/bookshelf-sm...

Bookshelf: smartphones shape war in hyperconnected world | The Strategist

The smartphone is helping to shape the conduct and representation of contemporary war, argues Matthew Ford in his new book, War in the Smartphone Age: Conflict, Connectivity and the Crises at our Fing...

www.aspistrategist.org.au

5 4

Michael Dwyer @michaeldwyer.bsky.social · Jul 26

'a masterful guide through Lithuania’s journey from Europe’s last pagan state to the far smaller nation-state it is today'
@hurstpublishers.bsky.social @dankaszeta.bsky.social @paullay.bsky.social
engelsbergideas.com/reviews/the-...

The curious death of pagan Europe

In Lithuania – Europe’s last pagan kingdom – the death of the old religions was neither swift nor absolute. They lingered on, revealing a slower, stranger story of Christian conversion.

engelsbergideas.com

1 5 18

Reposted by Michael Dwyer

Arthur Snell @snellarthur.bsky.social · Jul 26

Gaza is a largely flat piece of land bordering to 2 countries with reasonable infrastructure. So we’re going to drop aid from the air ffs.

Gaia Vince @wanderinggaia.bsky.social · Jul 26

Air drops? Should be demanding road access! Gaza situation is intolerable

Starmer suggests UK will play role in Gaza aid air drops

His comments come as he faces calls from 221 cross-party MPs for the UK to recognise a Palestinian state.

www.bbc.com

8 43 130

Michael Dwyer @michaeldwyer.bsky.social · Jul 22

www.thetimes.com/article/f371...

The secret British history of South America

In Small Earthquakes, Shafik Meghji uncovers Britain’s forgotten connections with Latin America, from Welsh tea rooms to red phone boxes

www.thetimes.com

1

Michael Dwyer @michaeldwyer.bsky.social · Jul 14

‘If an instrument is needed to evoke the highs and lows of human nature there is no better choice than the bagpipes.’
pipingpress.com/2025/07/09/r... @hurstpublishers.bsky.social

Review: ‘The Bagpipes: A Cultural History’ by Richard McLauchlan – Piping Press

pipingpress.com

1 1

Michael Dwyer @michaeldwyer.bsky.social · Jun 18

newlinesmag.com/spotlight/th...

The Survival of Syria’s Damask Rose

Every spring, the valuable flowers bloom, a symbol of the country that has persisted through bloodshed, exploitation and drought

newlinesmag.com

2