Popular culture shapes our fantasies, our expectations and our beliefs about what is real, argues Susan Bordo. She picks five books that shed light on popular culture.

Their language indicates they originated in India, but the music they play is world music. Some will tell your fortune but they don't believe in supernatural powers. Yaron Matras recommends the best books and dispels some common myths about Gypsies.

Blaming "the quants" for the recent financial crisis is simplistic and short-sighted, says the author of The Physics of Wall Street. He picks five books showing the contribution physics has made to understanding financial markets. 

If you were the last person alive and had to leave a testament to how our world worked, which five books would you choose? Political economist Mark Blyth makes his ‘desert island’ choices.

In the decades following Italian unification, its authors starting writing in the new common language: Italian. Italy-based novelist Tim Parks introduces us to some of the best novels by some of Italy’s greatest writers.

Most people completing degrees in economics won’t have read these books, but they should, says British economist John Kay.