The co-founder of the Hay Festival recommends books to spark debate and change minds. He is director of a new series of events, The Conversation, at St Martin-in-the-Fields.
Underland
A wondrous book about landscape and the living world that may change for ever and for better how we see our planet and our place here. Give it to everyone you love. Hell, give it to everyone you meet.
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Two Sisters
Åsne Seierstad, 2016
As in her unsparing study of the terrorist Anders Breivik, "One of Us", the Norwegian war reporter and investigative journalist takes us deep into the violent radicalisation of young Westerners, and their journeys out of the societies they grew up in and into the Syrian jihad.
The Lives of the Caesars
Suetonius, translated by Tom Holland, 2025
Today's Washington has nothing on Suetonius's Ancient Rome. You want to see crazy power run wild? Tom Holland brings his dearest "Father of the Show" into vivid, glorious English in this new translation.
The Wife of Bath: A Biography
Marion Turner, 2023
A love letter to Chaucer's favourite pilgrim, the fabulous and insatiable woman who is at the heart of "The Canterbury Tales". A book as bawdy and brilliant and celebratory as she is.
The Lorax
Dr Seuss, 1971
"Unless...". This is how to do it: irresistible language and storytelling, utterly persuasive eco-politics. We plant the Festivals Forest in Iceland because he wrote about truffula trees.
A Barrister for the Earth
Monica Feria-Tinta, published in April
Change needs everyone from protesters rebelling to CEOs and politicians reversing policy. Most of all it needs us to assess priorities. And it needs lawyers such as Monica Feria-Tinta to call and fight for the rights of the voiceless. This is how to do it too.
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The ultimate films of 2025 by genre
The Week Recommends From comedies to thrillers, documentaries to animations, 2025 featured some unforgettable film moments
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Into the Woods: a ‘hypnotic’ production
The Week Recommends Jordan Fein’s revival of the much-loved Stephen Sondheim musical is ‘sharp, propulsive and often very funny’
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The best food books of 2025The Week Recommends From mouthwatering recipes to insightful essays, these colourful books will both inspire and entertain
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Art that made the news in 2025The Explainer From a short-lived Banksy mural to an Egyptian statue dating back three millennia
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Winter holidays in the snow and sunThe Week Recommends Escape the dark, cold days with the perfect getaway
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The best homes of the yearFeature Featuring a former helicopter engine repair workshop in Washington, D.C. and high-rise living in San Francisco
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Critics’ choice: The year’s top 10 moviesFeature ‘One Battle After Another’ and ‘It Was Just an Accident’ stand out
