Sophie Roell, Editor

What is going on with the world these days? In this interview tracing the past and present of globalisation, political economist Dani Rodrik gave us some ideas about the underlying issues. He picks the best books on globalisation.

Bestselling British historian and author Alison Weir plunges us deep into the world of walled-up skeletons, Vikings, poisoning, intrigue, witchcraft and rebellion. This is the best of historical novels – books that never compromise on painstaking research.

The veteran British diplomat Jeremy Greenstock talks about the history and future of diplomacy. On Iraq: ‘The magnificent work that was done was largely wasted, and lives with it – both Iraqi and outsiders’

Stanford University classics scholar Adrienne Mayor says a comparison between Mithradates, a deadly enemy of the Roman Empire, and Osama bin Laden, who set his sights on the American Empire, is a tempting one.

What is consciousness? Can we measure it? Cognitive neuroscientist David Carmel introduces some of the philosophical and scientific complexities of identifying what was formerly known as the ‘soul.’

British economist Diane Coyle argues that economics is not a dismal science, but a soulful one. She recommends a wide range of books illustrating how the discipline has flourished over the past two decades.

A successful sense of place is the most satisfying part of any book, argues American journalist and humorist Calvin Trillin. He picks out five of his favourite memoirs — and says that part of what he likes about them is that they’re short.

Philip Gourevitch, author of We Wish To Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families, an account of the Rwandan genocide, explores five books on the events that left 800,000 dead in 100 days.

‘If you go to Palermo and say, “I’m researching the Mafia,” they laugh a lot. First of all they laugh a lot, and then they kill you.’

It’s as old as Plato’s Gorgias, but it was Richard Nixon who really got it down to a fine art. Rutgers professor David Greenberg recommends the best books to read to better understand political ‘spin.’