Books

A weekly look over the shoulders of our scholar-reviewers

The Nazi leader aimed to convey taste and moderation with his interiors, says Neil Gregor

Anne Carter on the complex workings of our canine companions

Jonathan Mirsky on the treaties and extraterritoriality imposed on China in the decades after the Opium Wars

The Renaissance and the Middle Ages should be seen as a continuous epoch, argues Helen Fulton

A study of the predatory nature of markets holds up a mirror to the field, says Victoria Bateman

Joanna Williams on a study embracing technology and introducing a provocative concept of learning

Lucy Wooding on a work centred on relations with the Emerald Isle during the reign of Henry VII and Henry VIII

It’s communal, kinky, defiant – but whatever it is, don’t call it that, says Kalle Berggren

Tracey Warr on the middlemen and artists who decide what their works should be called

David Fowler on the influence of venues that at one stage were attracting 3 million visitors a night

Jacqueline Broad discovers admiration for a misunderstood and misrepresented philosopher

A weekly look over the shoulders of our scholar-reviewers

Elizabeth I. Watkins on a study about reparation that analyses recent works including Hunger and Waltz with Bashir

Peter J. Smith on a study of the history of drama in penal settings

A work of distinction offers fresh insights into the hedonism and hangovers, says Richard J. Williams

A weekly look over the shoulders of our scholar-reviewers

Joanna Lewis on a portrait of British blubbering from medieval mystics to the death of Diana

Danielle Sands on a collection of previously unpublished material that fails to capture the ‘flair and flight’ of the French philosopher at his best

Lisa Mckenzie on a sobering American ethnography written with understanding and respect

Time and temperament are explored in a masterly study of an old game of thrones, says Les Gofton

A scholar mounts a strong argument for one year being a decisive one for the world, says A. W. Purdue

One woman’s discovery of love letters belonging to her great-aunt has yielded a portrait capturing the It girl’s restless effervescence, says Deborah Longworth

Willy Maley delights in a study casting light on the lexicographer’s life as both drudge and judge

The theme of vision is central to an examination of the German writer’s oeuvre, says Simon Ward

Martin Cohen on a study offering a fresh perspective on the philosopher’s work

Stomach-churning detail reminds us of the blood, sweat and tears in clothes, says Shahidha Bari

A weekly look over the shoulders of our scholar-reviewers

A study of fear and how to cope with it is admirably unafraid to take sides, finds Tristan A. Bekinschtein

Peter J. Smith on what books collections tell us about the collector

Gemma Edney on the arguments for the academic study of a genre too often dismissed for being à l’Américaine

From emotions to waiting tables, our physical frame deserves more credit, finds Joanna Bryson

A weekly look over the shoulders of our scholar-reviewers

In tomorrow’s world, all knowledge may be derived from data by a single process, finds John Gilbey

Emma Rees lauds an essay collection that highlights the American scholar’s game-changing writing

Robert Gellately on a study that puts Germany at the heart of the narrative

Pioneering medical research in Italy has defied industry and politics for decades, says David Healy

A study of anti-masturbation campaigns reveals many unexpected allegiances, says Heike Bauer

Caron E. Gentry praises a work that reveals the contributions of female Muslims

Robert Gellately on a study of the ideas and politics that led to the mass murder of the Jews

Tara Shears on the career thrills and frustrations of a female scientist who made history at Berkeley

There’s productive provocation in this epically ambitious study, but Chris Millard wishes its rigour matched its scope

This survey shows how textbook materials often reveal more about the ‘home’ culture than they do about the one being taught. Sylvia Jaworska writes

Landmark discoveries have relied on some unexpected connections, says Richard Joyner

A weekly look over the shoulders of our scholar-reviewers

A weekly look over the shoulders of our scholar-reviewers

Acknowledging aid workers’ motives does not diminish their extraordinary efforts, says Monika Krause

Richard J. Williams is enlightened and amused by the acts and aesthetics of risk reduction in transit

This perceptive ethnography takes Randy Malamud behind the scenes at the penguin pool to ask if the institutions are scientific and educational enterprises or just commercialised animal spectacles

The causes of and solutions to disparity in income are eclectic, says Victoria Bateman

Digital learning may be the future, but the present is more uncertain, says  Sandra Leaton Gray

Laurence Coupe on the narratives that lead to re-enchantment with our natural environment

A wealth of detail and revealing images bring a troubled critic into focus, says Sharon Kivland

Tracey Warr extols a study demonstrating an artist’s deep engagement with the theories, practices and works of his peers

Howard Segal admires the travelogue of a self-confessed ‘professional disaster tourist’ covering a variety of global wastelands

Early experience of class has a large effect on the working lives of graduates, discovers Huw Morris

Helen Bynum welcomes a study of the psychiatrist who ended the jail-like seclusion of patients

Kate Hardy pauses in her labours to reconsider our attitudes to the paid employment treadmill

Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones appreciates a nuanced biography of a complex ruler whose achievements are often ignored

Martin Cohen on how the failings of liberal democracies have affected every aspect of our lives