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Latest Book Recommendations

International Relations Books, recommended by Natasha Saunders

War, diplomacy, and foreign affairs perforate our news on a daily basis—from the Russian invasion of Ukraine to post-Brexit trade deals. The formal study of international relations seeks to make sense of these phenomena. We asked Natasha Saunders of the University of St Andrews to recommend five books that will introduce readers to the field of international relations.

Recent Recommendations

**Notable nonfiction of early 2023, recommended by Five Books editor Sophie Roell**
“Free Kindle samples—which you can read on your computer or phone even if you don’t own a Kindle—are the best way of assessing if this is a book for you or not”

Best Chess Books for Beginners, recommended by Andrew Green
“It doesn’t matter if you’re wealthy, if you’re poor, your age, if you speak the same language – it’s a universal language. You can travel around the world and make friends playing chess”

The best books on Native American history, recommended by Professor Jennifer Graber of UT Austin
“There’s a flowering of Native scholarship right now that is really exciting”

Most Popular Expert Interviews

Using Data to Understand the World, book recommendations from Edouard Mathieu, head of data at Our World in Data
“More and more data is not necessarily synonymous with better data”

The best books on Artificial Intelligence recommended by ChatGPT
Normally on Five Books we interview leading academics or novelists about the best books in their field. This week, we turned to ChatGPT for recommendations.

**Our novels of the year, recommended by Five Books deputy editor Cal Flyn**
“I’ve confined my recommendations to only recent books—five 2022 novels that were true highlights of my reading year.”

Philosopher Massimo Pigliucci recommends the best books on Stoicism
“One of the most rewarding things that has happened to me since I started writing about it is the constant flow of testimonies to the fact that it really helps people”

The best philosophy books of 2022, recommended by British philosopher Nigel Warburton
“The modern successor of Descartes’s evil demon could be the creator of a Matrix-like virtual world”

**The best classic crime fiction: Five Books editor Sophie Roell recommends novels that got her addicted to an author**
“After reading one book…I proceeded to read every single book they’d written I could get my hands on”

The best economics books of 2022, recommended by Harvard economist and Obama adviser Jason Furman
“Interest rates have risen a lot, and that has caused asset markets to fall and some particularly frothy markets like crypto to collapse.”

The best books on Design, recommended by designer, entrepreneur and author Kevin G. Bethune
“What does fully empowered design look like? What does it feel like?”

The best critical thinking books, recommended by British philosopher Nigel Warburton
“Pessimists tend not to notice changes for the better”

The best self-help books of 2022, recommended by Avram Alpert of Princeton University
“I’d rather call this ‘five good books written this year to help you live a more fulfilling life.’ Because that’s really what it is for me”

The best books on the Austro-Hungarian Empire, as selected by historian Jonathan Kwan
“Already in 1804, with the writing on the wall, the Habsburg territories had been renamed the Austrian Empire, which didn’t really have a historical precedent.”

The Best Historical Fiction: The 2022 Walter Scott Prize Shortlist, recommended by Elizabeth Laird, one of the prize’s judges
“We’re finding now that many writers, some with long and distinguished careers behind them, are looking to the past for inspiration”

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Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert

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Recent Reader Lists

Our aim is to make Five Books the place to go to on the web for book recommendations, arranged by topic. Help us achieve our goal by making a reading list on a subject you know a lot about. These lists have been created by our readers using our new interactive tool. Browse them all, or make your own.

International Relations Books, recommended by Natasha Saunders

Notable nonfiction of early 2023, recommended by Five Books editor Sophie Roell “Free Kindle samples—which you can read on your computer or phone even if you don’t own a Kindle—are the best way of assessing if this is a book for you or not”

Best Chess Books for Beginners, recommended by Andrew Green “It doesn’t matter if you’re wealthy, if you’re poor, your age, if you speak the same language – it’s a universal language. You can travel around the world and make friends playing chess”

The best books on Native American history, recommended by Professor Jennifer Graber of UT Austin “There’s a flowering of Native scholarship right now that is really exciting”

Using Data to Understand the World, book recommendations from Edouard Mathieu, head of data at Our World in Data “More and more data is not necessarily synonymous with better data”

The best books on Artificial Intelligence recommended by ChatGPT Normally on Five Books we interview leading academics or novelists about the best books in their field. This week, we turned to ChatGPT for recommendations.

Our novels of the year, recommended by Five Books deputy editor Cal Flyn “I’ve confined my recommendations to only recent books—five 2022 novels that were true highlights of my reading year.”

Philosopher Massimo Pigliucci recommends the best books on Stoicism “One of the most rewarding things that has happened to me since I started writing about it is the constant flow of testimonies to the fact that it really helps people”

The best philosophy books of 2022, recommended by British philosopher Nigel Warburton “The modern successor of Descartes’s evil demon could be the creator of a Matrix-like virtual world”

The best classic crime fiction: Five Books editor Sophie Roell recommends novels that got her addicted to an author “After reading one book…I proceeded to read every single book they’d written I could get my hands on”

The best economics books of 2022, recommended by Harvard economist and Obama adviser Jason Furman “Interest rates have risen a lot, and that has caused asset markets to fall and some particularly frothy markets like crypto to collapse.”

The best books on Design, recommended by designer, entrepreneur and author Kevin G. Bethune “What does fully empowered design look like? What does it feel like?”

The best critical thinking books, recommended by British philosopher Nigel Warburton “Pessimists tend not to notice changes for the better”

The best self-help books of 2022, recommended by Avram Alpert of Princeton University “I’d rather call this ‘five good books written this year to help you live a more fulfilling life.’ Because that’s really what it is for me”

The best books on the Austro-Hungarian Empire, as selected by historian Jonathan Kwan “Already in 1804, with the writing on the wall, the Habsburg territories had been renamed the Austrian Empire, which didn’t really have a historical precedent.”

The Best Historical Fiction: The 2022 Walter Scott Prize Shortlist, recommended by Elizabeth Laird, one of the prize’s judges “We’re finding now that many writers, some with long and distinguished careers behind them, are looking to the past for inspiration”

Books like... The Thursday Murder Club

Books like... Where the Crawdads Sing

Books like... Harry Potter

Books like... Wolf Hall

Books like... The Handmaid’s Tale

Books like... Dune

Crashed: How a Decade of Financial Crises Changed the World by Adam Tooze

2030: How Today's Biggest Trends Will Collide and Reshape the Future of Everything by Mauro F. Guillén

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk M.D.

Advanced Macroeconomics by David Romer

Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism by Anne Case & Angus Deaton

Buy, Build, Sell: The key to unleashing your ambition and achieving entrepreneurial success by Paul Seabridge

Go Do Deals: The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Buying & Selling Businesses by Jeremy Harbour

Buying and Selling a Business: An Entrepreneur's Guide by Jo Haigh

Buying and Selling a Business: How You Can Win in the Business Quadrant by Garrett Sutton

The Exit-Strategy Playbook: The Definitive Guide to Selling Your Business by Adam Coffey

About

**Notable nonfiction of early 2023, recommended by Five Books editor Sophie Roell**
“Free Kindle samples—which you can read on your computer or phone even if you don’t own a Kindle—are the best way of assessing if this is a book for you or not”

Best Chess Books for Beginners, recommended by Andrew Green
“It doesn’t matter if you’re wealthy, if you’re poor, your age, if you speak the same language – it’s a universal language. You can travel around the world and make friends playing chess”

The best books on Native American history, recommended by Professor Jennifer Graber of UT Austin
“There’s a flowering of Native scholarship right now that is really exciting”

Using Data to Understand the World, book recommendations from Edouard Mathieu, head of data at Our World in Data
“More and more data is not necessarily synonymous with better data”

The best books on Artificial Intelligence recommended by ChatGPT
Normally on Five Books we interview leading academics or novelists about the best books in their field. This week, we turned to ChatGPT for recommendations.

**Our novels of the year, recommended by Five Books deputy editor Cal Flyn**
“I’ve confined my recommendations to only recent books—five 2022 novels that were true highlights of my reading year.”

Philosopher Massimo Pigliucci recommends the best books on Stoicism
“One of the most rewarding things that has happened to me since I started writing about it is the constant flow of testimonies to the fact that it really helps people”

The best philosophy books of 2022, recommended by British philosopher Nigel Warburton
“The modern successor of Descartes’s evil demon could be the creator of a Matrix-like virtual world”

**The best classic crime fiction: Five Books editor Sophie Roell recommends novels that got her addicted to an author**
“After reading one book…I proceeded to read every single book they’d written I could get my hands on”

The best economics books of 2022, recommended by Harvard economist and Obama adviser Jason Furman
“Interest rates have risen a lot, and that has caused asset markets to fall and some particularly frothy markets like crypto to collapse.”

The best books on Design, recommended by designer, entrepreneur and author Kevin G. Bethune
“What does fully empowered design look like? What does it feel like?”

The best critical thinking books, recommended by British philosopher Nigel Warburton
“Pessimists tend not to notice changes for the better”

The best self-help books of 2022, recommended by Avram Alpert of Princeton University
“I’d rather call this ‘five good books written this year to help you live a more fulfilling life.’ Because that’s really what it is for me”

The best books on the Austro-Hungarian Empire, as selected by historian Jonathan Kwan
“Already in 1804, with the writing on the wall, the Habsburg territories had been renamed the Austrian Empire, which didn’t really have a historical precedent.”

The Best Historical Fiction: The 2022 Walter Scott Prize Shortlist, recommended by Elizabeth Laird, one of the prize’s judges
“We’re finding now that many writers, some with long and distinguished careers behind them, are looking to the past for inspiration”

Books like...
The Thursday Murder Club

Books like...
Where the Crawdads Sing

Books like...
Harry Potter

Books like...
Wolf Hall

Books like...
The Handmaid’s Tale

Books like...
Dune

Crashed: How a Decade of Financial Crises Changed the World
by Adam Tooze

2030: How Today's Biggest Trends Will Collide and Reshape the Future of Everything
by Mauro F. Guillén

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma
by Bessel van der Kolk M.D.

Advanced Macroeconomics
by David Romer

Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism
by Anne Case & Angus Deaton

Buy, Build, Sell: The key to unleashing your ambition and achieving entrepreneurial success
by Paul Seabridge

Go Do Deals: The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Buying & Selling Businesses
by Jeremy Harbour

Buying and Selling a Business: An Entrepreneur's Guide
by Jo Haigh

Buying and Selling a Business: How You Can Win in the Business Quadrant
by Garrett Sutton

The Exit-Strategy Playbook: The Definitive Guide to Selling Your Business
by Adam Coffey