Taking Command by David Richards
Reviewed by Terence Jagger This was an unusual read for me, as I know the author pretty well, having worked alongside him for a very busy and intensive year in…
In These Times: Living in Britain Through Napoleon’s Wars by Jenny Uglow
Reviewed by Jenny Jenny Uglow has delved into the diaries and letters of an abundance of ordinary people — farmers, soldiers, artisans, and their families — to discover the ways…
Armchair Nation by Joe Moran
Reviewed by Annabel. I’m a big fan of television having been an enthusiastic watcher for all of my life, from The Woodentops to Blue Peter as a young child, The…
Germany – Memories of a Nation by Neil MacGregor
Reviewed by Terence Jagger This is a splendid book, a real celebration of Germany’s history, and its great contributions to our liberal western civilisation (as well as frank examinations of…
Ezra Pound: Poet – The Epic Years by A. David Moody
Reviewed by Rob Spence I’ve been teaching Modernism in higher education for over two decades now, and have therefore spent quite a lot of time reading and discussing the work…
Nairn’s London by Ian Nairn
Reviewed by Karen Langley Ian Nairn was a regular TV presence in the 1960s and 1970s, but faded out of view towards the end of his life. Born in 1930,…
Duveen by S.N. Behrman
Reviewed by Simon A good book review – according to the unwritten rules agreed by the Shiny New Books editors – should be about the book, not simply an essay…
The Old Vic by Terry Coleman
Reviewed by Harriet I do enjoy a bit of theatre history from time to time, and I must admit to a bit of a vested interest in this one. Both…
The Bookshop Book by Jen Campbell
Reviewed by Harriet I suppose nobody will be reading this unless they love books, so I don’t really need to sell you on the concept of bookshops, unless of course…
Essays on the Self by Virginia Woolf
Reviewed by Simon I should hang my colours to the mast from the outset: for my money, Virginia Woolf is the greatest writer of the twentieth century. For both fiction…
Marmalade: A Bittersweet Cookbook by Sarah Randall
Reviewed by Hayley Anderton There is a not very scientific argument that claims that the third Monday in January is the most depressing day of the year. Not for me…
The Great Indoors by Ben Highmore
Reviewed by Simon If, like me, you have spent many hours of your life watching TV programmes about how to build, renovate, sell, or buy a house, you will probably…
Mind Change: How Digital Technologies are Leaving Their Mark on our Brains by Susan Greenfield
Reviewed by Stefanie. Mind Change: How Digital Technologies Are Leaving Their Mark on Our Brains, Susan Greenfield has provided us with an even-keeled examination of the intersection of digital technology…
Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Story of Huguette Clark and the Loss of one of the World’s Greatest Fortunes by Bill Dedman & Paul Clark Newell Jr.
Reviewed by Frances Ambler Billionaires don’t just slip off the radar. Well, so you’d think. Huguette Clark, one of America’s wealthiest women, almost succeeded in doing exactly that. However, as Empty…
H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald
Reviewed by Hayley Anderton I was initially attracted to this book by it’s absolutely stunning cover (I have a soft spot for William Nicholson so enjoyed the homage) which in…
The Making of Home by Judith Flanders
Reviewed by Harriet One of the most important distinctions made by Judith Flanders in this fascinating book is that between the concepts of house and home. While a house is…
Art & Design, Craft & Photography
Books About Books, Publishing
Mind and Body, Medicine, Psychology
Non Fiction
What We See When We Read by Peter Mendelsund
Reviewed by Rebecca Hussey The immediate effect of reading Peter Mendelsund’s What We See When We Read was to make me want to pick up a novel right away and start thinking…
Playing to the Gallery by Grayson Perry
Reviewed by Annabel Grayson Perry CBE RA, the Turner Prize-winning transvestite potter, is becoming a national treasure – so much so, that the BBC invited him to give their annual…
Political Order and Political Decay: From the Industrial Revolution to the Globalisation of Democracy by Francis Fukuyama
Reviewed by Edward Leigh This is the successor volume to The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution, which together offer a complete history of how people…
Marrying Out by Harold Carlton
Reviewed by Simon Thomas I am an enormous fan of Slightly Foxed Editions, which are reprints of memoirs published in beautiful little hardbacks, complete with their own bookmark-ribbons. Obviously the…
Goldeneye – Where Bond ws Born: Ian Fleming’s Jamaica by Matthew Parker
Reviewed by Victoria Best One of the reasons Ian Fleming wrote such good plots was because his time in Naval Intelligence during the Second World War meant that he lived…
The Smile Revolution by Colin Jones
Reviewed by Harriet I must admit I was initially drawn to this book by the lovely painting on the cover, a self-portrait by the great French artist Élisabeth-Louise Vigée Lebrun….
Once Upon a Time: A Short History of Fairy Tale by Marina Warner
Reviewed by Helen Parry Is it fair to claim that Marina Warner is the reigning British queen of fairy tales? I believe so. Her best-known book on the subject, From the…
The Art of Neil Gaiman by Hayley Campbell
Reviewed by Jodie Robson I think I may have have mentioned before that I’m a fan of Neil Gaiman’s writing. A pretty unabashed fan, actually, a bit like Hayley Campbell,…