Politics & Society

Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair’s former communications chief, takes a look at leadership in politics and in sport, recognising that ordinary citizens can show courageous moral leadership

What makes the most successful societies tick? The RSA's Matthew Taylor says we should recognise that relationships and values are more important than scientific or economic advances

The former British foreign secretary, Douglas Hurd, recommends five highly readable political biographies, looking at the lives of some of Britain’s best-known prime ministers of the last 150 years.

International terror expert Jessica Stern takes a close look at the mind of the terrorist. She explores why people are drawn to extreme violence and how, in many cases, terrorists can build their identities around ideologies that they hold in an ultimately shallow way

Is lobbying always a bad thing? Or can it be used to effect social change? Washington insider Mark Bloomfield gives a lobbyist's perspective. He picks the best books on lobbying.

Director of Liberty Shami Chakrabarti says Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a thinly veiled metaphor for the War on Terror

Rabbi Lionel Blue chooses some of his favourite books. Fans may be surprised by his choices, but one thing is key: a happy ending.

The former BBC Moscow correspondent and author Martin Sixsmith chooses five great works on Russia's doomed democracies.

The Bangladeshi campaigner for lifting women out of poverty says village life has been wrongly idealised. It is not a harmonious whole, with the elders looking after the interests of all the villagers alike

Millions of people around the world still die of malnourishment each year, and 815 million people go hungry, according to statistics for the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization. And yet, there is hope. Roger Thurow, Senior Fellow for Global Food and Agriculture at the Chicago Council and author of Enough: Why the World's Poorest Starve in an Age of Plenty, recommends books with inspiring examples of what individuals and organizations have done to try and reduce sickness and hunger around the world.