Lead book review
Barack Obama was decidedly a man of action as well as words
Barack Obama was famous for his rhetoric, but his achievements show just what a steely political operator he was too, says Sam Leith
Harold Bloom finally betrays how little he really understood literature
Harold Bloom devoted his life to literature – but he had little feeling for words, says Philip Hensher
Books of the Year II — chosen by our regular reviewers
David Crane If nothing else, this has been a good time for catch-up. Theodor Fontane’s Effi Briest (translated by Walter…
Books of the year, chosen by our regular reviewers
Reviewers choose the books they have most enjoyed in 2020 – and a few that have disappointed them
The humble biscuit has a noble history
Prue Leith traces the biscuit’s surprisingly colourful history
Tom Bower pulls his punches with his life of Boris Johnson
The Prime Minister may have lost his bounce –but perhaps that’s no bad thing, says Lynn Barber
Behind the veil of secrecy: GCHQ emerges from the shadows
The brilliance of GCHQ can now be recognised – and about time too, says Sinclair McKay
De Profundis: the agony of filming Oscar Wilde’s last years
Philip Hensher admires a witty account of the horrors of modern film-making
Written in blood or bound in human skin: the world’s weirdest books
Dennis Duncan enjoys some of the world’s most bizarre books
Ladies’ man: Tom Stoppard’s love life revealed
Tom Stoppard is a non-stop genius of jokes – but many of them make his latest biographer uneasy, says Craig Raine
City of dazzling mosaics: the golden age of Ravenna
Ian Thomson describes Ravenna’s golden age, when classical Rome, Byzantium and Christianity met
Hitler’s admiration has severely damaged Wagner’s reputation
Wagner gripped the communal mind for decades after his death. Philip Hensher examines his enduring influence
The paradox of Graham Greene – searching for peace in the world’s warzones
Graham Greene was constantly searching for peace of mind along with escapist thrills, says Nicholas Shakespeare
Toussaint Louverture: the true hero of Haiti
Toussaint Louverture’s ‘crazy dream’ for Haiti has still to be realised, says Amy Wilentz
Sport, for the English, has always been a defiant assertion of liberty
The history of English sport reflects a defiant people determined to protect their ancient prerogatives, says Alex Massie
The Big Tech firms are dividing the world between them
Cory Doctorow on the vast, impersonal forces manipulating our lives
The heroic couple who defied Hitler
Philippe Sands on the heroic couple who defied Hitler and paid the ultimate price
Will the universe end with a bang or a bounce?
Alexander Masters speculates on how the universe will end
We should learn to love sharks, not demonise them
Sharks may inspire fear and loathing, but we are the crueller predators, says Philip Hoare
Where are the scents of yesterday? Entire countries have lost their distinctive smell
Michael Bywater wonders why the existence of smell still seems such a guilty secret
How far can we trust the men in lab coats?
Research has always been susceptible to fraud, but regulations are now much tighter than they were, says David Wootton
It was Bevin, not Bevan, who was the real national treasure
Alan Johnson pays tribute to Ernest Bevin, a towering political figure too often forgotten
How do we greet one another today?
Conversation is a fascinating subject, says Philip Hensher – but very few people get it right
Splashing the cash at VIP nightclubs is now the favourite recreation of the rich
The spectacular extravagance of the VIP nightclub ‘experience’ could be the last bonfire of the vanities, says Lynn Barber
The history of Thebes is as mysterious as its Sphinx
The Spartans were not the only Greeks to die at Thermopylae. On the fateful final morning of the battle, when…
