26 members recommend for August

www.davidhughesillustration.co.uk
Great work, great website. Especially the ‘Private View’ section, which shows images from his ‘The Boy Who Was Cruel To Insects’ show, with some of the comments it inspired when it appeared in Charleston, South Carolina. ‘David, You must be very disturbed, if you are married I feel sorry for your wife and family.’ That made me laugh. And so did: ‘I think this artist is mentally derranged. I can't believe I wasted 2 dollars to see it.’ TR (Editor's note: no relation to the designer of this newsletter.)

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'My Father and Other Working Class Football Heroes' by Gary Imlach, Yellow Jersey Press, £7.99 or £3.99 on Amazon
Stuart Imlach was a footballer of some distinction, a Scottish international and FA Cup winner, while gracing the Nottingham Forest side of the late-1950s. His son Gary, a sports journalist of some distinction, didn’t really ‘know’ him; the downs of his career, the conditions he worked under, the struggles he faced. This book is attempt to find the footballer in his father, away from the press clippings and newsreels, and instead through those that knew him: former teammates, managers and coaches. Part memoir, part biography, part social history and part detective story, Gary writes with a clear eye and crisp phrases. There is bite in his judgements on the blazers that ran the sport at the time, but this is not a bitter tale – instead, one filled with love, affection and bags of heart. RD


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'Bonjour Laziness' by Corinne Maier, Orion, £6.99 or £3.99 on Amazon
… a bored No Logo… … a flip, hip The Corporation… … a pretentious Dilbert… if I was lazy I’d leave it like that. But… Corrine Maier (who as an economist and a psychotherapist is not so lazy herself) has splurged a philippic of a slackers' guide, referencing Freud, Foucault, Marx and Debord amongst others. While French in orientation, there is plenty that is applicable to the Anglo-Saxon corporate world. She is viciously good on the bankruptcy of modern business language. It is destined to become a bible for those caught in the hell of middle management. RD

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'99 Ways to Tell a Story: Exercises in Style' by Matt Madden, £12.99 or £8.57 on Amazon
In which the resourceful Matt tells the same short 8-frame cartoon story in, you guessed it, 99 different ways – manga, fantasy, Bayeux Tapestry etc. It's a remarkable lesson in how to turn the most unpromising source material into something exciting. Now all I need to do is read Raymond Queneau's 1947 work of the same name which does exactly the same thing but with words. RH

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'Unspeak' by Stephen Poole, Little Brown, £9.99 or £6.59 on Amazon
Interesting analysis of the subtle and not-so-subtle ways in which language is used as a political weapon, focusing on those acts of naming that are designed to warp or close off an argument before it has even taken place. A whole lexicon of phrases come in for close analysis – pro-life, natural resources, road map, community, surgical strike, war on terror. The book has a definite political point of view (generally not hugely enamoured of George Bush), but it’s full of revealing research and insights – particularly for anyone whose trade is using words as a persuasive tool. NA

This month’s plugs by Tim Rich, Rishi Dastidar, Roger Horberry and Nick Asbury. These are not necessarily the views of 26, but we hope they’re not far off the mark. Any contributions gratefully received.

posted by jim @ 12:34 PM