Books
Sagas to savour
Was Iceland responsible for the French Revolution, the moon landing and the discovery of America?
Sculptor, wrecker and seducer
A beautiful book, but a fairly orthodox biography of the Hon. Stephen “Tommy” Tomlin
Duchess of platitudes
The true tragedy of Meghan’s book will be the better writers left on the bench
Independent minds
Small local publishers are putting out the brightest and best new work
Murders for early June
Jeremy Black’s ominous murder mystery round-up for the early summer
Cricket’s bible takes the knee
Michael Henderson says, hats off, everybody, to the troupers of the famous yellow Almanack
Anatomy of disaster
The psychology of political incompetence is brought out well in Niall Ferguson’s Doom
Was he pushed?
Robert Maxwell’s last two days are covered in great detail in this new book
Lots in translation
As the winner of the International Booker Prize is due to be announced today, ASH Smyth talks to poet, translator and judge on this year’s panel, George Szirtes
Torn in the USA
Purpose, identity and social status, how this book reveals the three things lacking on the shop floor at Amazon
Friggitelli with Rosie
Lisa Hilton falls for the rustic charms and continental cuisine of a perfect English pub
Should I buy a horse?
My desire to stay green is leading me to the bridleway of despair
A Clockwork Jihadi
Usman Khan was supposed to be a rehabilitation success story. But Roland Elliott Brown believes the tale of his failed de-radicalisation bears uncomfortable parallels with Anthony Burgess’s infamous 20th century dystopia A Clockwork Orange
The decline of the humanist movement
The puritanical secularism of the American Humanist Association is a stark departure from the founding principles of humanism
He can bodge it
Thérèse Coffey defends Downing Street’s home furnishing revamp
The rule of sixty
Save your shrubs with a slug pub, says Hephzibah Anderson
Riotous isle of vanilla gangsters, lemurs and a DJ president
In his new book on Madagascar, John Gimlette tells of trouble in paradise
Prince Philip’s military legacy
Prince Philip’s military service deserves to be remembered in its own right
The potting shelf
You can grow without a garden
The masses might stone you
Canberra’s recognition of the People’s Republic of China in December 1972 and the subsequent establishment of diplomatic relations resulted in an agreement to permit the stationing of Australian correspondents in Peking (now Beijing). The following year, Paul Raffaele became the first Australian correspondent, and the first foreign broadcaster, accredited to Mao’s China