Book of the week

Catherine Rottenberg enjoys an analysis of a new generation of characters who are transforming the narrative possibilities for women on screen

Michael Marinetto enjoys a bold attempt to challenge one of the great pieties of our time

Neve Gordon has reservations about an ambitious analysis ranging across continents and centuries

Chris Knight wishes that the authors of this hugely ambitious study had gone back further and taken greater account of Africa

Peter Osborne is intrigued by an account of the political and philosophical ideas that shaped the West German left

Linsey McGoey applauds a bold account of the ‘dark money’ fuelling the culture wars on campus

Serena Masino is intrigued by a wide-ranging exploration of how political and economic factors play a crucial role in many diseases 

Cait MacPhee praises a rather-too-rapid tour of the frontiers of physical knowledge

Despite its insights into democracy, this loosely linked collection of previously published essays and reviews leaves Lennard Davis unimpressed 

Lincoln Allison enjoys an overview of the great political thinkers very different from the kind he grew up with

Shane O’Mara is both fascinated and disappointed by a bold attempt to provide an ‘overarching framework’ for how the brain works

Not before time, the female partners whose intellectual contributions enhanced their husbands’ work get long-overdue credit, writes Emma Rees

Michael Marinetto applauds an attempt to consider the challenges of our technological future without lapsing into moral panic

The summer is traditionally when academics turn to the big, serious books they don’t otherwise have time for or grab the chance for a bit of escapism. The pandemic has raised some major new issues they might want to grapple with but also increased the need to switch off. Here our contributors offer their personal thoughts on what they are going to read for enlightenment and for fun

Jeremy MacClancy is broadly convinced by the argument that his discipline is finally coming in to its own

Catherine Rottenberg considers a bold critique of all the pressures and half-baked scientific advice that constrain the lives of mothers

Martin Cohen finds many insights and a dose of logic in a book about brain science that aims to help us think better

Joe Moran appreciates a bold attempt to illuminate the roots of why we are so unhappy

Roberta Mock explores a tradition of performance that still raises urgent political questions today

John Gilbey is fascinated by a richly detailed account of attempts to reach the holy grail of technological innovation

Matthew Flinders finds the solutions offered in an ambitious analysis of American discontent less than impressive 

John Shand wonders to what extent deep thinking has a place in our erotic lives

Lennard Davis reflects on the dilemmas of the biographer in reading a new life of his friend and mentor Edward Said

Catherine Rottenberg applauds a bold attempt to forge a politics of solidarity in response to humanitarian crisis

Emma Rees enjoys a vivid if familiar exploration of changing attitudes to romance

Jane O’Grady grapples with an ambitious attempt to rethink the development of philosophy from the ancient Greeks until today

Darren Lilleker enjoys a useful study of how leaders have tried to shape their public images

Constantine Sandis is intrigued by a polemic exploring the failures of humans compared with their fellow animals

Which books have brought insight or consolation to academics and other university staff in this turbulent year? Our expert readers share their discoveries

David A. Sanders enjoys a clear and comprehensive, if flawed, study of where science is going wrong and how to put it right 

Tony Mann welcomes a compelling account of the power – and ethical challenges – of mathematics in helping us address crucial issues in today’s world

David Willetts welcomes a bold account of how the battle between democracy and meritocracy has transformed higher education in the UK

Richard Joyner enjoys a vivid account of a larger-than-life scientist and reflects on whether Haldane’s career would be possible today

Robert Eaglestone has reservations about a pre-eminent historian’s analysis of the continuing myths about the Nazis 

Jane O’Grady is enthralled by a meticulous meditation on possible worlds and paths not taken 

Caroline Stevenson applauds a powerful exposé of Parisian haute couture that raises troubling questions for fashion schools as well as for those working in the industry

Cait MacPhee enjoys a tour of the disaster scenarios that put even a pandemic into perspective

Emma Rees praises a lively yet forensic analysis of systemic misogyny

A. W. Purdue considers how Britain’s wartime prime minister was a lifelong master at keeping himself in the public eye

Nick Hillman assesses the arguments for and against banning certain speakers from campuses

David Gunkel enjoys a stimulating polemic about why we need to reflect on what ‘getting back to normal’ means in the wake of the coronavirus crisis

Randy Malamud admires a distinctly engaging account of an energy-sapping emotion

John Gilbey is fascinated by an ambitious attempt to analyse and address the disastrous human impact on the biosphere

Peter J. Smith applauds a fascinating, if stomach-churning, study of ‘the pongs of the past’

Michael Marinetto enjoys a bold attempt to challenge the scientific consensus about consciousness

Joe Moran is intrigued by a deep history that has gained unexpected relevance at a time of self-isolation

Ruby Guyatt considers the ‘eruptive public spaces’ where conflict can flare up between scholars and the faith groups they study

Book of the week: Richard Larschan enjoys a wide-ranging survey of the deep intellectual insights and disputes thrown up by the experience of travel 

Geoffrey Cantor praises a bold historical overview that offers useful pointers to how we can face up to the technological challenges of today

Book of the week: Tara Shears enjoys an impassioned hymn to the vocation and insights of the physicist

Rachel Moss is both amazed and puzzled by a vast new study of a giant of world literature

Book of the week: Emma Rees salutes a wide-ranging study of women who passed as men or found other means to serve in combat

Book of the week: Nick Hillman sifts through the arguments in a bold attempt to determine the future of higher education

Book of the week: Rosa Mucignat enjoys a bold attempt to create a cooperative open-ended discussion about a publishing phenomenon

Book of the week: Constantine Sandis admires a subtle and judicious analysis of the communications skills of our fellow creatures

Book of the week: Lynne Segal applauds a bold attempt to forge a comprehensive philosophy of resistance

Book of the week: Victoria Bateman is impressed by the clear and wide-ranging insights of a Nobel-winning economist and public intellectual

Book of the week: Lincoln Allison is surprised by the amount of common ground he, as a traditionalist academic, now shares with the ‘innovatory managers’ he once quarrelled with 

Book of the week: there’s something for everyone in this provocative study of sex, power and conflict, says Joanna Lewis

Book of the week: Jane O’Grady is impressed but not wholly convinced by an attempt to solve one of the most celebrated philosophical challenges