Books

First-person accounts add complexity to popular notions of East Germany, writes Ulrike Zitzlsperger

Is life on our planet unique in space? And do we know how to find out? Cait MacPhee ponders

Andrew Blake appreciates a new view of the relationship between Empire and cultural hybridity

Isabelle Szmigin on how ‘pleasure engineers’ have affected our physical and social well-being

Roberta Locatelli on an audacious venture to elucidate representations of thoughts and desires

David Salter on a comprehensive analysis of the diverse work of a ‘poet of contradictions’

Virginia Trimble on a book that aims to explain the universe and its contents in terms of natural processes

A look at theatre in the Elizabethan court indulges in some fantasies of its own, says Willy Maley

Robyn Arianrhod on the complex and contradictory life of the greatest physicist of all time

Elizabeth Cobbs Hoffman on an intricate history of the role of America on the global stage

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Biancamaria Fontana on the tangled connections between historical events and mental illness

Jane O’Grady on what it means to be mature in an infantilising culture

Richard Bosworth lauds a study of a complex and enduringly valuable work of scholarship

Jonathan Mirsky on the unfairness and exploitation rife in modern Chinese society

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Lynne Segal on an Israeli scholar’s persuasive arguments against his country’s myths of identity

Thomas Docherty on the fundamental tension between professional duties and civil engagement

Chris Knight on the history of humanity and the myths that shape our civilisations

Mary Evans on a study of the US feminist movement from the 19th century

A weekly look over the shoulders of our scholar-reviewers

Euan Clarkson admires an exquisite collection of images of an iconic arthropod’s fossil traces

Peter J. Smith applauds a study of an innovative company of actors and their influence on Elizabethan theatre

Tracey Warr on an examination of Jean-Michel Basquiat’s work – his inspirations and his relationship to artistic and ideological debates of the late 20th century

Dick Hobbs on an ethnographic study exploring the resilience of youths whose lives have been marred by violence

Roger Morgan on an exploration of the current state of our political institutions

Rachel Moss praises an elegant account that sets a charismatic Maid of Orleans in political context

To share the wealth we must challenge attitudes that perpetuate the great divide, finds Mary Evans

Vladimir Tismaneanu on a book that argues against the self-righteousness of neoliberalism

Simon Underdown extols a study that looks beyond stones and bones to understand how the past shaped the brain

Willy Maley praises a beautifully written account of the poet’s disaffection with the masses

Sarah Hackett on a timely study that merits a place at the heart of current policy debates

Resisting sexual temptation is one thing, forgoing sweets another. Natalie Gold on a study of restraint

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A comprehensive but compact new history of the war is reviewed by R. C. Richardson

Joanna Williams reviews the latest commentary on the commercialisation of higher education

A weekly look over the shoulders of our scholar-reviewers

Sally R. Munt lauds an ethnographic study of men who are ‘out’ about their weight

Barbara Graziosi on a study of female labour and ancient Greek poetry

John Barber on a vivid analysis of the last months of the collapse of the USSR

A study of immigration removal centres reveals their dehumanising effect, says Lucy Williams

Rachel Bowlby on a comprehensive history of literary theory and the various forms of criticism

Tiffany Taylor on a captivating and comical look at an often overlooked group of evolutionary survivors

Shahidha Bari savours a celebration of our relationship with food across genres and cultures

Joy Hendry hopes for insights that look beyond stereotypes in this study of a nation in flux

Conor Gearty on why the United Nations is successful at developing and promoting human rights but fails in protecting them

Cary Cooper on a rebuttal of the idea that performance-related pay for business leaders improves corporate performance

Corruption is rife and legal among those who hold the power in the UK, says Danny Dorling

Sharon Wheeler on an ambitious investigation of crime fiction and its relation to modern society

A weekly look over the shoulders of our scholar-reviewers

Geoffrey Galt Harpham on a timely reminder of the common root of modern human sciences

Jane O’Grady on a celebration of the importance of philosophy in the science of our everyday lives

Christina Hellmich on an examination of the enduring nature of the Taliban

A weekly look over the shoulders of our scholar-reviewers

Murray Smith learns much from an examination of the existential questions in a classic cinematic adaptation

Angelia Wilson on a national narrative that distorts reality with its boundless optimism

Farzana Shaikh on a study of a region that lies at the heart of a geopolitical storm

Ellen Carol DuBois extols a study of a scientific theory’s impact on the pursuit of empowerment

A lack of disciplinary expertise in digital cultures undermines this study, finds Tara Brabazon

A. W. Purdue on a British institution that changed lives but has been largely ignored by historians