The ObserverHistory booksReviewIrene Vallejo uncovers the history of the book, Sally Gardner relays a magical Regency tale, and Julia Child’s warm, witty memoir gets a reissue
Papyrus: The Invention of Books in the Ancient WorldIrene Vallejo (translated by Charlotte Whittle)
Hodder & Stoughton, £25, pp464
This prize-winning Spanish title has a classy jacket and impressive heft, which is only fitting really, since it celebrates the book as an object. More enticingly still, novelist and essayist Vallejo enlivens history with imagination and personal anecdote as she traces the book’s lineage from scrolls made of aquatic plant pith to codices and tablets, digressing to show how its development is interwoven with the development of western civilisation.
Notes and queriesWildlifeWhy frogs are out of their depth in the sea; The cheapest way from A to B; Scientists of the Elephant and CastleHow come there are no sea frogs or evolutionary equivalent?
Amphibians (frogs, toads, newts and salamanders) probably evolved from freshwater, fish-like ancestors (compare mudskippers and lungfish). They are mostly "skin breathers" and, as such, their skin is permeable to oxygen, carbon dioxide, water and salts.
In fresh water, frogs have a body salt content much higher than the surrounding water and therefore tend to absorb water by osmosis and lose salts by diffusion through the skin.
Top 10sSociety booksWhether through the seductive myth of honourable outlaws, or the bloody truth of ruthless criminals, this shadowy group has generated a vast literature – these are its highlights
How does one write a book in such an unwieldy field? One problem – apart from the obvious unmanageability of swelling bibliographies – is that “mafiological” literature is still beset by its original dilemma: is the mafia the set of codes of honour and family values we are accustomed to see at a Mascagni opera?
Book of the dayFictionReviewThis thrilling, genre-bending tale of escape from slavery in the American deep south contains extraordinary prose and uncomfortable home truthsAs if we needed any more reason to mourn the passing of Barack Obama’s presidency, it’s difficult to believe that either of his potential successors will share his fine taste in books. His 2016 summer holiday reading – released by the White House’s press department – not only included Helen Macdonald’s sublime H Is for Hawk, but also Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad.
Donald TrumpCity leaders largely agree the memorial should go, but there is little consensus on how to remove it
Political leaders in Los Angeles don’t mince their words about Donald Trump – they have called the former president a madman, a fascist, and “a clear and present danger to the stability of the country”. Yet when it comes to taking the small, symbolic step of erasing Trump’s most visible presence in the City of Angels, his star on the celebrity-studded Hollywood Walk of Fame, they have been strangely reluctant to turn their words into concrete action.
Jump the sharkTelevision & radioWhen good TV goes bad: the time MTV Unplugged went nu-metalWhether a proving ground for nascent acts or an opportunity for the old guard to win new fans, the acoustic staple was unmissable. Until Korn showed up
From Toys R Us to the state of Gary Lineker’s upper lip and chin, many things fared better in the 90s. This includes the acoustic performance show MTV Unplugged, which, for a while, showcased stripped-back and often surprising performances from a range of worthy musicians.
TexasBorder dispute between White House and Texas escalates after three drownBiden administration says state officials acted unconstitutionally by preventing border patrol from helping mother and children
A dispute between the White House and Texas intensified on Monday after the Biden administration declared that state officials acted unconstitutionally by blocking federal agents from a section of the border where a migrant mother and two children drowned in the Rio Grande.
The Texas military department (TMD) fenced off a large public park at Eagle Pass last week on the orders of the Republican governor, Greg Abbott, who boasted on Friday “we are not allowing border patrol on that property any more”.
Serie AThe iconic show which brought Serie A to millions of UK screens every Saturday celebrates its 30th anniversary
“Welcome to Serie A – the greatest league in the world.” With those words the late Kenneth Wolstenholme kicked off a new era as Serie A became an institution in living rooms up and down the United Kingdom.
A few weeks earlier coverage of the newly-created, and much-hyped, Premier League had launched on Sky and was supposed to take centre stage.
Ziad, a 35-year-old Palestinian, recounts another two days in Gaza, trying to find treatment for a sick cat, passing the time playing cards, and realising to his horror that communications to the outside world have been cut off Published: 4:12 PM ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTEoKyaqpSerq96wqikaJ%2BcpK%2BiuIydnK%2BdnKS9rrHNrWasnaKesrR7xpqxmmWUnq6zxZ6pmKCdbWc%3D
US newsMichigan governor signs ‘overdue’ laws that aim to end child marriageMinimum age raised to 18 in state that allowed 16- and 17-year-olds to wed with written permission from parent or guardian
The governor of Michigan signed legislation Tuesday that aims to eventually end child marriage in that state, raising the minimum age at which one can get married to 18 years old under all circumstances.
The state previously allowed 16- and 17-year-olds to wed with written permission from a parent or legal guardian.