Authors Electric

Xenophon grew up in Athens and served in the Greek cavalry a few years before the birth of Alexander the Great. In his retirement, he wrote what is considered to be the first book on horsemanship, which I found useful when I was writing "I am the Great Horse", although I don't claim to have read it in the original ancient Greek! Fortunately translations exist, and I chose 'The Art of Horsemanship' translated from by M H Morgan for its layman's approach to the text rather than being aimed exclusively at scholars of the period. The Art of Horsemanship This neat little book includes Xenophon's original Treatise on Horsemanship,  together with an essay on the Greek Riding Horse, closing with a chapter describing the characteristics of a good horse according to 10 prominent Greek and Roman writers of the time. A series of notes at the end provide fascinating detail to the equestrian, such as the type of bit used in the horse's mouth for everyday riding (smo...

It’s only since I’ve been regularly reviewing two books a month for a magazine that I’ve started to think about how I read, as well as how I write. I have reviewed one AE book – TheSurvival of Thomas Ford by John A. A. Logan.  I could fill every slot with books by friends and associates, but I don’t think that would be terribly ethical! The children’s review is written by a nine-year-old, so I’m limited to adult books and I’m meant to select ones that I have enjoyed. Easier said than done. Although I occasionally choose a classic -   Cold Comfort Farm and The Day of the Triffids , for instance, I’m mainly meant to be looking at work that’s been published fairly recently, for people who read a lifestyle magazine. This has meant buying a lot of books for my Kindle, frequently by authors who are new to me, and it’s pot luck as to whether I’ll end up reviewing them or not. I find that many of them start off well, and then tail off, which is always disappointing. What has surpris...