Book
Review
Basic Details:
Book Title: The Pendulum has
Swung too far
Subtitle:
Author:
Karl Wiggins
Genre: Social Sciences
Part of a series? No
Order in series:
Best read after earlier
books in series?
Available: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57890759-the-pendulum-has-swung-too-far
Overall
score:
I
scored this book 4/5
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Short
Summary of the book:
This type of book is not my usual read.
Conspiration theories? Possibly. Opinionated? Certainly. But, if I extrapolate
from this book, this means I’m also opinionated, and I probably am. Although I
agreed on certain things the author mentioned, I’m afraid I didn’t on the
majority.
What
I liked about the book:
The author is a good and engaging writer. He
is very outspoken.
What
I didn’t like about the book:
I didn’t much care for what I considered
conspiracy theories and unbalanced views. But, I guess, that also makes me opinionated.
My
favourite bits in the book:
The book was engaging in places.
My
least favourite bits in the book:
The repetition of, in my opinion, conspiracy
theories and the author’s view on the world.
Any
further books in the series? Any more planned by this author?
This is the first book I’ve read by this
author and I understand he has written many more.
What
books could this be compared to and why?
This is a social science study.
Recommendation:
In
summary, I would recommend this book to the following readers:
|
Children
|
No
|
|
Young
Adult
|
Maybe
|
|
Adult
|
Yes
|
If
you like controversial statements, conspiracy
theories, and outspokenness, this book may be the book for you.
Book
Description by Author:
2020 was a nasty year, a muddy, polluted,
oily, smoky and rank year. A ratbag of a year. A year of easy virtue, if ever
there was such a thing. A number of people, mainly politicians, large
pharmaceutical companies and the exceedingly wealthy have shown their true
colours, leaving us with the inescapable conclusion that we’re being lied to
all the time. Are we on the brink of a new kind of totalitarianism, as
predicted by Aldous Huxley and George Orwell? Has the pendulum really swung too
far?
We don’t live in a military state,
disciplined by violence, so they have to deceive us and offer the misconception
of independence, and they have to find other ways of controlling us. Masks, for
instance …. although of course it was never about the masks.
The more they can strengthen the general
public’s fear s, the easier it is to control us. In a dictatorship, you just
take orders without bothering to vote, but in a democracy, you vote first and
take orders second. And that’s the only difference. If they can control what we
think then they can prevent us - the uneducated and illiterate masses - from
meddling in their affairs. They see running the country as none of our
business. They want us to be bystanders, and certainly not participants
We’re living in a totalitarian state, but
don’t realise it. Boris Johnson tells us when we are allowed to be outside,
where we are allowed to go, when we’re allowed to work, if we’re permitted to
go on holiday or not, what parts of the country we can visit, and how many of
us can sit in a pub.
I’ve always been ready to stand up and be
counted because I know that if I allow my emotions to be stilled, then a kind
of blue funk settles in, and I can’t allow that.
In this book, I’m sure to rattle a few cages.
And in case the wrong person picks up this book I’ll even help you write the
review, ‘Typical right-wing bull ….’ There you go, that’s all you need to
write. Except, of course, I don’t think of myself as right-wing at all (well,
I’m not), but I’ve been called a fascist by fascists, and a racist by racists,
so I don’t mind you calling me right-wing, even though the right-wing are
nearly always wrong. Hey, call me a Conspiracy Theorist, if you like, but first
of all make sure you understand what exactly that means. Call me that, and I’ll
be quite complimented.
Freethinkers, you see, are those who have
evolved beyond other people’s comfort zones.
But my intention isn’t to be quarrelsome,
it’s just to offer the reader enough moments to ponder over. I make every
effort to stay away from Conspiracy Theories, not because I don’t believe in
them, but more because I find it a rather dismissive term, allowing others to
reject the freethinker’s point of view out of hand.
People are getting angry – about Boris
Johnson, Donald Trump, immigration, pensions, and most of all Lockdown - and in
this book I analyse these views and justify them in the words of the bloke who
goes to football on a Saturday afternoon, enjoys a few pints with his mates
before the game and puts the world to right.
I’ve no doubt there will be people who
disagree with my reflections, and that’s okay. We’re not all supposed to agree.
But there are issues right now that need addressing. I haven’t watered down my
writing at all, or bent over backwards to suit the do-gooders, I promise you
that.
In the book I’ve made every effort to finish
on a positive note, and that may surprise some, but although the pendulum has
now swung too far, a pendulum will always return to its equilibrium. And I see
big changes ahead for humanity as long as we don’t buy into the fear.
‘His style is very readable. He talks to you
with all the confidence of a man in touch with his own reality, in a voice
which is seasoned with the hint of a world weariness that is so telling of a
writer who has written what he knows and written it with disarming
fearlessness.’
About
the Author:
Karl
Wiggins – Author, humourist, raconteur and (unfortunately) master of dysphemism
I'm
an author with seven books on Amazon Kindle, and I'll state right from the
start that I have a particular aversion to fellow authors who befriend you and
then immediately message you saying, "You might like my book ..... check
it out."
I
don't do that. If people wish to know more about my books the information is
here to read, but I won't invade your personal space (not to mention precious
time) with pleas to check out my own books
My
goal, my life’s ambition if you like, is to give direction to comedy, purpose
to satire. And this is probably why I write the way I do, in order to use
self-deprecating, piss-taking humour to bring to the fore situations that just
don’t stack up. To demonstrate that serious issues can be approached with humour.
Embarrassingly,
a number of the reviews for my books seem to involve people losing control of
their bladder; “Anyone who is a bit saucy, very fond of boobies and doesn't
mind peeing slightly when they laugh too hard, this is the book for you!” “Best
not to read this book on the train if you have a full bladder because by the
end of your journey you will have a damp patch in an embarrassing place.” “I
have to admit that I wet myself twice while reading it but this may in part
have been due to my age and a couple of bottles of a fine St. Emilion,” “Due to
the laughter you owe my secretary one clean pair of knickers.”
Two
reviewers have even suggested I should tour as a stand-up comedian; “I found
myself laughing out-loud and even sharing segments with my spouse ….. I think
Karl could tour as a stand-up comedian,” “Mr Wiggins has views on life that are
expressed in a manner worthy of any stand-up comedian.”
So
my scribblings do seem to raise a smile and a chuckle, and either way you look
at it, that has to be a good thing. Hardly any subject is taboo to the
Englishman when he’s laughing, and this often seems insensitive to other
cultures, but the bedrock of the British sense of humour is a strong sense of
sarcasm and self-deprecation. The British can be very passionate – and if you
doubt that try going to a football match - but that passion is hidden deep in
our humour so that other nationals often fail to recognise the deadpan delivery
and are never quite sure if they’ve been involved in a serious conversation or
just a little bit of friendly banter.
Having
said that my style of writing is now appealing more and more to the American
market, and I write a regular column for a newsletter in Copiague, Long Island,
New York. I’m really enjoying connecting with the people over there.
Interestingly
enough, my writing style has been compared to two people, both now dead,
Charles Bukowski and Socrates. Their names keep popping up in reviews; “Mr
Bukowski, meet Socrates. This is an exceptionally amusing collection of
observations of daily life,” “The prose style reminded me quite a lot of
Charles Bukowski’s short essays and observations,” “It reminded me a lot of
Bukowski’s novels, but particularly Factotum and Post Office,” “Had me laughing
out loud several times, which doesn’t happen often to me. It reminded me a lot
of Bukowski’s novels,” (I swear those are two completely separate reviewers),
“Karl Wiggins is like a contemporary Socrates.”
I’m
sure both Socrates and Charles Bukowski would turn in their graves. But then
again, maybe not.
My
books;
'You
Really are full of Shit, Aren't You?' is my latest and possible my favourite.
It's an agony uncle / advice columnist style book, but unlike most agony aunts
I cut them no slack.
I'll
be the first to admit that 'Dogshit Saved my Life' and 'Calico Jack in your
Garden' are not to everyone's taste, but the reviews are good, so I seem to be
hitting the right note.
'Shit
my History Teacher DID NOT tell me' kind of speaks for itself I guess, as does
'Grit - The Banter & Brutality of the Late-Night Cab Driver.' I drove cab
in b
