The invention of the Teddy boy
How the subculture emerged from postwar London’s tribal landscape of fashion, class and violence.
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.
Thomas Hardy’s life of desire
Why did the great novelist of female attraction create such misery in his marriages?
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Lessons from The World of Yesterday
Stefan Zweig’s 1942 portrait of the late Austro-Hungarian empire remains a stark warning against taking national security for granted.
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From Adam Phillips to Kate Manne: new books reviewed in short
Also featuring Pity by Andrew McMillan and Breaking Through by Katalin Karikó.
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Can Zelensky survive the stalemate?
Once feted for his showmanship, Ukraine’s president has become plagued by corruption scandals and military failures.
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Ripping up the Iron Curtain
How a mass picnic party broke open Hungary’s Austrian border and foreshadowed the fall of the Berlin Wall.
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Sheila Heti’s book of life
The Canadian novelist’s Alphabetical Diaries find a new way to capture the rhythms of human consciousness.
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From Philip Ball to Rachael Allen: new books reviewed in short
Also featuring My Friends by Hisham Matar and Veiled Threat by Nadeine Asbal.
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The dictator’s best friend
From Mussolini to Mao, autocrats have often turned to writers to tighten their grip on power.
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Empire’s final reckoning
Sathnam Sanghera’s Empireworld captures the complexity of British imperialism’s legacy – but can its injustices yet be undone?
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The Polish Revolution
Timothy Garton Ash’s account of the Solidarity movement shows how Poland has resisted Russian control, and led me to a…
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From Colin Barrett to Hannah Ritchie: new books reviewed in short
Also featuring Deterring Armageddon by Peter Apps and Missing Persons, or My Grandmother's Secrets by Clair Wills.
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József Debreczeni’s letter from the land of the dead
A rediscovered memoir from an Auschwitz survivor offers powerful lessons for our own reckonings with the Holocaust.
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The Wizard of the Kremlin takes us inside the mind of Putin’s spin-master
Giuliano da Empoli’s fictionalised portrait of Vladislav Surkov dramatises the birth of the post-truth world.
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From Bettany Hughes to Aniefiok Ekpoudom: new books reviewed in short
Also featuring Our Moon by Rebecca Boyle and Trapped in History by Nicholas Rankin.
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The new age of magical thinking
The philosophy of magic inspired the founders of modern science. Now it feeds the delusions of Silicon Valley.
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How to escape the self-help trap
Vincent Deary’s exhilarating new book mixes science, philosophy and memoir to argue that self-acceptance is our best defence against the…
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2024: The year in fiction
This year’s books highlights include new works from Kevin Barry, Sarah Perry and Ali Smith.
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The best New Statesman reviews and cultural essays of 2023
Our pick of the best writing and biggest moments from the year in culture.
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The 20 best books of 2023
Our choice of the year’s essential fiction and non-fiction.
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