Lead book review
The path to power
Robert Skidelsky follows Friedrich Hayek’s progression from technical economics to political thinking after his battles with John Maynard Keynes
Old-world decorum
At times Anne Glenconner seems like a Craig Brown parody – but no, she really exists, and we must celebrate her, says Hermione Eyre
Sunken wreck
A great talent is wasted in Cormac McCarthy’s meandering tale of a mysterious plane crash and its aftermath, says Philip Hensher
Books of the year II
A further selection of recent books enjoyed by our regular reviewers – and a few that have disappointed them
Books of the Year I
Our regular reviewers choose the books they have most enjoyed reading in 2022
The give and take of friendship
Claudia FitzHerbert explores the complex bond between two remarkable writers in the interwar years
We love you, Uncle Xi!
Tom Miller on the cult of personality that China’s ‘core leader’ has so ruthlessly constructed
Secret assignations
Adam Sisman on the private life of John le Carré, revealed in letters and a kiss-and-tell
Never the bride
Tom Williams describes how two women’s hopes of marrying T.S. Eliot came to nothing
His own worst enemy
The Radetzky March must be one of the dozen greatest European novels – but its author was frighteningly unpleasant, says Philip Hensher
Grand old man of British music
Ralph Vaughan Williams’s towering position in our national life is now beyond dispute – and can only grow, says Simon Heffer
On with the next escape plan
Given the prisoners’ histories, it’s not surprising there were so many attempted breakouts from Colditz, says Clare Mulley
A bold departure
Ian McEwan’s latest novel is unusually long and autobiographical. It’s surprising in other ways, too, says Claire Lowdon
A rounded education
The encyclopaedias of the past were volumes to be savoured – even if they often contained unsavoury views, says Rose George
Keeping up with Jena set
Frances Wilson describes a group of self-obsessed intellectuals united by mutual loathing in a small university town in the 1790s
The Russian enigma
Nothing is certain in a country where the past is constantly rewritten, says Owen Matthews
Children have a lot to learn
Could our long journey to adulthood actually be the key to our success, wonders Sam Leith
Nasser and the Nazis
Justin Marozzi finds Egypt teeming with Germans after the second world war
Alfred the Great
Andrew Lycett on the pugnacious British press baron dedicated to fighting the first world war through newsprint
The state and the Union
A ‘global’ history of Scotland must, by its very nature, be one of Britain and Empire too, says Alex Massie
Who needs the metaverse?
Big tech might tell us it’s what’s coming next but as yet there’s no real use for it, says James Ball
What bow – and why is it burning?
‘Jerusalem’ may be our unofficial national anthem, but don’t ask anyone who sings it to tell you what it means, says Philip Hensher
A study of Scarlett
Selfish, acquisitive, ignorant and vain, Gone with the Wind’s heroine not only resembles Donald Trump – she may even be his role model, says Greg Garrett
Animal magic
With the technologies at our disposal, we can in fact now know what it’s like to be a bat, says Caspar Henderson
The silent muse
Jane Morris, the Pre-Raphaelites’ favourite model, remains as enigmatic as ever, says Frances Wilson
