Books

Peter J. Smith lauds a powerful study of the relationship between homoerotic desire and anxieties about social, religious, cultural and even apocalyptic collapse

A. W. Purdue chews over a grim account of how civilised nature crumbles when starvation looms

Robert J. Mayhew finds the pioneering environmental thinker’s meditations on population, resources and ecology more relevant than ever

Sharon Wheeler delights in casting a made-for-TV 17th-century tale laced with sex and the dark arts

A polemic against the new McCarthyism in US universities catches Jane O’Grady’s attention

A weekly look over the shoulders of our scholar-reviewers

Deft hands make light work of the incomplete ‘jigsaw’ that is physics, says Cait MacPhee

A thoughtful study by the head of Utrecht University focuses on the forces reshaping the sector, says David Wheeler

Clare Bambra commends a polemic that shines a light on the fatal flaws in US healthcare policy

Matthew Feldman appreciates an enlightening exploration of radicalisation and its causes

Turkey’s American dreams; reels and reels of suspense; continental contracts; and Putin’s backyard

Book of the week: From staff in nappies to hassled waitresses, a study of work is full of justified rage, says Philip Roscoe

A weekly look over the shoulders of our scholar-reviewers

The professor of comparative religion and author of on log-cabin Lincoln, the Koran and Islam’s political movements

A detailed examination of the motivation behind suicide bombing is a must-read, says Christina Hellmich

Learning to manage guilt, shame, anger and joy is increasingly part of your job, says Kirsty Finn

Too busy for science? Anna Watts suggests that you make time for this engaging whistlestop tour led by an astrophysicist and seasoned science communicator

Catherine Clinton admires an intimate portrayal of US presidents’ wives and those they subjugated

The English scholar and author of on journeys real and imagined, from Shel Silverstein and Agatha Christie to pilgrims’ tales ancient and modern

A weekly look over the shoulders of our scholar-reviewers

Book of the week: The art of coaxing meaning from literature is the legacy of one great critic, says Robert Eaglestone

In the aesthetic economy, all individuals and cities can be branded producers, Andrew Blake learns

The author’s case that America’s richest are shifting to inconspicuous consumption is underpinned by many statistics, but Danny Dorling says they can be read other ways

From sexting to iris scans at school, a study eyes tech risks and responsibilities, says Lydia Plowman

Richard Williams on a study of Tinseltown, a place where dreams and death, success and tragedy, and fantasy and reality collide

Financial gain with Jain; Europe’s challenge; demographic engineering in the Middle East; and our many millions of microscopic family members

Book of the week: Richard Larschan traces the steps of the young tourists who forged a borderless post-war identity

A weekly look over the shoulders of our scholar-reviewers

Tony Mann follows a scholar’s journey to get to the root of a game-changing mathematician

A corner of England makes its mark on those who leave foot, paw and hoof prints, writes Philip Hoare

Book of the week: Howard Segal on an ‘appreciation’ of an unwieldy creature that is the envy of the world

Tara Brabazon on an argument that the doctorate is undergoing change

Robert A. Segal on an overview of religion in the Roman Empire that emphasises the similarities between three belief systems

A weekly look over the shoulders of our scholar-reviewers

The author of Trans Like Me on books, moving beyond pigeonholing, and making time for Moomins

Steven Rose on an eloquent explanation of the rapid mechanisms of human cognitive evolution

Jonathan Mirsky on a complex history of a country struggling to regain control of itself

Luna C. M. Centifanti on the problems surrounding research practices in psychology and how they can be corrected

The legacy of imperialism, premonitory terror in France, bringing things back home, the wisdom of Freud, and the ethics of face transplants

Art, business and politics – the story of a disruptive publisher is far from dry, says Robert Eaglestone

A weekly look over the shoulders of our scholar-reviewers

Book of the week: Mary Evans praises a life’s work addressing the inherent gender inequalities in the legal system

Steven Vaughan admires a powerful, rich and moving legal history of same-sex union

Laura Bowater appreciates a layperson’s guide to identifying scientific fact from fiction

What use is the Bard? In politics or life, what you do with his plays is up to you, finds Peter J. Smith

Vicky Duckworth on the injustice and discrimination that means many working women do not fulfil their potential

Book of the week: Modern feminism can learn much from the women who visited revolutionary Russia, says Lara Douds

The author reminisces about the power of reading, the kindness of shopkeepers and the importance of protest

A weekly look over the shoulders of our scholar-reviewers

Bogie, Billie and Brando had it, but ‘it’ is a quality in constant flux, says Robert Eaglestone

A brilliant study examines the wide variety of markets for trafficked human beings, writes Jonathan Mirsky

Willy Maley revisits Milton’s epic poem with a brilliant study that fully engages the senses

Lisa Mckenzie heaps praise on a study that records the emotional costs of complicated household budgets

Book of the Week: Danny Dorling on an illuminating analysis of the many factors that swayed the referendum

New monographs explore sudden sight loss, stoicism, botanical beauty, a Buddhist take on the dismal science, and tough women

A weekly look over the shoulders of our scholar-reviewers

Shane O’Mara on a profound and humorous exploration of human consciousness

Barbara Graziosi on a lively account of the opposition between an authoritarian state and a mercantile democracy

Many actors helped to usher agents of the food court in to US city centres, says Bart Elmore

William Kolbrener on an extraordinary collection that explores literature’s role in shaping ethical thought and helping to ‘transform the psyche’