Diarmaid Ferriter’s history of modern Ireland chronicles the dramatic social, political and economic shifts that have taken place within a generation
In Yoko Ogawa’s beautifully composed novel, a young girl tries to make sense of the world around her
Capers in Constantinople and Cornwall — plus a chilling story of espionage set in 1930s Vienna — are among the most compelling new spy novels
Uwe Neumahr’s story of the journalists at the war crimes trial tackles thorny questions about bias and collective German guilt
An autobiography that’s also a work of criticism — and all the better for it
Virginie Despentes uses the 18th-century epistolary form to craft a modern exploration of ageing, gender and addiction
Gauguin’s quasi memoir, rediscovered in 2020, is a key source for a biography that captures the painter’s contradictory character
Amorina Kingdon on the secrets of underwater acoustics and the damaging effects of noise pollution on marine wildlife
Bite-sized verse has its place, but two new anthologies offer a chance for deeper engagement with poetic traditions
The author’s latest novel draws on Herbert Henry Asquith’s letters to aristocrat Venetia Stanley in the run-up to the first world war
Ireland’s transformational quarter-century; Nuremberg’s reporting of history; the sounds of the ocean depths; the talent and troubles of Gauguin; Simon Russell Beale’s memoir of Shakespearean roles; a gripping historical novel by Robert Harris; a caustic epistolary work from Virginie Despentes; a page-turner by Tim Parks; Mark Haddon’s curious collection of short stories — plus Nilanjana Roy on Instapoetry
Mark Haddon turns to Greek myths and contemporary narratives to examine love, genetics and animals
As head of America’s Barnes & Noble chain he reinvented the business, but could not compete with Amazon’s disruption
The best things to eat, buy and see this month
With bigger stars and a lighter tone, the new series has more to offer viewers
Familiar material becomes a page-turner in Tim Parks’s expert hands
The Booker Prize-winning author and the acclaimed visual artist discuss the activist spirit that underpins their literature and art
The rivalry between Buffon and Linnaeus has lessons about disrupters and exploitation
The lauded author’s Booker-longlisted novel follows a secret agent as she monitors green activists in deepest France
Nell Frizzell’s carefully observed novel explores the messy emotions that bind siblings together
The fortunes of the Kremlin caterer turned Russian mercenary chief were inextricably — and fatally — tied to Putin’s patronage
John Kay takes a brilliantly erudite look at shifts in business thinking and the battle for consumer trust
Moon Unit Zappa’s memoir of a childhood spent in the chaotic household of her zany rocker father is lyrical, moving and funny
Tales of Trump’s finances, AI advances and Amazon’s dominance join the chosen titles
Ava Glass stakes out a city that more than lends itself to tales of espionage
Novels with multiple narrators play to the medium’s strengths, while Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s latest is an immersive pleasure
Tim Lankester provides a ringside seat to the policy debacle that led to recession and manufacturing collapse in 1980s Britain
Shifting the focus away from the Führer et al, Richard J Evans profiles lower-ranking Nazis who enabled the Holocaust
The BBC newsreader pays tribute to the grandparents who witnessed the turbulent birth of an independent India
Anupreeta Das investigates the power of Microsoft co-founder to shape our world — and asks: is it effective and accountable?
David Chaffetz makes a convincing case for why no other animal has had such a profound impact on human history
The Damned United author’s compelling fictionalisation of the plane crash that killed eight players succeeds as an elegy for society’s lost innocence
Susanna Crossman recounts the pain, joy and trauma of communal life
Rebecca Godfrey’s final book, completed by Leslie Jamison, reimagines the wild, wealthy, bohemian life of the heiress and art collector
After years at London’s Old Bailey, Wendy Joseph shines a light on the problems facing England’s courts and prisons
Adèle Rosenfeld’s striking debut novel explores what it is like to be partially hearing, stuck in limbo between sound and silence
The science and art of risk, understanding young people, and the unrecognised workforces powering AI