Six of the Best 779

"I look at the rise of intolerant forces. Then I look at the progressive political forces ranged against them, using the same old language they have always used, and the political defences for civilisation don’t seem very strong or convincing." David Boyle asks why voters hate the centre left.

Jeremy Corbyn and Tony Blair share an unshakable belief in their own righteousness, argues Marina Hyde.

Kenilworth Books says the publishing industry must find a better way of rewarding authors.

"A measure of schadenfreude is not just allowed, it is entirely appropriate. This is not just because the guilty men are all Australians ... but because while the gulf between how the Australians think of themselves and how they are perceived by everyone else has often been wide it has not always been as unbridgeable as this." Alex Massie on sandpapergate.

Maurice Ashley profiles the US grandmaster Fabiano Caruana, who has just qualified to challenge Magnus Carlsen for the world chess championship,

Russ J. Graham revisits the rapid rise and fall of Sixties TV personality Simon Dee.