The tragedy of English football
The miracle of 1966 aside, Paul Hayward’s “biography” of England’s national team is a story of sorry failure.
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Discover the latest non-fiction books and must-reads with the New Statesman’s expert reviews. Including biographies, music books, political writing and more.
Chelsea Manning and the price of knowledge
The whistleblower’s harrowing memoir of her clash with the US military shows that information does not necessarily effect change.
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The dark side of DNA editing
Genetic engineering can lead to great medical advances but, as Matthew Cobb’s new book shows, it also brings alarming ethical…
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Decoding Adam Smith
A new history of The Wealth of Nations shows how the Scottish thinker’s legacy became an economic battleground.
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Surrender: praying in the church of Bono
In his account of being “saved” by love and religion, the U2 frontman’s sincerity overpowers the scorn of his critics.
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A new age of climate migration
In Nomad Century, Gaia Vince argues we must prepare now for environmental migration on an unprecedented scale.
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The women who made TS Eliot
Accounts of the poet’s brutal rejections of Mary Trevelyan and Emily Hale shed light on a man obsessed by posterity…
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How Donald Trump rose to power
Maggie Haberman’s Confidence Man is the best account yet of Trump’s path to the presidency – and a crucial guide…
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The bonfire of the Middle East
Jeremy Bowen’s personal history shows how hopes of peace failed and the region entered a new era of instability.
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The cutting wit of Alan Rickman
In the late actor’s diaries, his merciless verdicts on showbiz idiocy are tempered by a deep loyalty and humanity.
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Football’s data delusion
A new book by Rory Smith looks at why the English Premier League is still searching for its Moneyball moment.
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What Harold Wilson can teach Keir Starmer
A new biography shows how one of Labour’s most successful leaders kept the party united at all costs.
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Agatha Christie’s secret worlds
After her infamous 11-day disappearance in 1926, the author retreated from public view. Lucy Worsley’s new biography claims to solve…
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Blue Labour: A rallying cry for a return to inclusive politics
Maurice Glasman’s book is an urgent reminder that statecraft is not about immediate victories but securing well-being for all.
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The Last Colony exposes a deep injustice at the heart of the British state
Fifty years ago the UK forcibly removed the inhabitants of the Chagos Islands. Will they ever be allowed to return?
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What is to be done about money?
A new economic history examines how and why money has always been inextricably linked to politics and power.
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From spy to journalist to celebrated poet: the curious life of Basil Bunting
The letters of the Northumbrian modernist reveal an idiosyncratic career and an exacting critical mind.
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British diplomacy in the dock
A former diplomat’s new book reveals that, for 25 years, UK foreign policy has left mainly harm and disorder in…
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Reviewed in short: New books by Guy Standing, Stu Hennigan, Jessica Andrews and Don Paterson
The Blue Commons by Standing, Ghost Signs by Hennigan, Milk Teeth by Andrews and The Arctic by Paterson.
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Rebecca May Johnson’s Small Fires is a radical analysis of cooking
This lively, conversational book insists that following a recipe can be a creative process.
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