Hobbes was wrong
John Gray’s latest book argues that the new Leviathans of liberalism have led to a war of all against all.
ByNon-fiction
Discover the latest non-fiction books and must-reads with the New Statesman’s expert reviews. Including biographies, music books, political writing and more.
Europe’s race delusions
Built on imperial amnesia and competing nationalisms, the EU has never been the beacon of inclusion it claims to be.
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From Daljit Nagra to Charlie Porter: new books reviewed in short
Also featuring National Dish by Anya von Bremzen and Metropolitan by Andrew Martin.
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Simone de Beauvoir and the art of loss
Sixty years ago, the French writer’s unflinching memoir of her mother’s death tested the limits of her existentialism.
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The mysteries of late style
Christopher Neve’s study of great painters reveals the risks and rewards of creating art at the end of life.
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Milan Kundera’s identity crisis
In renouncing his homeland and despairing of European culture, the Czech novelist walks in the footsteps of Kafka.
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Goodreads is degrading our literary culture
Everyone can, and should, be a critic. But the reviews website is having a sinister effect on books.
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A world built on sand
Ed Conway’s Material World shows that despite our digital lives it is rocks and minerals that power the global economy.
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Susan Sontag’s women problem
In the feminist thinker’s essays of the 1970s, members of her sex are portrayed as political pawns rather than human…
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The ultra-processed food swindle
Engineered to trick our taste buds and appetites, artificially produced food is ruining our health and damaging our children. But…
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The Jewish vaccine pioneer forgotten by history
Simon Schama wants the post-pandemic world to learn from the case of Waldemar Haffkine: a tragic story of how prejudice…
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A life in books and why prizes matter
Also this week: the art of rejecting authors and how all the best stories are true.
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How germs shape history
Jonathan Kennedy’s Pathogenesis reveals how diseases have built and broken empires and economies.
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From the war in Ukraine to the life of Roger Deakin: new books reviewed in short
Also featuring Anna Metcalfe’s Chrysalis and Octavia Bright’s This Ragged Grace.
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Be more tree
We admire trees for their solitary strength, but it is their remarkable facility for collaboration and sharing that provides lessons…
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Soldiers in love
Men at War, Luke Turner’s tender account of servicemen’s transgressive private lives, transforms our understanding of the Second World War.
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The brutality of ballet
Alice Robb’s Don’t Think Dear reveals how the elite world of dance exerts a terrible physical and mental toll.
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Is a feminist marriage possible?
A new history takes in everything from ancient Roman weddings to Don’t Tell the Bride to ask: can we redefine…
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From Amy Key to Tom Clark: new books reviewed in short
Also featuring Eve by Claire Horn and A Stranger in Your Own City by Ghaith Abdul-Ahad.
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George Eliot’s marriage plot
In her work, the novelist developed a radical philosophy of relationships. In her life, she put it into practice.
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