History of Music - Roy Bennett

Advantages: Compendium of short autobiographical stories, insights into plays, theatres and actors.
Disadvantages: Diaries can get a little tedious. Lectures not well illustrated.

...up”. “Untold Stories” was the result of his tidying up. Featuring largely through the book is references to Bennett’s play “The History Boys” which is in itself partially autobiographical. The sentiments from the play seem to be important to Bennett in these writings most of which are very personal. He quotes the play in his introduction with a foreshadowing of what is to follow. “Pass it on . . . Just pass it on”. There is something about facing your own mortality that produces more of an openness and intimacy. Bennett’s stories are personal and frank. He is passing on the stories important to him. There were times when reading the book that I felt a little like an interloper – that I was reading Bennett’s private thoughts and intruding into his life. “Untold stories” opens with a section based on Bennett's family history. He... Read review

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Advantages: In Review.
Disadvantages: In Review.

...or brick laying for the rest of your life. You can feel his heart sinking as you read this because he is not feeling sorry for himself but he is sorry to his family he has let down. He talks then about his days just existing waking up at 1pm to walk his dog and wait until Kylie Minogue came on the TV at 2 for his daily helping of Neighbours. Faith was around the corner though in 1989 the Irish government who by the way was stealing hundreds of millions from the people set up the FAS scheme to get young talented people jobs. He got a placement on his Local 2nd Division side Cobh Ramblers and the wheels were in motion for one of the greatest centre midfielders in the world. After a game in Dublin his team get hammered but a Nottingham Forest scout tells Roy he will get in touch with him. Brief history Nottingham Forest were the team... Read review

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Advantages: A good social science survey of the city
Disadvantages: A bit thin on the early days

...Roy Porter, noted and trained as a medical historian, turned his attention to the social development of London, and we are the richer for it. Porter is a Londoner, and has a passion for the city. Porter gives brief description to Londinium (mentioning among other things that it was abandoned 'to the dogs' by the Romans in the fifth century). This chapter, entitled ‘Formation to Reformation’, is painfully brief. It is true that the documentary evidence tends to be less available for those period than for the later, post-Tudor times; particularly as he is doing a social history (rather than an archaeological survey, or other such history), he can be forgiven some of the lack in this section. However, there is much more that could be added to these times (three-quarters of the history of London, in fact), is one of the minor flaws... Read review

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