The financial columnist and commentator is at the Edinburgh Fringe with "The Butcher, The Brewer, The Baker and Merryn Somerset Webb" on 22 August.
Captives and Companions
Justin Marozzi, 2025
A timely – and riveting – reminder in an age of binary thinking that the history of slavery is far wider than the Atlantic trade. Marozzi takes us from the multi-century trade across the Sahara to slave raids on the Cornish coast in the 1600s, and confirms that – albeit "more covertly" – this nasty system continues today.
Revolutionary Spring
Christopher Clark, 2023
In 1848, revolution – driven by political and financial inequality – spread across Europe. In the end, most uprisings were seen to have failed. But maybe they didn't – they left a changed Europe behind them. Today's revolutions may be less violent, but the sentiment is not. As you read, you will wonder whether Europe is at a similar turning point now.
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.
How the World Really Works
Vaclav Smil, 2022
Most of us have no idea how food and energy production work. A quote from Bill Gates is all this one really needs: "If you want a brief but thorough education in numeric thinking about many of the fundamental forces that shape human life, this is the book to read."
The Theory of Moral Sentiments
Adam Smith, 1759
Smith's economic masterpiece "The Wealth of Nations" is better known, but his bestseller from 1759 is just as brilliant and – as a study of ethics, morals, the role of conscience and why we behave as we do – it is as relevant now as then.
End Times
Peter Turchin, 2023
Member of the elite? If so, you are one of too many. A convincing argument that political instability is a function of elite overproduction and intra-elite conflict. "Popular immiseration" and frustration boil over, violent ruptures follow. This is how most eras end – and how ours is ending now. Expect unpleasantness.
Titles available at The Week Bookshop
-
Critics’ choice: Watering holes for gourmandsFeature An endless selection of Mexican spirits, a Dublin-inspired bar, and an upscale Baltimore pub
-
Argentinian beef is at the center of American farmers’ woesThe Explainer ‘It feels like a slap in the face to rural America,’ said one farmer
-
‘Businesses that lose money and are uncompetitive won’t survive’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Critics’ choice: Watering holes for gourmands
Feature An endless selection of Mexican spirits, a Dublin-inspired bar, and an upscale Baltimore pub
-
Film reviews: Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, Frankenstein, and Blue MoonFeature A rock star on the rise turns inward, a stressed mother begins to unravel, and more
-
Beth Macy’s 6 favorite books about living in a divided nationFeature The journalist recommends works by Nicholas Buccola, Matthew Desmond, and more
-
Book review: ‘Joyride: A Memoir’Feature A journalist’s story of how she chased and accomplished her dreams
-
Art Review: Downtown/Uptown: New York in the EightiesFeature Lévy Gorvy Dayan, New York City, through Dec. 13
-
R&B singer D’AngeloFeature A reclusive visionary who transformed the genre
-
Kiss guitarist Ace FrehleyFeature The rocker who shot fireworks from his guitar
-
Roasted squash and apple soup recipeThe Week Recommends Autumnal soup is full of warming and hearty flavours
