Sibelius: A Composer's Life and the Awakening of Finland A new biography explains to David Revill the mystery of Sibelius' loss of creativity in later life 7 January
Exit Capitalism: Literary Culture, Theory, and Post-Secular Modernity Edward Quipp is provoked by a portrayal of key moments in English literary and cultural history 31 December
In search of a good companion Matthew Reisz weighs up the role of weighty tomes of literary reference in the digital age By Matthew Reisz 31 December
The Passage to Cosmos: Alexander von Humboldt and the Shaping of America Humboldt is unfashionable in our postcolonial age, but it’s time for a renaissance, says Jeremy Jennings 31 December
THE Book of the Week - Who Was Jacques Derrida? An Intellectual Biography Martin McQuillan applauds an outsider's appraisal of the giant of deconstruction 31 December
I Drink Therefore I Am: A Philosopher's Guide to Wine Martin Cohen is unimpressed by a work that staggers and falls between three stools 31 December
Wounds, Flesh, and Metaphor in Seventeenth-Century England Jerome de Groot delights in a study of language in the middle of strife-ridden 17th-century England 31 December
Scroogenomics: Why You Shouldn't Buy Presents for the Holidays Ironically, this provocative book would make a great stocking-filler, writes Michelle Baddeley 17 December
Playing the Fool: Subversive Laughter in Troubled Times The use of humour to disguise an intellectual challenge is an effective ruse, says Peter J. Smith 17 December
The Poison King: The Life and Legend of Mithradates, Rome's Deadliest Enemy Judith Weingarten delights in the life of a leader who tested Romans with his battles and intrigues 17 December
Borderline Citizens: Women, Gender, and Political Culture in Britain, 1815-1867 Caroline Franklin finds a useful correction to misconceived stereotypes of Victorian women 17 December
Economists and Societies: Discipline and Profession in the United States, Britain, and France, 1890s to 1990s Although it does not cover the current crisis, Andreas Hess discovers a study that sets the stage for it 17 December
Mark Twain and Male Friendship: The Twichell, Howells and Rogers Friendships The impact of three significant relationships on the ‘father of US literature’ fascinates J. D. Stahl 17 December
Book of the week: The Infinity of Lists Umberto Eco's faintly fanatical offering fascinates Simon Blackburn 17 December
Those Who Work, Those Who Don't: Poverty, Morality, and Family in Rural America At last a work that unpacks the reality of US rural poverty, writes Rebekah Peeples Massengill 10 December
Dancing in the Dark: A Cultural History of the Great Depression A broadbrush approach to 1930s US culture sweeps too far and wide, says Susan Currell 10 December
No Small Matter: Science on the Nanoscale Andrew Briggs finds much to praise in an enlightening introduction to nanoscience 10 December
Book of the week: The Case for Books: Past, Present, and Future Electronification won't kill off books entirely, discovers Andreas Hess 10 December
Down to the Wire: Confronting Climate Collapse Gwyn Prins on a book he says helps to wreck the chance for a mature debate on climate change 3 December
The mythbuster Although we may be unaware of it, a number of powerful preconceptions still dog our understanding of the turbulent history of Czechoslovakia, as Mary Heimann discovered. Matthew Reisz reports 3 December
Principles of Molecular Photochemistry: An Introduction/Modern Molecular Photochemistry of Organic Molecules Timely revision of a classic work 3 December
