Everyday Utopias: The Conceptual Life of Promising Spaces, by Davina Cooper Howard Segal on an analysis of six small-scale projects and their participants’ experiences 3 April
The Crisis of Islamic Masculinities, by Amanullah De Sondy Julia Droeber praises an interrogation of the image of the Muslim man 20 March
First World War: Still No End in Sight, by Frank Furedi The conflict takes a backseat to questions about the state of ideological and cultural thinking, says Angela K. Smith 13 March
Risk: A Study of its Origins, History and Politics, by Matthias Beck and Beth Kewell Theories abound but Omar Malik wishes that more of them had been submitted to the test of reality 13 March
I Met Lucky People, by Yaron Matras Shattering stereotypes starts with sharing everyday experiences, suggests Annabel Tremlett 6 March
How Universities Work, by John V. Lombardi Malcolm Gillies relishes the lean explanations in this drily witty and handy account of higher education 6 March
Aleister Crowley and the Temptation of Politics, by Marco Pasi Clive Bloom praises an admirable introduction to the magical and political connections of a controversial figure 6 March
The Fissured Workplace: Why Work Became So Bad for So Many and What Can Be Done to Improve It, by David Weil Virginia Doellgast finds workers pay dearly when big firms devolve oversight of pay and conditions 6 March
Pain and Retribution: A Short History of British Prisons, 1066 to the Present, by David Wilson A millennium of jails, their inmates and those in charge makes riveting reading for Yvonne Jewkes 27 February
The Oxford Map Companion: One Hundred Sources in World History, by Patricia Seed Robert Mayhew is delighted to follow a determinedly non-Eurocentric cartographic collection through the ages 27 February
Life Interrupted: Trafficking into Forced Labor in the United States, by Denise Brennan Lee Maril on how immigration policies prolong the misery of the exploited 27 February
Are We All Scientific Experts Now?, by Harry Collins Athene Donald agrees that scientists, although not infallible, do know better about some things 27 February
Learning Trajectories, Violence and Empowerment Amongst Adult Basic Skills Learners, by Vicky Duckworth John Field is captivated by personal battles against educational disadvantage and illiteracy in marginalised communities 27 February
Fragile by Design: The Political Origins of Banking Crises and Scarce Credit, by Charles Calomiris and Stephen Haber When the lending system isn’t working, interests rate a check, advises Howard Davies 20 February
Tribal Modern: Branding New Nations in the Arab Gulf, by miriam cooke Discussion of underground and emergent queer cultures are interesting, but Caroline Osella wishes for more insight from a respected scholar 20 February
The Politics of the Body: Gender in a Neoliberal and Neoconservative Age, by Alison Phipps Mary Evans agrees that feminism today focuses on women’s agency and identity at the expense of examining framing structures 20 February
All That Is Solid: The Great Housing Disaster, by Danny Dorling Our use of housing as an asset to be traded is a collective failure that is preserving inequality, finds Tim Hall 20 February
Reclaiming American Virtue: The Human Rights Revolution of the 1970s, by Barbara Keys Marilyn Young on the development of human rights as an important issue in the US 13 February
The Watchdog That Didn’t Bark: The Financial Crisis and the Disappearance of Investigative Journalism, by Dean Starkman A demonstration of the need for modern muckrakers also celebrates the best work journalism can do, finds Tim Luckhurst 13 February
Following the Leader: Ruling China, from Deng Xiaoping to Xi Jinping, by David M. Lampton Jonathan Mirsky on a selective view of the Chinese political elite 13 February
I Spend, Therefore I Am: The True Cost of Economics, by Philip Roscoe Michelle Baddeley on an exploration of what makes us tick 13 February
The Falling Rate of Learning and the Neoliberal Endgame, by David J. Blacker Gerald Taylor Aiken concurs with a call to protect higher education as a universal and public good 6 February
Will China Dominate the 21st Century?, by Jonathan Fenby Jonathan Mirsky on a merciless dissection of a seemingly unstoppable country 6 February
Blockbusters: Why Big Hits – and Big Risks – are the Future of the Entertainment Business, by Anita Elberse Mega-budget shows are not a guaranteed recipe for success, says Janet Wasko. It’s not that simple 6 February
The Limits of Partnership: U.S.-Russian Relations in the Twenty-First Century, by Angela Stent Elizabeth Cobbs Hoffman on the give and take between the two superpowers since the Soviet collapse 6 February
Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity, and Branding in the Social Media Age, by Alice E. Marwick Silicon Valley’s stars ceaselessly shape their image to a neoliberal ideal, Finola Kerrigan discovers 6 February
Shakin’ All Over: Popular Music and Disability, by George McKay Anna Hickey-Moody on study of how performers have addressed disability in their compositions and performances 30 January
Mixed Emotions: Beyond Fear and Hatred in International Conflict, by Andrew A. G. Ross Gregory Kent explores the affective consequences of war 30 January
Celibacies: American Modernism and Sexual Life, by Benjamin Kahan Laura Frost on a portrayal of abstinence not as an absence of sex, but as an organisation of pleasure 30 January
Going Beyond Google Again: Strategies for Using and Teaching the Invisible Web, by Jane Devine and Francine Egger-Sider Search differently, says Sarah Ison 23 January
Acts of Union and Disunion: What has Held the UK Together and What is Dividing it?, by Linda Colley Violence, accident and luck have all made this young federal union, says Donald MacRaild 23 January
Branding the Nation: The Global Business of National Identity, by Melissa Aronczyk The ‘nation brand’ phenomenon is unsustainable, says Rula Al-Abdulrazak 23 January
Coming Up Short: Working-class Adulthood in an Age of Uncertainty, by Jennifer M. Silva Angelia Wilson hopes for a turn against therapy and towards political engagement in the US 9 January
Eyes Wide Open: How To Make Smart Decisions In A Confusing World, by Noreena Hertz Omar Malik concurs with the considered advice on decision-making but seeks more understanding about the process 2 January
The Curve: From Freeloaders into Superfans: The Future of Business, by Nicholas Lovell Finola Kerrigan is not convinced by a proposed new way of doing business 2 January
Down to the Sea in Ships: Of Ageless Oceans and Modern Men, by Horatio Clare Philip Hoare on the global market’s manifest destiny 2 January
Behind the Academic Curtain: How to Find Success and Happiness with a PhD, by Frank F. Furstenberg Tara Brabazon on postgraduate career guidance that applies to an elite world that is shrinking 12 December
Traveling in Place: A History of Armchair Travel, by Bernd Stiegler Robert Mayhew on the vision, dignity and achievement of two centuries of armchair travellers 12 December
Ezra Pound’s Fascist Propaganda, 1935-45, by Matthew Feldman Richard Bosworth on an exploration of Pound’s activism before and during the Second World War 12 December
Fire and Ashes: Success and Failure in Politics, by Michael Ignatieff The death of an academic-cum-Liberal’s parliamentary career was really not so strange, argues Lynn McDonald 12 December
The Pleasure’s All Mine: A History of Perverse Sex, by Julie Peakman Alison Oram on changing attitudes to sexual perversions 5 December
An American Bride in Kabul: A Memoir, by Phyllis Chesler Shahidha Bari would like more light and shade in this personal account 5 December
The Confidence Trap: A History of Democracy in Crisis from World War I to the Present, by David Runciman A. W. Purdue on the risky belief that participatory government can always muddle through any crisis 5 December
Armed with Expertise: The Militarization of American Social Research during the Cold War, by Joy Rohde Michael Patrick Cullinane on the military-academic complex 5 December
Speaking of Flowers: Student Movements and the Making and Remembering of 1968 in Military Brazil, by Victoria Langland Sarah Sarzynski on an analysis of student activism during Brazil’s military dictatorship 28 November
Pythagorean Women: Their History and Writings, by Sarah B. Pomeroy Barbara Graziosi on female adherents to an ancient philosophy 28 November
Distant Love, by Ulrich Beck and Elisabeth Beck-Gernsheim Les Gofton on ‘world families’ and globalisation 28 November
Housewives and Citizens: Domesticity and the Women’s Movement in England, 1928-64, by Caitriona Beaumont June Purvis discusses conservative contributions to gender equality 21 November
Your Fatwa Does Not Apply Here: Untold Stories from the Fight against Muslim Fundamentalism, by Karima Bennoune Julia Droeber is humbled by the courage of everyday resistance 21 November
Romantic Geography: In Search of the Sublime Landscape, by Yi-Fu Tuan Robert Mayhew on the human need to travel to extreme environments that nourish the spirit 21 November
Out of Time: The Pleasures and the Perils of Ageing, by Lynne Segal Stina Lyon ponders life’s many shades of grey 21 November
Reporting Disasters: Famine, Aid, Politics and the Media, by Suzanne Franks Sally Feldman on an alternative interpretation of the media reporting and government responses to the Ethiopian famine in 1984 14 November
Floating City: Hustlers, Strivers, Dealers, Call Girls and Other Lives in Illicit New York, by Sudhir Venkatesh Dick Hobbs finds low-life tales of illegal entrepreneurs in abundance, but not so scholarly rigour 14 November
Safe Space: Gay Neighborhood History and the Politics of Violence, by Christina B. Hanhardt Marian Duggan takes a tour of the US LGBT liberation movement 14 November
The Endtimes of Human Rights, by Stephen Hopgood Conor Gearty on an impassioned attack on ‘imperialism disguised as moralism’ 14 November
Do Muslim Women Need Saving?, by Lila Abu-Lughod The convictions of those involved in efforts to ‘rescue’ women from religion will be unsettled by this work, says Madawi Al-Rasheed 7 November
Crossing the Bay of Bengal: The Furies of Nature and the Fortunes of Migrants, by Sunil Amrith Caroline Osella on a page-turning survey of people and politics in a region once at the heart of global trade and imperial histories 7 November
Political Emotions: Why Love Matters for Justice, by Martha Nussbaum Geraldine Van Bueren lauds a plea to put our passions to work in building a more just society 7 November
The Great Escape: Health, Wealth, and the Origins of Inequality, by Angus Deaton Kitty Stewart finds wisdom in a study of progress and disparity between nations and people 31 October
