The War on Learning: Gaining Ground in the Digital University, by Elizabeth Losh Tara Brabazon on a study of the interface between education and technology 31 July
Modernist Voyages: Colonial Women Writers in London, 1890-1945, by Anna Snaith Sandeep Parmar on a brave, welcome crossing of anti-colonialist and feminist narratives 24 July
In Pursuit of the Good Life: Aspiration and Suicide in Globalizing South India, by Jocelyn Lim Chua Caroline Osella on the causes behind the astonishingly high rate of suicide in the southwestern Indian state of Kerala 24 July
Laughter in Ancient Rome: On Joking, Tickling, and Cracking Up, by Mary Beard Did you hear the one about the headless ostrich? Amy Richlin is amused by a study of early gags 24 July
The Quest for a Moral Compass: A Global History of Ethics, by Kenan Malik Sophia Vasalou on a wide-ranging history of ethical ideas located in their historical background 24 July
Lacan: In Spite of Everything, by Élisabeth Roudinesco Shahidha Bari on a deliberately ‘marginal’ life of the grouchy great man of psychoanalysis 10 July
Between Pagan and Christian, by Christopher P. Jones Candida Moss on an analysis of paganism from Constantine onwards covering idolatry, sacrifice, godhead and conversion 10 July
Van Gogh on Demand: China and the Readymade, by Winnie Won Yin Wong Tracey Warr on a myth-busting examination of the mass production of oil paintings in Dafen village 10 July
The People: The Rise and Fall of the Working Class 1910-2010, by Selina Todd Clare Griffiths appraises a century of untold tales about life on the bottom rung of the social ladder 10 July
The Story of Pain, From Prayer to Painkillers, by Joanna Bourke Brian Hurwitz on the inadequacy of language when it comes to describing physical suffering 10 July
Books for Children, Books for Adults: Age and the Novel from Defoe to James, by Teresa Michals Which came first, the children’s novel or the adult novel? Shelley King finds out 10 July
Arnold Schoenberg’s 'A Survivor From Warsaw' in Postwar Europe, by Joy H. Calico David Revill explores a composer’s symbolic musical remigration during the early Cold War 10 July
Far Afield: French Anthropology Between Science and Literature, by Vincent Debaene Jeremy MacClancy on the evolving relations between two complementary disciplines in France in the first half of the 20th century 10 July
Philosophy and Literature in Times of Crisis: Challenging our Infatuation with Numbers, by Michael Mack Rachel Bowlby expects some numerical discussion but finds only hefty claims 10 July
Another Darkness, Another Dawn: A History of Gypsies, Roma and Travellers, by Becky Taylor Annabel Tremlett lauds an exploration of the experiences of Travellers in Europe and their cultural contributions 3 July
Lady in the Dark: Iris Barry and the Art of Film, by Robert Sitton A pioneer in an emerging artistic field deserves a prominent place in the annals of film, finds Philip Kemp 3 July
The New Emperors: Power and the Princelings in China, by Kerry Brown Seven men rule the Middle Kingdom, but why them? Jonathan Mirsky on a study of Party potentates 3 July
Ireland and the Irish in Interwar England, by Mo Moulton Niamh Gallagher relishes a stimulating and valuable study of a neglected period of history 26 June
Just Freedom: A Moral Compass for a Complex World, by Philip Pettit John Shand on a philosopher’s idea of freedom as non-domination 26 June
Ruling Russia: Authoritarianism from the Revolution to Putin, by William Zimmerman Lara Cook on a lively history of an enduring style of government and the prospect of democracy 26 June
Showcasing the Great Experiment: Cultural Diplomacy and Western Visitors to the Soviet Union 1921-1941, by Michael David-Fox Newly-opened archives reveal celebrity guests’ true thoughts on Stalinism, says Yvonne Howell 26 June
Tambora: The Eruption That Changed the World, by Gillen D’Arcy Wood Alison Stokes on a 19th-century volcanic eruption that caused a global climate disaster 26 June
American Tax Resisters, by Romain D. Huret Martin Daunton on the history of the anti-tax movement in America 19 June
Infinitesimal: How a Dangerous Mathematical Theory Shaped the Modern World, by Amir Alexander Robyn Arianrhod on a compelling tale of Jesuits, geometry and heresy in the turbulent 17th century 19 June
Listen in Terror: British Horror Radio from the Advent of Broadcasting to the Digital Age, by Richard J. Hand Peter Hutchings is spooked by a collection of horror broadcasts from the 1920s to the present day 19 June
Birth Control and the Rights of Women: Post-Suffrage Feminism in the Early Twentieth Century, by Clare Debenham Carmel Quinlan on the social and cultural history of the birth control movement from 1921 to 1973 19 June
Hard-Core Romance: Fifty Shades of Grey, Best-Sellers, and Society, by Eva Illouz Laura Frost on the needs met by an erotic best-seller 19 June
Guilty Knowledge, Guilty Pleasures: The Dirty Art of Poetry, by William Logan Duncan Wu on a collection of essays and reviews from a discerning critic 12 June
Malcolm X at Oxford Union: Racial Politics in a Global Era, by Saladin Ambar Hakim Adi finds an analysis of an often overlooked speech reveals much about the activist’s views 12 June
Outside the Gates of Eden: The Dream of America from Hiroshima to Now, by Peter Bacon Hales Marilyn Young on a cultural history of the US from the atomic age to the present 12 June
A State of Play: British Politics on Screen, Stage and Page, from Anthony Trollope to The Thick of It, by Steven Fielding Vernon Bogdanor has a few points of order on an analysis of political fiction’s wider effects 12 June
The Americanization of Narcissism, by Elizabeth Lunbeck Robert Reynolds on how US cultural critics in the 1970s ignored the upside of championing oneself 5 June
D-Day through French Eyes: Normandy 1944, by Mary Louise Roberts Victoria Harris on an interpretation of the French experience of the Allied arrival and its aftermath that focuses only on interactions with US forces 5 June
Kurt Schwitters: Space, Image, Exile, by Megan R. Luke Roger Cardinal on a critique of the later work of an avant-garde German artist during his years in exile 5 June
The Deluge: The Great War and the Remaking of Global Order, by Adam Tooze The Great War transformed the balance of world power in unexpected ways, finds Robert Gellately 5 June
Buildings Must Die: A Perverse View of Architecture, by Stephen Cairns and Jane M. Jacobs What goes up must also come down, finds Annmarie Adams 5 June
Myth of the Western: New Perspectives on Hollywood’s Frontier Narrative, by Matthew Carter Philip Kemp revels in the good, the bad and the ugly aspects of western film-making 5 June
The Catholic Rubens: Saints and Martyrs, by Willibald Sauerländer Cordula van Wyhe on the meshing of spirituality and sensuality in a master’s religious works 29 May
Lord Mansfield: Justice in the Age of Reason, by Norman S. Poser Mary Sokol on the life of William Murray, the 18th-century lawyer, judge and politician 29 May
The Unknown Lloyd George: A Statesman in Conflict, by Travis L. Crosby Concentration on politician’s character and motivation makes for an almost psychological study, says A.W. Purdue 29 May
Nuclear Dawn: F.E. Simon and the Race for Atomic Weapons in World War II, by Kenneth McRae Life history of physicist illuminates undervalued Britons behind the Bomb 29 May
Women of the World: The Rise of the Female Diplomat, by Helen McCarthy Roger Morgan applauds a pioneering work offering a welcome introduction to a neglected set of issues 29 May
Videoland: Movie Culture at the American Video Store, by Daniel Herbert Linnie Blake praises an exploration of the role rental outlets played in shaping the way a generation experienced film 22 May
Seventeen Contradictions and the End of Capitalism, by David Harvey Chris Knight extols a persuasively argued work from a Marxist thinker on tensions in the system 22 May
Essays and Reviews 1959-2002, by Bernard Williams Jane O’Grady savours a collection of writings by a distinguished essayist that are still relevant today 22 May
After They Closed the Gates: Jewish Illegal Immigration to the United States, 1921-1965, by Libby Garland Hasia Diner on the evolution of US immigration policy, its complex aims and intended and unintended consequences for a small group of Jews 22 May
Religio Duplex: How the Enlightenment Reinvented Egyptian Religion, by Jan Assmann, translated by Robert Savage James Stevens Curl on the Egyptians’ concept of dual religion - an official, outer face and an inner, secretive aspect 22 May
War! What is it Good for? Conflict and the Progress of Civilization from Primates to Robots, by Ian Morris Jeremy Black on the provocative thesis that war has permitted the creation of peaceful societies 22 May
The Life of William Wordsworth: A Critical Biography, by John Worthen Jane Darcy wonders if exhaustive analysis has left too little room for study of Romantic poet’s creative power 15 May
The Little Girl Who Fought the Great Depression: Shirley Temple and 1930s America, by John F. Kasson Philip Kemp wishes for more insight into child star’s life 15 May
The Supermodel and the Brillo Box: Back Stories and Peculiar Economics from the World of Contemporary Art, by Don Thompson Marta Herrero lauds an analysis from an insider affording rare insight into the market 15 May
It’s Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens, by Danah Boyd Tara Brabazon on an attempt to capture and express the voice of young people 15 May
The Lawn Road Flats: Spies, Writers and Artists, by David Burke Architecture meets social experiment in a Modernist block of flats, Flora Samuel writes 15 May
Culture and the Death of God, by Terry Eagleton The Mephistopheles of the anglophone intelligentsia ponders a God-shaped hole, leaving Fred Inglis exhilarated and maddened 15 May
Zeppelin Nights: London in the First World War, by Jerry White Conflict changed London, says A. W. Purdue, for both ill and better 8 May
Posthumous Love: Eros and the Afterlife in Renaissance England, by Ramie Targoff Peter J. Smith on the Elizabethan poets’ rejection of the Petrarchan faith in posthumous passion 8 May
From Pompeii: The Afterlife of a Roman Town, by Ingrid D. Rowland Rebecca Langlands lauds an intricate evocation of the volcanic region’s history 8 May
The Return of Comrade Ricardo Flores Magón, by Claudio Lomnitz The revolutionary Magónistas offer great insight into life as an exile, says Samuel Brunk 8 May
Wilfred Owen, by Guy Cuthbertson Gary Day on a new biography that breathes some life into the war poet 1 May
