Books

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Trapped in History: Kenya, Mau Mau and Me by Nicholas Rankin review – a child’s eye view of empire
The author’s account of his youth amid Kenya’s 1950s anti-colonial uprising is an unforgettable mix of history and memoir

Colin Grant

27, Nov, 2023 @7:00 AM

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‘Soul-shattering’ Prophet Song by Paul Lynch wins 2023 Booker prize
The Irish author’s novel set in an imagined Dublin descending into far-right tyranny wins £50,000 prize

Ella Creamer

26, Nov, 2023 @11:41 PM

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Booker prize winning Prophet Song is a novel written to jolt the reader awake | Justine Jordan
Prophet Song imagines an Ireland under fascist control, breaking through the it-couldn’t-happen-here complacency of western societies

Justine Jordan

26, Nov, 2023 @9:53 PM

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In brief: 1974: Scenes from a Year of Crisis; America Fantastica; Heritage – review
A history of a turbulent 12 months, our efforts to conserve Britain’s past, plus Tim O’Brien’s first novel in more than 20 years

Alexander Larman

26, Nov, 2023 @4:00 PM

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The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride review – sweet solidarity
The novelist and musician’s tale of Black and Jewish Americans uniting against prejudice in the 1930s is deftly plotted, richly characterised and inspiring

Lucy Popescu

26, Nov, 2023 @3:00 PM

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Verdant Inferno/A Scabby Black Brazilian by Alberto Rangel/ Jean-Christophe Goddard review – an Amazonian beauty
Two republished titles sharing the same cover – one a Brazilian classic, the other a philosophical blurring of genres – deliver head-spinning insights into life in the rainforest

Joe Moshenska

26, Nov, 2023 @1:00 PM

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Ukraine: The Forging of a Nation review – the perennial fight against domination by Moscow
A bestseller in his homeland, Ukrainian historian Yaroslav Hrytsak’s vivid, sweeping book lays bare the enduring pride that persuaded his countrymen to resist Russian aggression and offers grounds for hope

Luke Harding

26, Nov, 2023 @11:00 AM

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Invisible Generals: the Black military pioneers hidden in US history
Benjamin O Davis Sr and Jr were high-fliers in every way, the latter commanding the Tuskegee Airmen. The author Doug Melville, a descendant, is determined to give them their due

David Smith in Washington

26, Nov, 2023 @10:00 AM

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The Revolutionary Temper: Paris, 1748-1789 by Robert Darnton review – power to the printed word
The popular press of 18th-century France is revealed as having sown the seeds of revolution in a convincing reframing of history

Madoc Cairns

26, Nov, 2023 @9:00 AM

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Living the Beatles Legend by Kenneth Womack review – a long and winding roadie’s tale
He saved them from a car crash, snuck them drugs and inspired Let It Be… The detailed story of the Fab Four’s driver, bodyguard and confidant Mal Evans captures Beatlemania up close

Tim Adams

26, Nov, 2023 @7:00 AM

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MTG review: far-right rabble rouser makes case to be Trump’s VP
Marjorie Taylor Greene’s book swims with venom, score-settling, fiction and self-absolution: a very Republican stew

Lloyd Green

26, Nov, 2023 @7:00 AM

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Alice Winn: ‘We live in the fossilised wreckage of world war one’
The author of In Memoriam, a contender for Waterstones book of the year, on borrowing first-hand accounts of combat, running sex scenes past her gay friends and the eternal impact of the great war

Anthony Cummins

25, Nov, 2023 @6:00 PM

58 / 3,150 pages