Books
Noble Endeavours, by Miranda Seymour - review
Like Miranda Seymour, the author of this considerable work on Anglo-German relations, I was raised in a Germanophile home. I…
Building a Bridge
I didn’t even have to say: No need to explain, I understand. It was in his look — Look after…
Narcoland, by Anabel Hernandez - review
It is by now surely beyond doubt that those governments committed to fighting the war on drugs — and on…
The Tragedy of Liberation, by Frank Dikötter - review
The historian of China Frank Dikötter has taken a sledgehammer to demolish perhaps the last remaining shibboleth of modern Chinese…
Multiples, edited by Adam Thirlwell - review
There is a hoary Cold War joke about a newly invented translating machine. On a test run, the CIA scientists…
The World According to Karl, edited by Jean-Christophe Napias - review
Every fashion era has its monster and in ours it’s Karl Lagerfeld, a man who has so emptied himself on…
Uncle Bill, by Russell Miller - review
Given the outcome of recent military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, it is pertinent to look for one particular quality…
Signifying Rappers, by David Foster Wallace - review
Since his suicide, David Foster Wallace has made the transition from major writer to major industry. Hence this UK issue…
Mr Loverman, by Bernardine Evaristo - review
In 1998, the Jamaican singer Bounty Killer released a single, ‘Can’t Believe Mi Eyes’, which expressed incredulity that men should…
The Mitford Girls’ Guide to Life, by Lyndsy Spence - review
For some reason you don’t expect people to be fans of the Mitford sisters, as others are fans of Doctor…
Books and Arts
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Helpful hints for Holloway
For some reason you don’t expect people to be fans of the Mitford sisters, as others are fans of Doctor…
Helpful hints for Holloway
For some reason you don’t expect people to be fans of the Mitford sisters, as others are fans of Doctor…
Danubia, by Simon Winder - review
The inbred Habsburg monarchs, who for centuries ruled without method over a vast, ramshackle empire, managed to leave an indelible mark on modern Europe, says Sam Leith
Almost English, by Charlotte Mendelson - review
Novels about growing up have two great themes: loss of innocence and the forging of identity. With this sparky, sharp-eyed…
419 by Will Ferguson - review
The term ‘419’ is drawn from the article in the Nigerian penal code that addresses fraud. However, it has transcended…
Olivier, by Philip Ziegler - review
Philip Ziegler is best known for his biographies, often official, of politicians, royalty and soldiers. They include Harold Wilson, Edward…
The Downfall of Money, by Frederick Taylor - review
In Germany in 1923 money was losing its value so fast that the state printing works could not keep up.…
E.O. Wilson has a new explanation for consciousness, art & religion. Is it credible?
His publishers describe this ‘ground-breaking book on evolution’ by ‘the most celebrated living heir to Darwin’ as ‘the summa work…
Salinger, by David Shields - review
This biography has somewhat more news value than most literary biographies. Its subject worked hard to ensure that. After 1965,…
The Broken Road, by Patrick Leigh Fermor - review
Sound the trumpets. Let rip the Byzantine chorus of clattering bells and gongs, the thunder of cannons, drums and flashing…
Books and Arts
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Books and Arts
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The Rocks Don’t Lie, by David R. Montgomery - review
James McConnachie finds that theology and geology have been unlikely bedfellows for centuries
Lion Heart by Justin Cartwright - review
Justin Cartwright is famously a fan of John Updike — and here he seems to owe a definite debt to…
