The Wolfson History Prize is awarded annually for historical writing that is both brilliantly researched and a great read. Professor Helen King, one of this year's judges, talks us through the 2025 shortlist and explains why each book stood out.

It’s been another big year for technology and AI, but books on geopolitics and global political rivalries are front and centre on the shortlist of the 2025 Financial Times Business Book of the Year Award. FT journalist Andrew Hill, the prize’s organizer, talks us through the six books that made the cut—from the enigmatic founders of multi-billion- and trillion-dollar businesses to the challenges governments face in achieving growth and prosperity.

The Royal Society Young People's Book Prize celebrates the best new science books for kids. Professor Tamsin Mather, Earth scientist and chair of the 2025 judging panel, introduces this year’s shortlist and explains how scientific storytelling can awaken children’s sense of exploration of the world around them.

In Stronger, Michael Joseph Gross, a longtime contributing editor at Vanity Fair, investigates strength in all its dimensions. Over the decade he spent reporting it, Gross interviewed scientists, athletes, and ordinary people in pursuit of one question: what does it really mean to be strong? In this conversation, he reflects on that journey and introduces five books that illuminate strength and guide us on how to become stronger.

Many well-loved American detective novels feature cynical private investigator protagonists facing down hardened criminals and deep-set corruption. We asked Dave Zeltserman, author of Small Crimes, to recommend five brilliant books from this popular genre, from a 1920s small town murder mystery to a 1980s postmodern trilogy.

Every year, the judges of the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction draw up a shortlist of books that made them laugh out loud. We asked the novelist Stephanie Merritt, one of the 2025 judges, to talk us through the eight books in the running for the title of the funniest book of the year.

Apartheid ended more than three decades ago, but the trauma of the past continues to haunt South Africa, including in its novels. Andile Cele, author of Braids & Migraines, recommends five of her favourites, from a prize-winning literary work to a darkly humorous crime novel that shines a light on violence against women.

With no founder, prophet or book recognised as a definitive authority, Hinduism is notable for its diversity. Jawaharlal Nehru, independent India’s first Prime Minister, described it as being “all things to all men”. Here, Hindu practitioner and scholar Sravana Borkataky-Varma explains the essence of the religion, and recommends five books that are informative for readers who are familiar with Hindu traditions as well as those who are looking for their first introduction.

The history of the Aztecs is the best documented of all the Native American peoples, shedding light on life in the Americas before the arrival of the conquistadors. Professor Michael E. Smith, an archaeologist at Arizona State University, introduces books about the Aztec Empire — with a focus on documentary sources and artefacts that reveal not only how the elites lived, but also ordinary people.

Romance novels often follow a couple as they journey from resentment to lust, but the author must tread a careful line, explains the novelist Lauren Ford: if lead characters are too hateful to one other, readers won't root for them to get together. Here, she recommends five great enemies-to-lovers books with crackling repartee and sizzling sexual tension.