My friend, one-time colleague and now Independent on Sunday writer and Guardian Guide contributor Andrew Mueller has a new book out titled I Wouldn't Start From Here: A Misguided Tour Of The Early 21st Century. I am guessing that the title comes from the ingenious old Irish joke in which a man finds himself lost in Dublin on his way to Parnell Square. When he asks directions from a passing stranger he is told, "If I were you I wouldn't start from here." The tragic-comic dimension to this is that "here" is where everything must, per force, start from.
The book explores his contentious view that male violence is motivated in large part by a solipsistic desire to be noticed: "It's certainly preferable if your society's stupid indulged young men are encouraged to pick up guitars rather than rifles, though there are cases where you could wonder what's worse," he writes. "Young men seeking applause are quite often a driving factor in both considerations."
For those who are intrigued, I recommend his excellent website, which brings together reportage, commentary, interviews with pop stars and politicians, and his always well-reasoned but somehow inflammatory blog.
