Books

Nigel Rodenhurst is dispirited by one-sided scholarship and an unwillingness to challenge a literary reputation

A weekly look over the shoulders of our scholar-reviewers

A. W. Purdue extols a powerful contribution to the debate over the decision for war

Leslie Gofton finds this fusion of memoir and essay blending academic learning, popular culture and politics fails to fully satisfy

A light-hearted approach to a harrowing subject is illuminating and packs a punch, finds Tom Palaima

An examination of viewing habits illuminates the lives of Arabic people who have made their home in Europe, finds Zahera Harb

Tim Hall review an exploration of the placing overseas of work, tax, leisure, waste and security

A study of heliocentrism rightly acknowledges the work of Islamic astronomers, writes Peter Barker

Niamh Gallagher on the women who challenged the consensus of who could serve at the front

A weekly look over the shoulders of our scholar-reviewers

An analysis of anti-Semitic ideology illuminates a number of its contradictions, says Roger Morgan

Does formal teaching of jazz contradict the improvisation that is at its core? Trevor Herbert examines the evidence

Three different religious standpoints are not merely distinct but incompatible, says Robert A. Segal

Ivor Gaber lauds an analysis of the New Labour hierarchy and its culture of command and control

Richard Wilk on a spicy mix of autobiography, food history and travel

A compelling effort to inspire ethical concern for endangered species is marred only by jargon-laden interludes, finds Wenfei Tong

Howard Davies seeks a coherent link between the economic crisis and the economics of energy

An enjoyable assortment of media hoaxes that would benefit from some theoretical analysis, says Chris Knight

Jörg Michael Dostal on how the NSS has enabled the US to attain technological leadership to serve its geopolitical objectives

Despite popular wisdom, time did not stop in the Most Serene Republic after all, says Kate Ferris

A study of pioneering women collates stories that might otherwise be lost, writes Ruth Woodfield

Peter J. Smith is left bewildered by an ambitious attempt to identify the units that make up Shakespeare’s plays

Social dynamics that affect elite US students are indicative of a broader trend, finds Julie J. Park

Alexander du Toit lauds a detailed account of a bizarre 20th-century political experiment

Kerstin Hoge on a manifesto correcting the view that the language we speak affects how we think

A weekly look over the shoulders of our scholar-reviewers

Barbara Graziosi ponders the different types who, over several centuries, criss-crossed the Mediterranean

Jonathan Mirsky on how Mao unwittingly helped to stir up and then crushed a longing for democracy and equality among millions of young people

Robert Eaglestone applauds a lively exploration of intertextuality in a work fit for a post-Wikipedia age

Simon Underdown on a meticulously researched analysis of two camps’ opposing arguments over Darwin’s work

Kristin Aune discovers the wide-ranging views and behaviour of ‘nones’ - the religiously unaffiliated

Tiffany Taylor on the emotional and aesthetic responses we share with our hominid ancestors

Steven Yearley on the economic and ethical reasons for why attempts to prevent climate change have failed

A weekly look over the shoulders of our scholar-reviewers

Tara Brabazon on a study of the interface between education and technology

Vera Troeger on a persuasive, if gloomy, look at the dangerous paradoxes at the heart of neoliberalism

Caroline Osella on the causes behind the astonishingly high rate of suicide in the southwestern Indian state of Kerala

Did you hear the one about the headless ostrich? Amy Richlin is amused by a study of early gags

Sophia Vasalou on a wide-ranging history of ethical ideas located in their historical background

Juliet Sorensen is inspired by a call to action for lawyers and legal scholars to work towards the goal of health for all

Considering different timescales is a fun way to digest serious science, finds Graham Farmelo

A weekly look over the shoulders of our scholar-reviewers

Kitty Stewart on the reality of suffering caused by the coalition’s reductions of the welfare state

Sandeep Parmar on a brave, welcome crossing of anti-colonialist and feminist narratives

Scholars and senior sector figures on two books they plan to devour on holiday: a new must-read and a classic worthy of revisiting

A weekly look over the shoulders of our scholar-reviewers

Clare Griffiths appraises a century of untold tales about life on the bottom rung of the social ladder

Brian Hurwitz on the inadequacy of language when it comes to describing physical suffering

Which came first, the children’s novel or the adult novel? Shelley King finds out

David Revill explores a composer’s symbolic musical remigration during the early Cold War

Jeremy MacClancy on the evolving relations between two complementary disciplines in France in the first half of the 20th century

Rachel Bowlby expects some numerical discussion but finds only hefty claims

Shahidha Bari on a deliberately ‘marginal’ life of the grouchy great man of psychoanalysis

Candida Moss on an analysis of paganism from Constantine onwards covering idolatry, sacrifice, godhead and conversion

Tracey Warr on a myth-busting examination of the mass production of oil paintings in Dafen village

Virginia Trimble on the search for the mysterious, magical secret ingredient of the universe

Seven men rule the Middle Kingdom, but why them? Jonathan Mirsky on a study of Party potentates

A weekly look over the shoulders of our scholar-reviewers

Overuse of antibiotics is upsetting the balance of our internal ecosystems, finds Jon Turney

Annabel Tremlett lauds an exploration of the experiences of Travellers in Europe and their cultural contributions