Politics Books

The war on terror relied on a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of the threat, say author and academic Malise Ruthven. He picks the best books to get a better understanding of Islamism.

For thousands of years, human societies have tried to regulate sexual activity. The author of Sex and Punishment tells us why this should be so, and how what’s permissible has varied according to time and place.

Many thought that 9/11 was the start of an Al-Qaeda assault on the West, but it turned out to be Bin Laden’s Pearl Harbor – a victory that led to strategic defeat – says Peter Bergen, one of the few reporters who met the Saudi-born militant.

Inner-city crime is a matter of deprivation not race. It comes from a street culture that respects extreme violence, says Gavin Knight, an author who spent two years among British gangs and the police units covering them

Income inequality has reached a crisis point in America, says journalist Timothy Noah, author of The Great Divergence – yet with powerful nationwide pressure to address the problem, there is also an opportunity for change.

She became the heir to the British throne because her uncle had resigned and became Queen Elizabeth II aged just 25, after her father's early death in 1952. The royal biographer Robert Lacey considers Elizabeth Windsor (1926-2022),  her family history, her legacy and what made her so successful as Britain's titular head of state.

The veteran reporter and frequent visitor to Afghanistan tells us about the country he loves, and the Westerners (and Central Asian conqueror) who wrote engagingly about it.

Humour can be better than mainstream media at speaking truth to power, says the American comedian and activist. He discusses masters of the art, from Jon Stewart to Joseph Heller

The Islamic scholar and commentator tells us what it means to be Muslim and Western, and explains how mainstream views get trapped between noisy extremism and a sensation-seeking media

The author, gender theorist and self-described “SM femme tranny dyke” tells us why gender isn’t binary, and recommends books that give long-suppressed voice to the transgender community