Issue No.
42
February 2011
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| Welcome to February’s review of books |
 Tim Black
As Julian Assange looks set to be extradited to Sweden to face sexual assault charges, many commentators cling to the tale that he's a warrior for truth being punished by an angry American Empire for daring to reveal its secrets. In fact, as I argue in this issue of the spiked review of books, the Wikileaks story is not nearly so clear-cut or thrilling. It's presented to us as Dan Brown meets The Wire, with brave journos and spectral whizzkids taking on wicked Washington, but in truth this is a story of an incompetent American elite losing its secrets, immature leakers lapping them up, and desperate, mission-seeking journalists publishing them. Principled and profound it ain't. Also this month we have Dr Michael Fitzpatrick on the new breed of anti-vaccine agitator, Nancy McDermott on why and how The Feminine Mystique changed the course of history, Tim Black on whether the web makes us dumb, and much more! Enjoy. [Cover illustration by Jan Bowman.] |
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