1. Fall: The Mystery of Robert Maxwell
John Preston
This “superb, pacey account” charts the late Robert Maxwell’s “ascent from shtetl boyhood” to self-made publishing billionaire and “eventual cartoon madman”, says The Daily Telegraph. Truly “jaw-dropping”.
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.
2. Empire of Pain
Patrick Radden Keefe
A gripping and “meticulously researched” account of how Purdue Pharma, owned by the Sackler family, marketed the addictive painkiller OxyContin – fuelling the US opioid crisis, says The Times. “Read it and rage.”
3. A Shot to Save the World
Gregory Zuckerman
An “appropriately breathless” account of the race to find a Covid vaccine, says Andrew Hill in the FT. Zuckerman shows how “catastrophe” transformed the fortunes of “tiny, visionary ventures”.
4. Three Days at Camp David
Jeffrey E. Garten
In this “outstanding book”, says Martin Wolf in the FT, Garten describes the secret 1971 meeting at which President Nixon decided to sever the link between the dollar and gold – beginning “a new monetary order”.
5. Toxic
Clive Lewis
A business psychologist’s guide on how to deal with “toxic” colleagues, says The Times: the unkind, the hostile, the “downright abusive”. “Required reading for company bosses.”
6. The Future of Money
Eswar S. Prasad
“An invaluable overview” of how digital technologies are transforming currencies and finance, says Martin Wolf in the FT. As Prasad summarises: “A glorious future beckons, perhaps.”
7. 12 Bytes
Jeanette Winterson
The novelist’s “anarchically playful” essays cover the history of computing, AI and the cloud, says The Daily Telegraph. She imagines a future in which “sexbots are hacked by feminist programmers”.
8. Pugnare: Economic Success and Failure
George Maher
The rise and fall of the Roman Empire – from a financial perspective. When inflation kicked in, stability collapsed, says Merryn Somerset Webb in the FT. “The banking system appears to have completely failed in AD260. And that was that.”
9. The Aristocracy of Talent
Adrian Wooldridge
This “sparkling” if disturbing study shows how much less meritocratic our society has become since the late 20th century, says The Daily Telegraph. An elegant defence of talent.
10. The Cult of We
Eliot Brown and Maureen Farrell
This “modern tale of the emperor’s new clothes” charts how Adam Neumann convinced everyone “that his property start-up was worth $47bn”, says The Times. “Drugs, tequila, private jets and a worrying messiah complex.”
-
Giorgio Armani obituary: designer revolutionised the business of fashionIn the Spotlight ‘King Giorgio’ came from humble beginnings to become a titan of the fashion industry and redefine 20th century clothing
-
Kim Jong Un’s triumph: the rise and rise of North Korea’s dictatorIn the Spotlight North Korean leader has strengthened ties with Russia and China, and recently revealed his ‘respected child’ to the world
-
Crossword: September 13, 2025The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
Giorgio Armani obituary: designer revolutionised the business of fashion
In the Spotlight ‘King Giorgio’ came from humble beginnings to become a titan of the fashion industry and redefine 20th century clothing
-
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale – a ‘comfort’ watch for fansThe Week Recommends The final film of the franchise gives viewers a chance to say goodbye
-
The Paper: new show, same 'warmth and goofiness'The Week Recommends This spin-off of the American version of The Office is ‘comfortingly and wearyingly familiar’
-
Rachel Jones: Gated Canyons – ‘riotously colourful’ works from an ‘exhilarating’ painterThe Week Recommends The 34-year-old is the first artist to take over Dulwich Picture Gallery’s main space
-
Born With Teeth: ‘mischievously provocative’ play starring Ncuti GatwaThe Week Recommends ‘Sprightly’ production from Liz Duffy Adams imagines the relationship between Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe
-
Art review: Lorna Simpson: Source NotesFeature Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, through Nov. 2
-
Jessica Francis Kane's 6 favorite books that prove less is moreFeature The author recommends works by Penelope Fitzgerald, Marie-Helene Bertino, and more
-
Book reviews: 'Baldwin: A Love Story' and 'The Fort Bragg Cartel: Drug Trafficking and Murder in the Special Forces'Feature A loving James Baldwin biography and the drug crimes of two special ops veterans
