New Humanist: The magazine for free thinkers

Articles by subject: books

The New Old World by Perry Anderson (by Stephen Howe, March/April 2010 )
Stephen Howe on Perry Anderson's monumental analysis of Europe
Asylum: Inside the Closed World of State Mental Hospitals by Christopher Payne (by Max Houghton, January/February 2010 )
Max Houghton on stunning new photographs of America's state asylums
Testament by Jean Meslier (by Colin Brewer, January/February 2010 )
Colin Brewer admires the last testament of an atheist priest
Mirrors: Stories of Almost Everyone by Eduardo Galeano (by Andreas Campomar, January/February 2010 )
Andreas Campomar surveys the 20th century with a Uruguayan master
The Arabs: A History by Eugene Rogan (by Stephen Howe, November/December 2009 )
Stephen Howe on a new history of the Arabs
Smile or Die: How Positive Thinking Fooled America and the World by Barbara Ehrenreich (by Keith Kahn-Harris, November/December 2009 )
Keith Kahn-Harris enjoys Barbara Ehrenreich's antidote to positive thinking
First As Tragedy, Then As Farce by Slavoj Žižek (by Owen Hatherley, November/December 2009 )
Owen Hatherley finds Žižek actually making sense
Makers by Cory Doctorow (by Bill Thompson, September/October 2009 )
Bill Thompson enjoys a sci-fi writer growing up
What’s the Worst that Could Happen? A Rational Response to the Climate Change Debate by Greg Craven (by Simon Singh, September/October 2009 )
Simon Singh on a rational look at climate change
This is How by MJ Hyland (by Philip Womack, September/October 2009 )
Philip Womack on the terse sophistication of novelist MJ Hyland
The Secret History of Georgian London: How the Wages of Sin Shaped the Capital by Dan Cruickshank (by Brenda Maddox, September/October 2009 )
Brenda Maddox visits the grubby side of Georgian London with Dan Cruickshank
Good books? (by Danny Postel, July/August 2009 )
What can humanist parents use in the battle against religious indoctrination? Danny Postel investigates
Life Inc: How the World Became a Corporation and How to Take it Back by Douglas Rushkoff (by Michael Bywater, July/August 2009 )
Michael Bywater takes on the corporations with Douglas Rushkoff
The Fall of the Imam by Nawal El Saadawi (by Philip Womack, July/August 2009 )
Philip Womack praises a formidable Egyptian novel
God’s Philosophers: How the Medieval World Laid the Foundations of Modern Science by James Hannam (by Nina Power, July/August 2009 )
Nina Power on a good Dark Ages argument made for the wrong reasons
The Scourging Angel: The Black Death in the British Isles by Benedict Gummer (by Louise Foxcroft, July/August 2009 )
Louise Foxcroft is perplexed by a book that squeezes the life out of the Black Death
Perfecting Sound Forever: The Story of Recorded Music by Greg Milner (by Andrew Mueller, July/August 2009 )
Andrew Mueller appreciates a note-perfect history of recorded music
South Africa's Brave New World by RW Johnson (by Stephen Howe, May/June 2009 )
Stephen Howe on a monumental, snarling study of post-apartheid South Africa
The Monstrosity of Christ: Paradox or Dialectic? by Slavoj Žižek and John Milbank (by Nina Power, May/June 2009 )
Nina Power tires of Slavoj Žižek and his monstrous essays
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (by Philip Womack, May/June 2009 )
Philip Womack is blown away by Hilary Mantel's historical epic
Book Review: Questions of Truth: God, Science and Belief by John Polkinghorne and Nicholas Beale (by AC Grayling, March/April 2009 )
AC Grayling rips into the latest attempt to bridge the God-science gap
Blog standard (by Stephen Howe, March/April 2009 )
How well does online punditry translate on the printed page? Stephen Howe finds out
What would Google do? by Jeff Jarvis (by Bill Thompson, March/April 2009 )
Can Google's philosophy change the world? Bill Thompson finds out
The Kindly Ones by Jonathan Littell (by Philip Womack, March/April 2009 )
Philip Womack grapples with a controversial epic
Why Socrates Died by Robin Waterfield (by Jenny Bunker, March/April 2009 )
Jenny Bunker never quite learns what really killed Socrates
The Artist, the Philosopher and the Warrior by Paul Strathern (by Brenda Maddox, January/February 2009 )
Brenda Maddox enjoys some Renaissance history
Teenagers: A Natural History by David Bainbridge (by Bill Thompson, January/February 2009 )
Bill Thompson gets down with the kids
The Strangest Man by Graham Farmelo (by James Randerson, January/February 2009 )
James Randerson encounters a strange legend of physics
Three-Letter Plague by Johnny Steinberg (by Andrew Mueller, January/February 2009 )
Andrew Mueller enjoys some journalism with a human touch
The Weight of a Mustard Seed by Wendell Steavenson (by Nina Power, January/February 2009 )
Nina Power considers complicity in Iraq
Novel 11, Book 18 by Dag Solstad (by Philip Womack, November/December 2008 )
Philip Womack finds redemption in a Norwegian classic
The Philosopher and the Wolf by Mark Rowlands (by Nina Power, November/December 2008 )
Nina Power takes philosophy lessons from a wolf
The Family by Jeff Sharlet (by James Crabtree, November/December 2008 )
James Crabtree is not quite convinced by Jeff Sharlet's family
Aquinas and Modernity by Shadia Drury (by Jenny Bunker, November/December 2008 )
Jenny Bunker rues a missed opportunity
The Turnaround by George Pelecanos (by Stuart Sim, November/December 2008 )
Stuart Sim visits George Pelecanos's mean streets
The Ten Commandments (by Martin Rowson, September/October 2008 )
In his new book, New Humanist cartoonist Martin Rowson sums up the history, and future, of the world in one word
The Secular Conscience: Why Belief Belongs in Public Life by Austin Dacey (by Jenny Bunker, September/October 2008 )
Jenny Bunker is at ease with a secular conscience
Stop Me If You've Heard This by Jim Holt (by Natalie Haynes, September/October 2008 )
Natalie Haynes is not amused by a new study of humour
Manifestos for the 21st Century (by Caroline Moorehead, September/October 2008 )
Caroline Moorehead reviews an impressive new series on censorship
God's Executioner by Micheál Ó Siochrú (by Stephen Howe, September/October 2008 )
Stephen Howe on a new history of Cromwell's Irish adventure
Nobility of Spirit: A Forgotten Ideal by Rob Riemen (by Jenny Bunker, July/August 2008 )
Jenny Bunker sips the spirit of nobility
A Good & Happy Child by Justin Evans (by Philip Womack, July/August 2008 )
Philip Womack is absolutely terrified by a spooky debut novel
Russia: A Journey to the Heart of a Land and its People by Jonathan Dimbleby (by Michael Binyon, July/August 2008 )
Michael Binyon tours Russia with Jonathan Dimbleby
The Sleeping Giant Has Awoken: The New Politics of Religion in the United States (by Owen Hatherley, July/August 2008 )
Owen Hatherley gets to grips with the Religious Right
The Last Jews of Kerala by Edna Fernandes (by Ben Rich, July/August 2008 )
Ben Rich misses the last Jews of Kerala
True Norwegian Black Metal by Peter Beste (by Keith Kahn-Harris, July/August 2008 )
In deepest Scandinavia, Keith Kahn-Harris discovers social democratic Satanism
Forked tongue (by Doug Ireland, May/June 2008 )
Doug Ireland examines the reputation of Tariq Ramadan, the man widely hailed as the saviour of Islam
The Roads to Modernity: the British, French and American Enlightenments by Gertrude Himmelfarb (by Stephen Howe, May/June 2008 )
Stephen Howe asks why Gordon Brown is endorsing Neocon history
The Book of Dead Philosophers by Simon Critchley (by Simon May, May/June 2008 )
Simon May comes face to face with mortality
The Unthinkable by Amanda Ripley (by Helene Joffe, May/June 2008 )
Helene Joffe prepares for the worst
ID: The Quest for Identity in the 21st Century by Susan Greenfield (by Bill Thompson, May/June 2008 )
Bill Thompson has mixed feelings about Susan Greenfield
The Sun and Moon Corrupted by Philip Ball (by Philip Womack, May/June 2008 )
Philip Womack enjoys a popular scientist's debut novel
Suckers: How Alternative Medicine Makes Fools Of Us All by Rose Shapiro (by Natalie Haynes, March/April 2008 )
Natalie Haynes endorses an attack on alternative medicine
Energy Flash: A Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture by Simon Reynolds (by Andrew Mueller, March/April 2008 )
Andrew Mueller travels back in time to Acid House
Physics of the Impossible by Michio Kaku (by Bill Thompson, March/April 2008 )
Bill Thompson finds Michio Kaku's science impossibly bad
Servants of the Supernatural: The Night Side of the Victorian Mind by Antonio Melechi (by Peter Wayne, March/April 2008 )
Peter Wayne serves up the supernatural
Counterknowledge by Damian Thomson (by AC Grayling, January/February 2008 )
AC Grayling reviews a Catholic attack on nonsense
Death at Intervals by José Saramago (by Philip Womack, January/February 2008 )
Philip Womack admires another fable from Nobel Laureate José Saramago
Villages of Vision: A Study of Strange Utopias by Gillian Darley (by Ken Worpole, January/February 2008 )
Ken Worpole visits utopian villages with Gillian Darley
The Happiest Man in the World by Alec Wilkinson (by Michael Bywater, January/February 2008 )
Michael Bywater is in awe of Poppa Neutrino
The Big Switch: Rewiring the World, from Edison to Google by Nicholas Carr (by Bill Thompson, January/February 2008 )
Bill Thompson is excited by the digital revolution
Fallen Angels by Harold Bloom (by Jonathan Derbyshire, November/December 2007 )
Jonathan Derbyshire on Harold Bloom's angels
Nihil Unbound by Ray Brassier (by Daniel Miller, November/December 2007 )
Daniel Miller gets to grips with nihilism
Blasphemy in the Christian World by David Nash (by Toby Saul, November/December 2007 )
Toby Saul on how blasphemy changed the way we think
There's a Riot Going On by Peter Doggett (by Andrew Mueller, November/December 2007 )
Andrew Mueller takes on Sixties counter-culture
Quantum Theory Cannot Hurt You by Marcus Chown (by Bill Thompson, November/December 2007 )
Bill Thompson enjoys an introduction to quantum physics
The Bible: A Biography by Karen Armstrong (by Rev'd Dr Giles Fraser, September/October 2007 )
Rev'd Dr Giles Fraser on why you should read the Bible
Diary of a Bad Year by JM Coetzee (by Stan Cohen, September/October 2007 )
Stan Cohen reviews JM Coetzee's latest
From Anger to Apathy: The British Experience Since 1975 by Mark Garnett (by Stephen Howe, September/October 2007 )
Stephen Howe is bored with apathy
The Art of Listening by Les Back (by Stuart Sim, September/October 2007 )
Stuart Sim is impressed by Les Back's approach to sociology
Making Islam Democratic: Social Movements and the Post-Islamic Turn by Asef Bayat (by Sami Zubaida, September/October 2007 )
Sami Zubaida questions Islamic democracy
A Living Lens: Photographs of Jewish Life from the Pages of the Forward (by Keith Kahn-Harris, September/October 2007 )
Keith Kahn-Harris on a Jewish photographic history
Atheism à la mode (by Caspar Melville, July/August 2007 )
What is the outspoken French atheist philosopher Michel Onfray really saying? Caspar Melville meets him and canvasses some expert opinion.
Faust in Copenhagen by Gino Segrè (by Graham Farmelo, July/August 2007 )
Graham Farmelo finds that even the greats of physics enjoyed larking about
The Threat to Reason by Dan Hind (by Jonathan Derbyshire, July/August 2007 )
Jonathan Derbyshire is unthreatened by an enlightenment sceptic
The Condor's Head by Ferdinand Mount (by Philip Womack, July/August 2007 )
Philip Womack enjoys a meeting of old and new worlds
Holy Warriors: A journey into the heart of Indian fundamentalism by Edna Fernandes (by Meera Nanda, July/August 2007 )
Meera Nanda on India's fundamentalist mix
Diary: Birthing Pains (by Martin Rowson, May/June 2007 )
For Martin Rowson the agony and ecstasy of publishing a book is the male equivalent of childbirth
Deep-boned sadness (by Caspar Melville, May/June 2007 )
Caspar Melville remembers a melancholic master, the novelist Kurt Vonnegut
Napoleon in Egypt by Paul Strathern (by Michael Binyon, May/June 2007 )
In 1789 Napoleon set off to conquer the East. We're still living with the fallout, says Michael Binyon
Fangland by John Marks (by Nina Power, May/June 2007 )
Nina Power relishes a Dracula for the TV generation
Scientists Confront Intelligent Design and Creationism by Andrew Petto & Laurie Godfrey (eds) (by AC Grayling, May/June 2007 )
AC Grayling cheers as the scientists vanquish Intelligent Design
A Guinea Pig's History of Biology (by Lewis Wolpert, May/June 2007 )
Lewis Wolpert learns the facts of life from plants
After Dark by Haruki Murakami (by Jonathan Derbyshire, May/June 2007 )
Jonathan Derbyshire stays up for a rendezvous with Haruki Murakami
Karoo by Steve Tesich (by Michael Bywater, March/April 2007 )
Michael Bywater rediscovers a masterly comic tragedy
How Life Imitates Chess by Garry Kasparov (by Winston Fletcher, March/April 2007 )
Winston Fletcher takes on Kasparov, and wins
The Blackest Bird: A Novel of History and Murder by Joel Rose (by Martina Evans, March/April 2007 )
Martina Evans is haunted by the ghost of Poe
The Comet Sweeper: Caroline Herschel's Astronomical Ambitions by Claire Brock (by Brenda Maddox, March/April 2007 )
Brenda Maddox is swept off her feet by an astronomical biography
Terra Nullius: A Journey Through No One's Land by Sven Lundqvist (by Daniel Miller, March/April 2007 )
Daniel Miller is battered and bruised by Sven Lundqvist
Murder City: The Bloody History of Chicago in the Twenties by Michael Lesy (by Michael Binyon, March/April 2007 )
Michael Binyon is not blown away by the Windy City
Ghost Hunters by Deborah Blum (by Michael Binyon, January/February 2007 )
Michael Binyon visits the Victorian spritualists with Deborah Blum
The Echo Maker by Richard Powers (by Philip Womack, January/February 2007 )
Philip Womack is unilluminated by Richard Powers
Genesis Machines: The New Science of Biocomputation by Martyn Amos (by Bill Thompson, January/February 2007 )
Bill Thompson investigates bio-computing with Martyn Amos
Logics of Disintegration: Post-Structuralist Thought and the Claims of Critical Theory by Peter Dews (by Daniel Miller, January/February 2007 )
Daniel Miller reconsiders post-structuralism with Peter Dews
The Amalgamation Polka by Stephen Wright (by Jim Herrick, January/February 2007 )
Jim Herrick dances the amalgamation polka with Stephen Wright
What’s an infidel? (by Jonathan Rée, November/December 2006 )
Jonathan Rée consults the latest humanist dictionary
Debating Humanism by Dolan Cummings (eds) (by Nick Cohen, November/December 2006 )
Nick Cohen reads between the lines
The Creation: A Meeting of Science and Religion by EO Wilson (by Jonathan Derbyshire, November/December 2006 )
Jonathan Derbyshire wonders if religion and science can get along
Auschwitz Report by Primo Levi with Leonardo de Benedetti (by Stan Cohen, November/December 2006 )
Stan Cohen on Primo Levi's report from the death camps
Non-Violence: Twenty-Five Lessons from the History of a Dangerous Idea by Mark Kurlansky (by AC Grayling, November/December 2006 )
AC Grayling explores the history of non-violence
The Absence of Myth: Writings on Surrealism by Geroges Bataille (by Daniel Miller, November/December 2006 )
Daniel Miller says it's all just so surreal
The Many Faces of God: Science's 400-Year Quest for Images of the Divine by Jeremy Campbell (by Michael Binyon, November/December 2006 )
Michael Binyon seeks the face of God
The Last Revolution: 1688 and the Creation of the Modern World by Patrick Dillon (by Michael Binyon, September/October 2006 )
The Glorious Revolution was neither, says Michael Binyon
Blood Rites by Jimmy Lee Shreeve (by Rosie Waterhouse, September/October 2006 )
Rosie Waterhouse on a gonzo take on human sacrifice
Paula Spencer by Roddy Doyle (by Martina Evans, September/October 2006 )
Martina Evans reviews Roddy Doyle's return to the life of Paula Spencer
The Goldilocks Enigma: Why is the Universe Just Right for Life? by Paul Davies (by Peter Woit, September/October 2006 )
Peter Woit reviews the latest book from astrophysicist Paul Davies
Wizard of the Crow by Ngugi wa Thiong'o (by Ebenezer Obadare, September/October 2006 )
Ebenezer Obadare on the latest novel from Africa's greatest living author
Return of the master (by Candida Clarke, September/October 2005 )
Salman Rushdie's new novel more than justifies the hype says Candy Clarke
Monkey business (by Steven Rose, September/October 2005 )
A new book on apes has nothing to teach us about human nature
Out on a limb (by Chris Paling, September/October 2005 )
JM Coetzee has done it again says Chris Paling
Wrong headed (by Dominic Hilton, September/October 2005 )
Dominic Hilton on a 'timely satire' that is neither
True Aim (by Andrew Mueller, September/October 2005 )
Andrew Mueller peruses the life of the other Elvis
Classic Intellectual (by AC Grayling, January/February 2005 )
AC Grayling admires Umberto Eco's new opus
Endless Riddles (by Chris Paling, January/February 2005 )
Chris Paling suspends his disbelief for Haruki Murakami
Very Boring Women (by Sally Feldman, January/February 2005 )
Sally Feldman is unsatisfied by Forster's cast of vague characters
Visionary Grandeur (by Michael Levey, January/February 2005 )
Michael Levey on Michelangelo, men and mankind
Reason meets faith (by Haydn Mason, January/February 2005 )
Haydn Mason reads an account of a Baroque clash of hearts and minds
Empire Apart (by Hazhir Teimourian, January/February 2005 )
Hazhir Teimourian examines the insularity of the Ottoman Empire
All or nothing (by John Maddox, January/February 2005 )
John Maddox is fascinated by a never-ending story
Spectre at the Feast (by Jim Herrick, November/December 2004 )
Jim Herrick enters the murky world of the ghost writer
Smoke and Mirrors (by Wendy Grossman, November/December 2004 )
Wendy Grossman learns a few tricks from Jim Steinmeyer
Throwing Up (by Chris Paling, November/December 2004 )
Chris Paling is left queasy by Alice Walker
Legacy of Cruelty (by Sally Feldman, November/December 2004 )
Sally Feldman on a rich new novel by Jane Gardam
Learning to think (by Jonathan Derbyshire, September/October 2004 )
Jonathan Derbyshire gets thinking with David Papineau
Diderot's triumph (by Haydn Mason, September/October 2004 )
Haydn Mason consults the original humanist bible
Utopian rallying call (by Stan Cohen, September/October 2004 )
Stan Cohen salutes Edward Said’'s last book
Where's the action? (by Jeremy Stangroom, September/October 2004 )
Jeremy Stangroom has enough of haçiendas
Writer's block (by Sally Feldman, September/October 2004 )
Sally Feldman on a flawed portrait of Henry James
Fight for Survival (by Mark Pagel, Winter 2002 )
Mark Pagel learns from an old master
Austere Communist (by Jonathan Rée, Winter 2002 )
Eric Hobsbawm's life, review by Jonathan Rée
Philosophy of Terror (by Richard Norman, Winter 2002 )
Richard Norman reviews Ted Honderich's take on terrorism
Mental Sets (by David Boulton, Winter 2002 )
David Boulton prises open the Western mind
Was it ever right? (by Hazhir Teimourian, Winter 2002 )
Hazhir Teimourian despairs of Islam
Hillbilly Secrets (by Sally Feldman, Winter 2002 )
Sally Feldman relishes an Italian parable
Warm Puppies (by Jeremy Stangroom, Winter 2002 )
Jeremy Stangroom on the perils of happiness
Stay in Heaven (by Michael Rosen, Winter 2002 )
Michael Rosen on the poetry of Jacques Prevert
Freedom From Ghosts (by AC Grayling, Autumn 2002 )
Tzvetan Todorov's Imperfect Garden, reviewed by AC Grayling
The Life of Slime Mold (by Ian Hargreaves, Autumn 2002 )
John Gray's Straw Dogs reviewed by Ian Hargreaves
Heroes and Midgets (by Hazhir Teimourian, Autumn 2002 )
An overview of modern political journalism, reviewed by Hazhir Teimourian
God's Vital Statistics (by Jeremy Stangroom, Autumn 2002 )
A biography of God, reviewed by Jeremy Stangroom
What comes naturally (by Colin Ward, Autumn 2002 )
Nicholas Walter's introduction to Anarchism, reviewed by Colin Ward
Disturbing the Silence (by Shirley Dent, Autumn 2002 )
Adrienne Rich's poems reviewed by Shirley Dent
Watching from the Sidelines (by Jim Herrick, Autumn 2002 )
Amit Chaudhuri's short stories reviewed by Jim Herrick
The Science of Fiction (by Bo Fowler, Spring 2001 )
What is science fiction, asks Bo Fowler
Guest Column (by Bill Cooke, Spring 2001 )
Bill Cooke hails the history of the RPA
Sidestepping Jewish apartheid (by Edna Fernandes, Web Exclusive, July 2008)
Edna Fernandes, author of The Last Jews of Kerala, responds to Ben Rich's criticism of her book in the July/August issue of New Humanist
Defending The Family (by Jeff Sharlet, Web Exclusive, December 2008)
Jeff Sharlet responds to James Crabtree's review of his book The Family
Book review: 2666 by Roberto Bolaño (by Daniel Miller, Web Exclusive, March 2009)
Bolaño's extraordinary epic lives up to the hype, says Daniel Miller
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