IBM: The Rise and Fall and Reinvention of a Global Icon, by James W. Cortada Book of the week: Christopher Phelps assesses a bold but flawed history of one of America’s great corporations By Christopher Phelps 6 June
Books interview: Jonathan Aldred The author of Licence to be Bad on his enduring fascination of how things work and how no one understands what money is By Matthew Reisz 6 June
The Hum of the World: A Philosophy of Listening, by Lawrence Kramer John Shand wrestles with a difficult but intriguing account of the background noise that sets the stage for sound By John Shand 6 June
Finding Our Place in the Universe: How We Discovered Laniakea – the Milky Way’s Home, by Hélène Courtois Cait MacPhee enjoys a fascinating tour of our not-too-local neighbourhood By Cait MacPhee 6 June
What are you reading? – 30 May 2019 A weekly look over the shoulders of our scholar-reviewers By Matthew Reisz 30 May
Break All the Borders, by Ariel Ahram David Newman is unconvinced by claims that the Middle East is being reconfigured By David Newman 30 May
States of Terror: History, Theory, Literature, by David Simpson Joanna Bourke has reservations about an attempt to track the changing meanings of terror By Joanna Bourke 30 May
The Universe Speaks in Numbers: How Modern Maths Reveals Nature’s Deepest Secrets, by Graham Farmelo Tony Mann assesses an argument about the role of mathematical beauty as a key to understanding how the universe works By Tony Mann 30 May
The Romantic Tavern: Literature and Conviviality in the Age of Revolution, by Ian Newman Peter J. Smith raises a glass to ‘conviviality’ in life and literature By Peter J. Smith 30 May
This is Shakespeare, by Emma Smith Lisa Hopkins applauds a ‘woke’ look at the gaps in Shakespeare’s plays By Lisa Hopkins 30 May
Books editor’s blog: outrage has become our default setting Why do anger and indignation come so quick these days? wonders Matthew Reisz By Matthew Reisz 30 May
Ocean Outbreak: Confronting the Rising Tide of Marine Disease, by Drew Harvell Charlotte Davies considers a sobering account of what is happening to our seas By Charlotte Davies 23 May
The Dinosaurs Rediscovered: How a Scientific Revolution is Rewriting History, by Michael J. Benton Robert Montgomerie enjoys an engaging account of a breakthrough in biological thinking By Robert Montgomerie 23 May
Stick to the Skin: African American and Black British Art, 1965-2015, by Celeste-Marie Bernier Kalwant Bhopal is enthusiastic about a political analysis of half a century of black art By Kalwant Bhopal 23 May
Comic Books Incorporated: How the Business of Comics Became the Business of Hollywood, by Shawna Kidman Will Brooker considers the structures and intrastructures behind the creation of superheroes By Will Brooker 23 May
What are you reading? – 23 May 2019 A weekly look over the shoulders of our scholar-reviewers By Matthew Reisz 23 May
New and noteworthy – 23 May 2019 Women’s war stories; scrolling through history; dormitory architecture; failure and design; and the lessons of Japan By Matthew Reisz 23 May
Counterfactuals: Paths of the Might Have Been, by Christopher Prendergast Book of the week: Robert Eaglestone praises a dazzlingly wide-ranging analysis of the choices we don’t make By Robert Eaglestone 23 May
Screw Consent: A Better Politics of Sexual Justice, by Joseph J. Fischel Joanna Williams assesses a controversial and ‘at times eye-watering’ account of policing sexuality By Joanna Williams 16 May
Permanent Revolution: The Reformation and the Illiberal Roots of Liberalism, by James Simpson Alec Ryrie reports from a skirmish in the culture wars that proves surprisingly illuminating By Alec Ryrie 16 May
What are you reading? – 16 May 2019 A weekly look over the shoulders of our scholar-reviewers By Matthew Reisz 16 May
The Workshop and the World: What Ten Thinkers Can Teach Us about Science and Authority, by Robert P. Crease Book of the week: Richard Joyner praises a bold attempt to get to grips with ‘science denial’ By Richard Joyner 16 May
Modernist Fraud: Hoax, Parody, Deception, by Leonard Diepeveen Charlotte Jones considers the arguments that much pioneering modernist art and literature didn’t really deserve to be taken seriously By Charlotte Jones 16 May
Chaucer: A European Life, by Marion Turner Mary Wellesley is impressed by ‘a new kind of biography’ of a giant of medieval literature By Mary Wellesley 16 May
Books interview: Beatrice Heuser The author of Brexit in History: Sovereignty or a European Union? on extroversion and introversion, political decision making and Bohemian fairy tales By Matthew Reisz 16 May
Alarums and Excursions: Improvising Politics on the European Stage, by Luuk van Middelaar Book of the week: Christopher Hill considers a notably sharp analysis of the challenges the EU faces today By Christopher Hill 9 May
What are you reading? – 9 May 2019 A weekly glimpse over the shoulder of our scholar-reviewers By Matthew Reisz 9 May
Kardashian Kulture: How Celebrities Changed Life in the 21st Century, by Ellis Cashmore To what extent have the Kardashians and their kind truly empowered women and overturned social and cultural rules? asks Milly Williamson By Milly Williamson 9 May
Conspiracies of Conspiracies: How Delusions Have Overrun America, by Thomas Milan Konda Today’s conspiracists see all social phenomena as resulting from dark intrigues – but why, Jane O’Grady wants to know By Jane O’Grady 9 May
Books editor’s blog: should anthropology play a role in advocating for displaced people? Matthew Reisz on the ideals archaeology and anthropology need to live up to By Matthew Reisz 9 May
Magic, Monsters and Make-Believe Heroes: How Myth and Religion Shape Fantasy Culture, by Douglas E. Cowan Farah Mendlesohn considers a study of fantasy that ranges across a wide spectrum of genres By Farah Mendlesohn 9 May
Literature’s Children: The Critical Child and the Art of Idealization, by Louise Joy Catherine Butler salutes a bold attempt to rethink how children might respond to literature By Catherine Butler 9 May
Work!: A Queer History of Modeling, by Elspeth H. Brown Shahidha Bari on an original telling of 20th-century culture that poses questions around race, gender and authenticity By Shahidha Bari 2 May
Buying Gay: How Physique Entrepreneurs Sparked a Movement, by David K. Johnson Niall Richardson considers the political aspects of magazines often dismissed as soft porn By Niall Richardson 2 May
New and noteworthy – 2 May 2019 Ottoman inspiration; natural head-turners; a southern city’s racial evolution; and insiders moved to call out misconduct By Matthew Reisz 2 May
Du Bois’s Telegram: Literary Resistance and State Containment, by Juliana Spahr Jess Cotton is not totally convinced by an account of the links between literature and state funding and nationalism By Jess Cotton 2 May
Digital Feminist Activism: Girls and Women Fight Back Against Rape Culture, by Kaitlynn Mendes, Jessica Ringrose, and Jessalynn Keller Emma Rees celebrates a new generation of online feminist campaigners By Emma Rees 2 May
The Poetry and Music of Science: Comparing Creativity in Science and Art, by Tom McLeish Book of the week: Rivka Isaacson reflects on the ‘aphrodisiac’ effect of crossing disciplines By Rivka Isaacson 2 May
What are you reading? – 25 April 2019 A weekly look over the shoulders of our scholar-reviewers By Matthew Reisz 25 April
The Shadow of Unfairness: A Plebeian Theory of Liberal Democracy, by Jeffrey Edward Green Lincoln Allison is unimpressed by an attempt to promote plebeianism as a political philosophy By Lincoln Allison 25 April
Chinese Thought from Confucius to Cook Ding, by Roel Sterckx Jonathan Mirsky applauds an analysis that links age-old traditions of thought with politics today By Jonathan Mirsky 25 April
Books interview: Daniel Kennefick The author of ‘No Shadow of a Doubt’ on a childhood love of fantasy and science fiction that inspired a career in physics By Matthew Reisz 25 April
The Scholems: A Story of the German Jewish Bourgeoisie from Emancipation to Destruction, by Jay Howard Geller Geoffrey Alderman considers the ambiguities of the synthesis between German and Jewish culture in the 19th and 20th centuries By Geoffrey Alderman 25 April
Revolution Remembered: Seditious Memories after the British Civil Wars, by Edward Legon R.C. Richardson considers how the events of the 1640s and 1650s were recalled by the next generations By R. C. Richardson 25 April
Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments: Intimate Histories of Social Upheaval, by Saidiya Hartman Book of the week: Cheryl A. Wall praises an account of the ‘too fast girls’ who carved out free lives for themselves in New York and Philadelphia By Cheryl A. Wall 25 April
What are you reading? – 18 April 2019 A weekly look over the shoulders of our scholar-reviewers By Contributors 18 April
Patently Mathematical: Picking Partners, Passwords and Careers by the Numbers, by Jeff Suzuki Tony Mann learns that ‘applied mathematics’ isn’t what it used to be By Tony Mann 18 April
Einstein’s Wife: The Real Story of Mileva Einstein-Marić, by Allen Esterson, David C. Cassidy and Ruth Lewin Sime Jennifer Rohn enjoys an account that shatters some of the myths about Einstein’s marriage By Jennifer Rohn 18 April
The Club: Johnson, Boswell, and the Friends Who Shaped an Age, by Leo Damrosch Jeffrey Meyers considers a new account of one of the most talented generations in English literature By Jeffrey Meyers 18 April
David Garrick and the Mediation of Celebrity, by Leslie Ritchie Marketing concepts shed new light on ‘the first modern celebrity’ even if some threads are missed, says Liz Schafer By Liz Schafer 18 April
A Light in Dark Times: The New School for Social Research and Its University in Exile, by Judith Friedlander Book of the week: Samantha Hill considers the first century of a pioneering institution whose history can still inspire us today By Samantha Hill 18 April
Books editor’s blog: scholarly territoriality Matthew Reisz considers academic protectionism By Matthew Reisz 18 April
New and noteworthy – 11 April 2019 A democratic black hole in Europe; London’s foundlings; how movies trash the environment; the poignant insignificance of life as lived; and morality for everyone By Matthew Reisz 11 April
Hacking Life: Systematized Living and Its Discontents, by Joseph M. Reagle, Jr. Btihaj Ajana on a critical overview of a movement that promises freedom yet makes even the simplest of tasks more labour-intensive By Btihaj Ajana 11 April
Lost in a Good Game: Why We Play Video Games and What They Can Do for Us, by Pete Etchells William Huber is unimpressed by an attempt to determine the psychological impact of gaming By William Huber 11 April
Ugliness and Judgment: On Architecture in the Public Eye, by Timothy Hyde Richard J. Williams reflects on the hidden agendas behind controversies about ugly architecture By Richard J. Williams 11 April
The Goodness Paradox: How Evolution Makes Us More and Less Violent, by Richard Wrangham Book of the week: Camilla Power assesses a bold new approach to the origins of morality By Camilla Power 11 April
Eva Palmer Sikelianos: A Life in Ruins, by Artemis Leontis Liz Gloyn enjoys a bold attempt to tell the story of a fascinating but largely forgotten woman By Liz Gloyn 11 April
What are you reading? – 4 April 2019 A weekly look over the shoulders of our scholar-reviewers By Contributors 4 April
Books interview: Marixa Lasso The author of ‘Erased: The Untold Story of the Panama Canal’ on pirates, Western civilisation and tropical stereotypes By Matthew Reisz 4 April