All the Troubles (Simon Adams, Fremantle Arts Centre Press, $24.95 pb, ISBN 1920731105, September) ***

As a lecturer in politics and history at the University of Notre Dame in Western Australia and a regular political commentator, Simon Adams is well qualified to inform readers about the state of the world. In this, his third book, Adams has compiled his own essays on the global political landscape, ranging from topics such as terrorism and US foreign policy to the plight of African nations and the Catholic/Protestant dilemma in Ireland. Although he covers a lot of well-trodden ground, Adams delivers an accessibility that some political commentators struggle to attain. Adams' pride in his Irish heritage is evident with his essays concerning Ireland, which are drawn from his experiences while writing his first book, Exit Wounds. The title All the Troubles refers to the name given to the bloody conflict in Northern Ireland: the Troubles. Set out in a similar style to John Pilger's The New Rulers of the World, the book covers some issues close to home, such as East Timor and West Papua's struggle for independence, which many international writers ignore. This book is a sound overview of the forces that influence the world and interesting reading for those searching for an introduction to international politics.

Tony O'Loughlin is Academic Buyer at Readings Hawthorn

This review from Australian Bookseller & Publisher magazine is reproduced by kind permission of Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2004, Thorpe-Bowker