Books
-
A Maltese visitor in 17th-century Brussels
Arnold Cassola: The Belgian memoirs of a Maltese intellectual, Giovanni Francesco Buonamico (1639-1680). Bank of Valletta. 2012. 78 pp. Giovanni Francesco Buonamico was a remarkable example of the Maltese intelligentsia who appeared in the 17th...
-
New book focuses on Mediterranean security
A publication that assesses the main security factors influencing Euro-Mediterranean relations at the start of the 21st century was recently released by Prof. Stephen Calleya, director of the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies at the...
-
The theory of creation
What is the philosophy of life? How did we get here? What is our purpose on earth? These are questions many of us have asked time and time again, without receiving a definite answer. To get very close to these answers, author Kevin Falzon, in his...
-
Not only for young adults
Adrian Grima: Din Mhix Logħba and Vleġġa Kkargata. Klabb Kotba Maltin. 2012. 92 pp and 48 pp respectively. Adrian Grima’s two latest publications are beautifully complemented with illustrations by Karen Caruana and it is amazing the difference that...
-
Canticle of the Wilderness
John Cremona: Il-Kantiku tax-Xagħra. Klabb Kotba Maltin, 2012, illustrations by Luciano Micallef. 144 pp. It is never any wonder that lawyers write poetry. In the popular mind they are not only in love with words, which they manipulate and turn...
-
Defining moments in decades of politics
Mario Cutajar (Ed), Mintoff: the Man and History. Sensiela Kotba Soċjalisti, 2012. 608 pp. Well before the death of former Prime Minister Dom Mintoff in August 2012, the Labour Party had planned to publish a fitting tribute to the man who, in...
-
Penning a tale of patriotism
Passionate about her Maltese descent, Canadian writer Marthese Fenech has celebrated Malta’s heritage in her historical book Eight-Pointed Cross. Jo Caruana interviews her about the international hit celebrated by critics and readers alike. Wherever...
-
Art book, exhibition focusing on movies launched
Drawings from movies take the spotlight in Camouflage, Revolution and Desire – drawing from movies, a new publication by visual artists Ruth Bianco and Richard Davies that was recently launched, together with an exhibition of related...
-
The conscience of a nation
The Essential Oliver Friggieri, a Malta University Publishing publication, is a new book by Charles Briffa. It includes some translated works and implies that the selection is representative of Friggieri’s feelings, thoughts and mind style in...
-
The story of a man and his nation
A new 500-page volume about the life and times of the late former Prime Minister Dom Mintoff, Mintoff: Il-Bniedem u l-Istorja has been launched by Sensiela Kotba Soċjalisti, the editorial house of the Labour Party. The book aims to initiate a...
-
Maltese-Australian relations: the challenge is inter-generational, says leading historian
In a 70-page illustrated booklet just published by the Foreign Affairs Ministry in its series of talks on Malta’s relations with states, keynote speaker Henry Frendo notes that for Maltese-Australian relations to prosper, outreach must go “beyond...
-
What happened in Malta after AD 870?
Joseph Grima (Ed): Melita Historica, journal of the Malta Historical Society. Vol. 15, no. 4. 2011. The Malta Historical Society, 2012. pp. 351. This issue of a much-respected journal, edited in this instance by Joseph Grima, offers a set of papers...
-
Short stories and poetry for young adults
Two books by Adrian Grima, a collection of poems called Vleġġa Kkargata and a collection of short stories called Din Mhix Logħba, are being published by Klabb Kotba Maltin, featuring full colour, oil on canvas paintings by Karen Caruana. Although...
-
Third volume of prayers written by San Ġorġ
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary from the death of San Ġorġ Preca, the Society of Christian Doctrine (MUSEUM), through its publishing house Preca Publications, has just published another book penned by the saint himself, who is also the...
-
Origins of vampire myths
The suave and sensitive Edward Cullen of Twilight may be the norm for vampires these days but fictional monsters such as Dracula originally sprang from the fear of inexplicable diseases and the mysteries of death in the natural world. So argues...
-
The other side of the Judeo-Christian story
Anton Sammut: The Other Side of the Judeo-Christian History – a historico-religious treatise on Judeo-Christianity. Self-published. 2012. 389 pp. As I wrote some time ago, with his very first publication, in his hugely gripping philosophical novel...
-
Of marionettes, Eros and death
A certain amount of literary agitation always surrounds the publication of a new anthology by Mario Azzopardi. Horizons has just published the latest book by this writer, who has been reinventing himself for the last 45 years. Il-Fabbrikant...
-
Sagħtar back-to-school issue
As students across Malta are now well into the new scholastic year, the latest issue of Sagħtar, the Malta Union of Teachers’ magazine aimed at primary and secondary school students, is now available. This new edition includes a number of...
-
The underbelly of Valletta
Intrigued by the colourful tales about the underground labyrinths of Valletta, author Edward Said has released a new publication, Subterranean Valletta, which sets out to uncover what really exists beneath the capital’s surface. It is said that...
-
Turning pages
From fiction to non-fiction and children’s to adult, the Mediterranean Conference Centre is buried under books and it’s wonderful! Jo Caruana checks out the National Book Fair, which closes today. We all know the joy of being immersed in a really...
