Documentary-maker Julian Evans rekindles a 30-year romance with the country and finds warmth in desperate circumstances
From war and tech, to biographies on Taylor Swift, the Pope and Bill Gates — plus new fiction from Adam Haslett and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a preview of some of the titles to look out for in the coming year
The historian unearths a rich trove of artefacts and records to tell the tale of the ordinary lives of Vikings
Fredric Jameson’s enthralling survey emphasises context and considers the impact of European ideas on the US culture wars of today
A selection of some of the best titles shedding light on the conflict and its place in the wider power struggles across the Middle East
Seven decades on, Wright Thompson casts new light on the brutal night that sparked the civil rights movement
Simon Parkin tells the story of heroic botanists who put the safety of their seed bank ahead of their own during the Nazis’ siege
Tony Barber selects his must-read titles
Carl Wilkinson selects his must-read titles
Perry Anderson’s wide-ranging survey takes the measure of a century of heated debate about the 1914-18 conflict
Tim Blanning’s riotous biography of an often-forgotten 18th-century king provides historical perspective on the current state of Europe
Acemoglu, Johnson and Robinson won a prize for applying economics to the very things economics is inherently bad at figuring out
Lucy Hughes-Hallett’s latest biography unravels the riddle of the most powerful man in the court of King James
Odd Arne Westad and Chen Jian provide a superb history of China’s transition into and out of the Cultural Revolution
The US foreign policy machine in action, origins of the new cold war, and Putin’s invasion of Ukraine as viewed from Washington
Peter Parker’s two-volume anthology is a meticulous portrait of prejudice and the gradual shifting of public opinion
Jerry Brotton takes an intriguing look at the cardinal directions and what they tell us about the Earth and its inhabitants
Three new books on the US look at the Clinton decade, the rise of conspiracies and the existential threat of November’s presidential election
Diarmaid MacCulloch’s thrilling book explores the complexities and contradictions of biblical scholarship and its changing interpretations
An outstanding history of the trade routes that linked a civilisation’s wealth and wisdom to the world beyond
Diarmaid Ferriter’s history of modern Ireland chronicles the dramatic social, political and economic shifts that have taken place within a generation
Uwe Neumahr’s story of the journalists at the war crimes trial tackles thorny questions about bias and collective German guilt
The rivalry between Buffon and Linnaeus has lessons about disrupters and exploitation
Shifting the focus away from the Führer et al, Richard J Evans profiles lower-ranking Nazis who enabled the Holocaust
David Chaffetz makes a convincing case for why no other animal has had such a profound impact on human history
