Past Glories

BROWSING WH Smith at Heathrow before catching a plane to Zurich, my eye was caught by a magazine-cum-pamphlet-cum book.

The fact it was published by New Scientist magazine almost put me off

I was right to be wary in that at times tedious wokeness breaks in.

Art, whether it is painting, a sculpture or music, is something we tend to associate with "advanced civilisations" (whatever that means).

But thankfully such examples are few, and for the most part the 100 pages are packed with fascinating history, or often pre-history.

Many of the articles read a bit like The Economist - visual soundbites that leave you wanting much more information.

But it was good to catch up with the current thinking on subjects such as the earliest cities, the development of writing and, believe it or not, the benefits of warfare.

Highly recommended, especially at the price of £10.99.