The Satirist and the Engineer
Mikhail Tal, the Magician from Riga, goes up against the humourless Mikhail Botvinnik
Politics, Ideas and the Arts
The Ascent of Man
Are humans just the most complex of molecular machines or something qualitatively different?
Early Draws
The British Museum is displaying some of the greatest draughtsmen of the Renaissance
Pilgrim of Meaning
Newman’s Unquiet Grave: Portrait of a Reluctant Saint by John Cornwell There has not been, to say the least, a paucity of books about John Henry Newman, or of books which touch
The Original Dirty Digger
A King's Ransom: The Life of Charles Théveneau de Morande, Blackmailer, Scandalmonger & Master Spy by Simon Burrows
Close to the Bone
The Oxford Book of Parodies by John Gross
Fading Glitter
Final Demands by Frederic Raphael
Trevor-Roper and Gibbon: A Tale of Two Historians
Hugh Trevor Roper was the greatest historical stylist of the 20th century. Yet he never produced a masterpiece to rival that of his great hero and predecessor, Edward Gibbon
Coming to America
'Should we treat assimilation not as a taboo subject but as an opportunity?'
Dissing the Disabled
Legislation to protect people from disability hate crime will never solve the whole problem; we need to believe in the spirit of the law
Burying the Past
The feeling of national unity brought about after the Polish president's tragic death may allow Poles to begin focusing on the country's political future, not its divisive past
Litter Bugged
Ludicrous Health and Safety measures in our schools mean that children are wearing knee-pads to prevent scrapes while they play in litter-strewn playgrounds.