29 JUNE 1996, page 34

Reckless Actions, Terribly Punished

Ian Buruma HUNGRY GHOSTS: CHINA'S SECRET FAMINE by Jasper Becker John Murray, £19.99, pp. 352 I t takes a peculiar talent, a kind of lunatic imagination, and a moral blindness......

We Ought To Be Ashamed Of Ourselves

Nigel Spivey REFLECTIONS ON VIOLENCE S chopenhauer once threw an old lady down a flight of stairs because her natter- ing outside his door rasped upon his concentration. This is......

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£16.99 call The Spectator Bookshop on 0181 964 9640. 'That child's far too big to be in our bed now, Mavis.'......