Corona, Climate, Chronic Emergency; What Would Nature Do? – review
A bromide-laden view of the threats to the planet, by Ruth DeFries, is less convincing than Andreas Malm’s call for an urgent reform of capitalismDo you remember April? It seems like decades ago, but I...
View ArticleThe best books of 2020 to support indie publishers this Christmas
Some of the most outstanding books by small presses, from an extraordinary year‘It’s been a rollercoaster’: how indie publishers survived - and thrived - in 2020Earthlingsby Sayaka Murata (Granta)The...
View ArticleChris Packham: ‘I read Brave New World at 13 – I found it terrifying but...
The naturalist, TV presenter and writer on overpopulation, the one book he failed to finish and an underrated novel about a woman watching a snailThe book I am currently readingI’ve just finished Dale...
View ArticleAdam Kay: 'We should talk to kids about sex and alcohol. Everything goes...
The comedian, whose diaries of his years as a junior doctor became a bestseller, talks about the ‘astonishing’ efforts of the NHS in 2020, and his new guide to the body for childrenAdam Kay is pleased...
View ArticleKindred by Rebecca Wragg Sykes review – a new understanding of humanity
In this impressive reassessment Neanderthals emerge as complex, clever and caring, with a lot to tell us about human lifeHomo sapiens’ relationship with our long-lost relatives the Neanderthals has...
View ArticleThe Knowledge Machine by Michael Strevens review – how science works
A fascinating and timely history of how science developed via the achievement of pursuing only observation and experiment (not politics)Isaac Newton had a problem. He didn’t believe in the divinity of...
View ArticleCountry diary: following in the footsteps of Nan Shepherd
Creag Dubh, Highlands: Described by the Scottish writer as ‘blue cold and brilliant’, the walk was less inviting on our day up the mountain, but no less excitingRelated: The Living Mountain author Nan...
View ArticlePhilippa Perry: ‘Most parents are not evil - they're lovely people with the...
The psychotherapist talks to Hadley Freeman about her childhood, parenting in a pandemic, and life with her partner, artist Grayson PerryWhen Philippa Perry finished, after several years of writing and...
View Article2021 in books: what to look forward to this year
Kazuo Ishiguro returns with a novel about an artificial friend, Zadie Smith brings the Wife of Bath bang up to date, Bill Gates takes on the climate crisis ... a literary calendar for the year aheadThe...
View ArticleMichael Lewis reveals next book, The Premonition, will be about coronavirus
The Big Short author is setting out to tell story of ‘misfits’ who anticipated the pandemic and went on to make sense of itMichael Lewis, author of bestsellers including The Big Short and Liar’s Poker,...
View ArticleThe Hidden Spring by Mark Solms review – the riddle of consciousness solved?
I feel therefore I am ... In this fascinating study, a neuropsychologist argues that the mystery of consciousness centres on emotionsIn a crowded field, consciousness has a strong claim to being the...
View ArticleThe Rag and Bone Shop by Veronica O'Keane review – a trip down memory's many...
This fascinating investigation by a psychiatrist examines the intricacies of the human brain, revealing how and why our minds can play tricks on usVeronica O’Keane is a professor of psychiatry at...
View ArticleAlwyn Lishman obituary
Neuropsychiatrist who brought brain and mind together in studies of mental health Alwyn Lishman liked to tell people that he wrote his classic textbook Organic Psychiatry (1978) only because the £500...
View ArticleHow to Avoid a Climate Disaster by Bill Gates; The New Climate War by Michael...
Two eminent voices on the climate crisis present clear strategies for tackling emissions, deniers and doomsayersPresident Joe Biden has promised a new era of American leadership on global climate...
View ArticleHow to Avoid a Climate Disaster by Bill Gates review – why science isn't enough
The co-founder of Microsoft looks to science and tech to end climate crisis ... but can nations cooperate?Bill Gates has changed our lives through his Microsoft software; he has improved countless...
View ArticleTomorrow Sex Will Be Good Again by Katherine Angel – review
From ‘No means No’ to #MeToo – original thoughts on consent and the complexities of female desire“In recent years, two requirements have emerged for good sex: consent and self-knowledge,” Katherine...
View ArticleFriends by Robin Dunbar review – how important are your pals?
The psychologist’s fascinating study of friendship finds that the quality of our relationships determines our health, happiness and chance of a long lifeYou may not have heard of Robin Dunbar. But you...
View ArticleIn brief: The Walking People; Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain; A...
Mary Beth Keane’s rich debut is republished, Lisa Feldmann Barrett makes neuroscience snappy, and Isabel Allende engrosses with a Spanish sagaMary Beth KeaneMichael Joseph, £14.99, pp400Continue...
View Article'The Earth could hear itself think': how birdsong became the sound of lockdown
When the pandemic hit, the song of birds offered joy and hope. The author of a new book recalls that glittering spring and explains the science behind bird calls and how to identify themIt’s six in the...
View ArticleBirdsong in a Time of Silence by Steven Lovatt review – lockdown's high notes
An illustrated record begun in the ‘strangest spring’ of 2020 celebrates the enduring beauty and culture of birdlifeIn spring 2020, as Covid-19 spread fear and infection around the globe, seismologists...
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