The Australian Literary Review has done a lovely write-up of Not In My Name. It’s part of a lengthy article covering a number of books, including one by David Runciman. I’ve pulled out the relevant passage:

Less radical chic than radical cheek, such slogans make a mockery of political protest. This is the starting point for Not in My Name, a collection of enjoyable rants on hypocritical attitudes to everything from anal sex to Israel and Amy Winehouse. Though Julie Burchill and Chas Newkey-Burden are less sanguine about hypocrisy than Runciman, it tends to be second-order hypocrisy to which they object most fervently, and in this respect their arguments converge.
However, this philosophical convergence does not entrain a political convergence, which once again goes to underscore the problem of analysing contemporary hypocrisy. Put simply, the authors supported the war, while Runciman, I strongly suspect, did not. Here is Newkey-Burden in full flow:

“Iraq was a colossally huge and important issue and, clearly, the natural consequences of both sides of the argument came with a horrendous price to pay. Here’s the thing, though: I’ve never met a single pro-war person who failed to accept the consequences of their argument. Similarly, I’ve never met a single anti-war person who did accept the consequences of theirs.”

Not in My Name is not a serious book but it makes a serious point nonetheless and that is this: those who demand political sincerity are rarely aware of the depth and nature of their own political hypocrisy.

I’m not sure whether any of my many Australian relatives and friends read the magazine, but it’s great to get a review Down Under!

Meanwhile, promo for Help! I’m Turning Into My Dad! is starting up. I did a slot on TalkSport today and they had a great response from listeners, with people calling in for two hours sharing their own ‘turning into Dad’ moments.