Renewable energy Albert Said’s letter supporting the development of renewable energy sources is based on a number of widely held misconceptions. He says that “cleaning the atmosphere is very good for humanity”. In fact, fossil fuels like coal, petrol and gas are far cleaner sources of energy production than anything that existed prior to their introduction, and have contributed very substantially to rising…

SUPERFAST PRIMETIME ULTIMATE NATION: The Relentless Invention of Modern India by Adam Roberts   Profile Books, London Hardcover: 312 pages Price: AUD$32.99 Reviewed by Bill James   India achieved independence in 1947. Despite its regional, ethnic, linguistic, economic and religious diversity, a number of broad generalisations can be made about the world’s biggest democracy during the first four or five…

THE GREAT CONVERGENCE: Information Technology and the New Globalisation by Richard Baldwin   Harvard UP, Cambridge, MA Hardcover: 344 pages Price: AUD$64.99 Reviewed by Colin Teese   Richard Baldwin’s book is more than ordinarily difficult to review. According to Baldwin, globalisation is nothing new. It began long before the Industrial Revolution – at least as far back as the Silk…