Samuel Beckett
A prize-winning old fraud
Freedom to expose
Do historians and biographers have a moral right to be shown classified documents?
Faustian bargains of the review world
Jeremy Black delves into a history book which disappoints and a biography not to be missed
Napoleon Bonaparte: A PR nightmare
On the bicentenary of his death, Napoleon Bonaparte remains a curiously stubborn rampart of cultural history in France and beyond
Can the power of information be controlled?
The internet democratised speech but with the new Online Safety Bill, politicians and the media are trying to put the genie back in the bottle
The wisdom of the old traditions
The Unbroken Thread is an engaging and entertaining read — but it feels like a project that’s only just beginning
Anatomy of disaster
The psychology of political incompetence is brought out well in Niall Ferguson’s Doom
Team America may save us yet
Brits might not like to admit it, but the US can-do attitude is what we need to recover from Covid
Flying fiends
The wasp may be hated, but you’d be amazed by its intelligence
Sincerely ducking the hard questions
Nick Cohen reveals how this book, along with hundreds of political writers like him, ducks the reality of working class life
Queen’s Speech 2021: Free speech pendulum swings both ways
Tuesday’s Queen’s Speech to parliament confirmed that the government is yet to decide where it stands on freedom of speech