The psychoactive plants that change our consciousness
It is fascinating to learn how three plant-derived drugs – caffeine, opium and mescaline – can shape society.
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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.
Nora Ephron and the art of self-narrative
The writer and film-maker poured her life into her journalism and romcoms. What can a new biography tell us that…
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Nietzsche before the breakdown
In the 1880s, the ailing philosopher prophesied the West’s violent decline – but not even he could prevent it.
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The rise and fall of Lex Greensill
How David Cameron’s favourite banker became the focus of a billion-dollar scandal.
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The lying life of Emmanuel Carrère
In his new book, Yoga, the French literary star is fixated on truth – so why does he play fast…
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A timely check-up on the GP’s vital role in the community
Updating John Berger’s 1967 classic, A Fortunate Woman shares the devotion and anguish of a modern family doctor.
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Processing Wirecard’s €2bn scandal
Dan McCrum’s Money Men tells the story of audacious financial fraud hiding in plain sight.
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Reviewed in short: New books from Sophie Pavelle, Brendan Simms and Steven McGregor, Ana Kinsella and Gerald Murnane
Forget Me Not by Pavelle, The Silver Waterfall by Simms and McGregor, Look Here by Kinsella and Last Letter to…
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Volodymyr Zelensky behind the mask
Serhii Rudenko’s biography is a portrait of a wartime hero whose troubled past may return to haunt him.
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How the empire degraded Britain
Three new histories reveal the corrosive effects of colonialism and slavery on today’s British politics.
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From aardvark to woke: inside the Oxford English Dictionary
The OED’s task – to define every English word – is as ambitious as it was 150 years ago.
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The Death of Consensus: the recurring nightmares of British politics
From strikes to Brexit, a new book by the BBC producer Phil Tinline explores how the UK has been shaped…
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Geoff Dyer and the art of slacking off
The author’s workshy alter-egos made his books a delight. Now in sober late middle age, has the ultimate skiver lost…
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Henry Kissinger’s whitewashing of Richard Nixon
The American diplomat’s new book, Leadership, is undermined by his self-serving portrait of his thuggish former boss.
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The Case Against the Sexual Revolution: liberal feminism under attack
Louise Perry’s new book is a provocative denunciation of pornified culture and sex positivity.
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What Antony Beevor gets wrong about Russia
The historian’s new book Russia: Revolution and Civil War 1917-1921 fails to understand that brutality is powered by ideas.
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The myth of England’s rural idyll
The countryside is not a peaceful refuge from urban life, writes Vron Ware in Return of a Native, but a…
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From bullied to billionaire – the inevitable triumph of Elon Musk
In a new biography, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO is portrayed as a troubled visionary who views success as a…
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Zero: Jeremy Hunt’s book on the NHS is well intentioned – but misses 90 per cent of the story
Candid on short-staffing and underfunding, ministerial memoir Zero omits the healthcare that happens in the community.
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Jarvis Cocker’s book Good Pop, Bad Pop reveals the sentimental side he hid in the Nineties
Taking us through the contents of his attic, the Pulp frontman shows there was always more to him than ironic…
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