Robert Kaplan’s tragic realism
Haunted by his misguided support for the Iraq War, the American writer turned to tragedy to understand the delusions of…
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Discover the latest non-fiction books and must-reads with the New Statesman’s expert reviews. Including biographies, music books, political writing and more.
From Don Paterson to Brigitte Reimann: new titles reviewed in short
Also featuring Pegasus by Laurent Richard and Sandrine Rigaud and Sensational by Ashley Ward.
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The myth of America’s love affair with guns
In Bloodbath Nation Paul Auster says fixing the firearms crisis requires deep cultural change. What it really needs is political…
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What Norman Mailer can teach us
It is right to condemn the writer’s violent chauvinism – but a literature that has lost the power to challenge is…
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The business-lounge intellectual
With his new book, the FT’s Martin Wolf wants to rescue capitalism. But is it worth saving?
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How the world turned global
Jonathan Sperber’s The Age of Interconnection surveys the second half of the 20th century but fails to explain the ideas…
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Nietzsche, narwhals and the burden of consciousness
Justin Gregg’s witty exploration of animal intelligence is a useful guide – but there is more to human life than…
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The meaning of Tyson Fury
He survived addiction and a suicide attempt to return to victory in the ring. Now the philosopher-fighter considers the “void”…
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What cells tell us about life
Siddharta Mukherjee’s new study of how cells work reveals the complexities of the human body – and the science that…
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Britain’s empire of science
How the Victorians bequeathed us their ideology of technoscientific progress.
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The Light We Carry: Michelle Obama’s self-help slogans
In converting her life story into self-empowering bromides, the former first lady has exposed the limits of her politics.
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The radical bookshops shaping Britain’s literary culture
Today’s indie bookshops are as influential in stirring up political and cultural life as those of the 1960s.
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Death by PowerPoint: the global influence of McKinsey
A new book connects the consultancy firm to a series of social and economic crises. But how culpable is a…
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What our homes reveal about ourselves
Living Rooms explores what domestic spaces say about class and belonging, from chintz to cleanfluencers.
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How political failures led to the Grenfell Tower fire
Peter Apps’s book, Show Me the Bodies, forensically uncovers the truth about the disaster that killed 72 people in 2017.
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The Mark Fisher generation
In 2009 Capitalist Realism sought to upend the status quo. As political paralysis returns, its message is as urgent as…
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Mary Lou McDonald: behind the respectable face of Sinn Féin
A new biography charts the rapid political rise – and moral compromises – of Sinn Féin’s leader.
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The tragedy of English football
The miracle of 1966 aside, Paul Hayward’s “biography” of England’s national team is a story of sorry failure.
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Chelsea Manning and the price of knowledge
The whistleblower’s harrowing memoir of her clash with the US military shows that information does not necessarily effect change.
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The dark side of DNA editing
Genetic engineering can lead to great medical advances but, as Matthew Cobb’s new book shows, it also brings alarming ethical…
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