Books

Housewife to acclaimed economist within a decade - not bad going, says Natalie Gold

A weekly look over the shoulders of our scholar-reviewers

A clear account of theories and possibilities but conclusions not so satisfactory, writes David Smail

Although his days in the front line of humanitarian aid are past for James Orbinski, his passion for justice and human rights is undiminished, as Matthew Reisz discovers

Fiona Taylor gives full marks to an expose of beggary amid plenty

The development of military hardware that does not kill is proving elusive, as Russell Brown discovers

The influence of seaside towns on our culture goes far beyond the kiss-me-quick hat, says Peter Borsay

A gathering of great thinkers convinces David Revill that our modern minds need expanding

A weekly look over the shoulders of our scholar-reviewers

How can the academy get over its gloom? Just grow up, Gail Kinman hears

Gareth Dale learns how the old world order slipped on the cloak of the new after the wall came down

Robert Bartlett is intrigued by how England came to embrace a fictional character as its patron saint

The epistolary art was a rite of passage for women in 18th-century France, says Isobel Grundy

Elisa Aaltola is left with no doubt that humans have a moral obligation not to cause animals pain

A riposte to the biological determinism of Richard Dawkins leaves Janet Smith frustrated

A weekly look over the shoulders of our scholar-reviewers

An indictment of today's academy strikes a chord with Susan Bassnett

A survey of strategies used by US institutions in hard times gives John Coyne a helpful heads-up

Julia Droeber sympathises with a passionate treatise against the reasons given for covering up

Martin James discusses how the Fab Four played their part in the loss of rock's dancefloor vitality

Reproduction and childcare tend to get short shrift from dismal science. But Nancy Folbre brings to the fore the impact that sex and family can have on economic activity. Matthew Reisz learns the value of home economics

Robert A. Segal is delighted by a study of two titans of thought who failed to fathom each other

June Purvis is impressed by a long-overdue study of this poet, writer and lecturer for social reform

A weekly look over the shoulders of our scholar-reviewers

It is misleading to deny adults' continuities with their remarkable offspring, says Barbara Jacobs

Kathy Sykes finds much good advice, despite a disdain of the public

A study of Jesus' traitor reveals the persistence of evil over the centuries, writes Deborah D. Rogers