Why we get the wrong leaders
History reveals what drives the ambitions of would-be Caesars – and how we can counter them.
ByBook reviews
Read all the latest book reviews from the New Statesman and discover the best novels, non-fiction, essays and biographies. If you’re looking for something more specific, explore our sections dedicated to politics books and history books.
Russia’s great-power complex
Whether acting as an adversary or a partner to the West, the Kremlin has long yearned for recognition and respect.
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From Kathleen Jamie to Richard Overy: new books reviewed in short
Also featuring Ronald Moody: Sculpting Life by Ego Ahaiwe Sowinski and The Cursed Friend by Elena Pala.
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A reckoning for the Parisian elite
The French capital, once a seat of global power, has entered a new era of political and cultural upheaval.
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The politics of the prehistoric past
Our understanding of the earliest humans is shaped by contemporary beliefs about race, violence and sex.
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The real Christopher Isherwood
The poet’s candid project of self-discovery prefigured autofiction and shaped a generation of writers.
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Sebastian Junger’s chronicle of a death deferred
The American writer’s knowledge of war’s random violence did not prepare him for a profound encounter with mortality.
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Honor Levy’s journey to the centre of the internet
My First Book is an endearing attempt to capture the chaos and cringe of Gen Z life.
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From Simon Lister to Violet Moller: new books reviewed in short
Also featuring Nature’s Ghosts by Sophie Yeo and Spycraft by Nadine Akkerman and Pete Langman.
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The Ozempic effect
Magic Pill, Johann Hari’s study of the rise of diet drugs, sheds light on our deeply dysfunctional food culture.
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From Iain Sinclair to Colombe Schneck: new books reviewed in short
Also featuring Going Home by Tom Lamont and The Roads to Rome by Catherine Fletcher.
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Love, loathing and Lucian Freud
Rose Boyt’s memoir of her controlling father reveals a relationship defined by cruelty and shame.
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The lure of the English garden
Olivia Laing and Richard Mabey reveal the joys, crises and politics of making a garden of one’s own.
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In defence of the new Luddism
The AI boom poses a threat to copyright, privacy and human rights – but no technology should be above the…
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Inside the mind of Franz Kafka
A revelatory edition of his diaries and a new biography upend the simplified myth of the anguished writer.
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Colm Tóibín’s genre trouble
The Brooklyn sequel Long Island is a rich tale of secrets and betrayal. Is it more than a romance novel?
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The 2024 International Booker shortlist reviewed
From a Korean Scheherazade to Brazilian spirits, the grief of surviving a suicide to the magic of brief encounters.
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The curse of climate brain
Global warming is not only destroying our environment; it is altering the way we think and act – for the…
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From Hari Kunzru to Eugene Rogan: new books reviewed in short
Also featuring The Light Eaters by Zoë Schlanger and Cypria by Alex Christofi.
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The strange death of conservatism
Geoffrey Wheatcroft’s first obituary of Tory England was premature – but now, he says, the party is beyond saving.
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