In Search of Mary Seacole: a ‘wonderfully informative’ biography
Helen Rappaport sets out to bring ‘clarity to Seacole’s life’

In this “forceful and rather unusual” book, Nina Power contends that a “war on men” is being waged in many Western countries, said Jay Elwes in The Spectator. Men, the philosopher suggests, are continually denigrated in popular culture: they are depicted as violent, selfish and lazy – and masculinity itself as irredeemably “toxic”.
This “all-out assault”, Power argues, ignores the reality that many men in today’s world feel increasingly useless and marginalised. In fact, it risks re-enacting the kind of negative group stereotyping that has so often facilitated prejudice in the past.
Power thinks there are fundamental differences between men and women and that society should go with the grain of the masculine character, said Louise Perry in The Times. She advocates a return to traditional male virtues – such as honour, loyalty and courage. “Boys and men must be allowed to be good,” she writes, and “to become better.” For a feminist, her take is “bracingly original” – especially when she engages with such extreme fringes of anti-feminism as the incel movement and the separatist group MGTOW (Men Going Their Own Way).
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.
Many of Power’s sentiments are worthy, but she fails to justify her claim that men are now the subjects of unprecedented demonisation, said Houman Barekat in The Guardian. The “sweeping, simplistic and vaguely sour tone” of the book is characteristic of all too many culture war pieces of recent years.
It’s better than that, said Tim Adams in The Observer. Power’s writing is “provocative and rigorous”, and she raises important questions – particularly about how a generation of young men who feel “marginalised from a consumer society” can be encouraged to achieve a sense of “self-worth and purpose”. And on one point in particular she is surely right: writing off masculinity only makes things worse.
Allen Lane 192pp £18.99; The Week Bookshop £14.99
The Week Bookshop
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
To order this title or any other book in print, visit theweekbookshop.co.uk, or speak to a bookseller on 020-3176 3835. Opening times: Monday to Saturday 9am-5.30pm and Sunday 10am-4pm.
-
Film reviews: Roofman and Kiss of the Spider Woman
Feature An escaped felon’s heart threatens to give him away and a prisoner escapes into daydreams of J.Lo.
-
Broadway actors and musicians are on the brink of a strike
The explainer The show, it turns out, may not go on
-
Pentagon reporters turn in badges after refusing rules
Speed Read They refused to sign a restrictive new press policy imposed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
-
Film reviews: Roofman and Kiss of the Spider Woman
Feature An escaped felon’s heart threatens to give him away and a prisoner escapes into daydreams of J.Lo.
-
Cyrano de Bergerac: a ‘huge-hearted’ production
The Week Recommends This ‘playful’ and ‘poignant’ rendition brings new life to the ‘gilet-sporting, verse-spouting’ titular soldier
-
I Swear: a ‘warm-hearted’ comedy-drama
The Week Recommends While ‘inescapably hilarious’, the drama also lifts the lid on John Davidson’s experiences with Tourette syndrome
-
Victoria Beckham Netflix documentary feels like an ‘advert’
Talking Point Carefully controlled three-part show fails to answer the interesting questions it raises
-
What to read by Nobel Prize in Literature winner László Krasznahorkai
In the Spotlight The Hungarian writer’s melodic prose is ‘quite unlike anyone else’s’
-
Nathan Harris’ 6 favorite books that turn adventures into revelations
Feature The author recommends works by Kazuo Ishiguro, Ian McGuire, and more
-
Book reviews: ‘Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What We Can Do About It’ and ‘It Girl: The Life and Legacy of Jane Birkin’
Feature How big tech is betraying its users and how Jane Birkin’s allure led her to struggle with her own self-worth
-
The delightful, smutty world of Jilly Cooper
In the Spotlight Millions mourn the ‘Mrs Kipling of sex’