The journalist, author and filmmaker picks his five best books about the culture wars, which form the subject of his new eight-part series, Things Fell Apart, available now on BBC Sounds and Radio 4.
Crazy for God by Frank Schaeffer (2007)
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Da Capo Press £11.95
A War for the Soul of America by Andrew Hartman (2015)
In his exhaustive culture wars history, Hartman includes fascinating conflicts I couldn’t fit in – like Piss Christ, an artwork of a crucifix dipped in urine that caused wild ructions in the 1980s but is now largely forgotten, as many of the conflicts that overwhelm us today will surely soon be.
University of Chicago Press £17; The Week Bookshop £13.99
Black, White and Jewish by Rebecca Walker (2000)
Walker’s father was a Jewish lawyer; her mother was Alice Walker, author of The Color Purple. Her beautiful memoir tells how, after their split, her childhood was spent moving “between universes that never overlap”. The experience inspired her to invent a new movement – third-wave feminism – in the 1990s.
Out of print
I Will Survive… and You Will Too! by Tammy Faye Messner (2003)
Tammy Faye Bakker was an ostentatious 1980s televangelist. While undeniably fraud-adjacent – her husband Jim was imprisoned for misusing viewer donations – Tammy was a wonderful oasis of curiosity among her deeply homophobic peers.
Tarcher £10.99
N***** by Dick Gregory (1964).
Dick Gregory was a hugely successful comedian before he quit it all for civil rights activism in the 1960s. His memoir does not asterisk the n-word. It’s spelt out. As a result, it was banned by Christian conservatives in the 1970s. And now it has been banned again – this time by progressives on college campuses. Illiberalism mutates.
Plume £13.99
-
Film reviews: ‘Send Help’ and ‘Private Life’Feature An office doormat is stranded alone with her awful boss and a frazzled therapist turns amateur murder investigator
-
Movies to watch in Februarythe week recommends Time travelers, multiverse hoppers and an Iraqi parable highlight this month’s offerings during the depths of winter
-
ICE’s facial scanning is the tip of the surveillance icebergIN THE SPOTLIGHT Federal troops are increasingly turning to high-tech tracking tools that push the boundaries of personal privacy
-
Film reviews: ‘Send Help’ and ‘Private Life’
Feature An office doormat is stranded alone with her awful boss and a frazzled therapist turns amateur murder investigator
-
The Beckhams: the feud dividing BritainIn the Spotlight ‘Civil war’ between the Beckhams and their estranged son ‘resonates’ with families across the country
-
6 homes with incredible balconiesFeature Featuring a graceful terrace above the trees in Utah and a posh wraparound in New York City
-
The Flower Bearers: a ‘visceral depiction of violence, loss and emotional destruction’The Week Recommends Rachel Eliza Griffiths’ ‘open wound of a memoir’ is also a powerful ‘love story’ and a ‘portrait of sisterhood’
-
Steal: ‘glossy’ Amazon Prime thriller starring Sophie TurnerThe Week Recommends The Game of Thrones alumna dazzles as a ‘disillusioned twentysomething’ whose life takes a dramatic turn during a financial heist
-
Anna Ancher: Painting Light – a ‘moving’ exhibitionThe Week Recommends Dulwich Picture Gallery show celebrates the Danish artist’s ‘virtuosic handling of the shifting Nordic light’
-
H is for Hawk: Claire Foy is ‘terrific’ in tender grief dramaThe Week Recommends Moving adaptation of Helen Macdonald’s bestselling memoir
-
Our Town: Michael Sheen stars in ‘beautiful’ Thornton Wilder classicThe Week Recommends Opening show at the Welsh National Theatre promises a ‘bright’ future
