As lecturer in archaeological science at the University of Reading, Sturt W. Manning spends much of his time at Late Bronze Age digs in the Aegean. To open his eyes to the prehistoric art of such regions, he is reading The Mind in the Cave: Consciousness and the origins of art by David Lewis-Williams (Thames & Hudson). He says the book offers a compelling analysis of amazing Stone Age art in the context of the development of the human mind.
In his less academic moments he is reading Life with Gough by Barry Cohen (Allen & Unwin, 1996). The book captures the lighter side of Gough Whitlam, Australia鈥檚 prime minister from 1972 to 1975 and a 鈥渢owering influence on the Australian national psyche鈥�. Manning attended the same school 鈥� albeit a generation later 鈥� and says Whitlam has become firmly fixed in his life. Finally, he is engrossed in a vividly styled 鈥渢ale of political and social intrigue centred around sex, love and Shakespeare鈥� 鈥� Dark Lady by Michael Baldwin (Abacus, 1999).