Naval gazing

As the 200th anniversary of Nelson's death approaches, Geoffrey Moorhouse sails through a fleet of books about the man and his time.

What a trip

Soul Tourists, Bernardine Evaristo’s journey across continents into fantasy-land, is ambitious and witty but ultimately frustating, says Sarah Adams.

This is the sound of genius

Toby Faber's Stradivarius is one of the few books in print to focus on the genius who took his secrets to the grave, says Nicholas Lezard.

Pneumatic symphonies

Lucy Ellmann and Todd McEwen enjoy Jimmy McDonough's Big Bosoms and Square Jaws, a celebration of the art of Russ Meyer.

Tearing down the fourth wall

Jonathan Coe's compassionate and masterly biography of BS Johnson, Like a Fiery Elephant, redefines literary biography, says Stephanie Merritt.

No one likes a sneak

It's fine for ex-Downing Street aide Bernard Donoughue to reveal his own secrets, but is he right to disclose other people's for money, asks Roy Hattersley.

The alter boy

Tom Reiss's The Orientalist reveals Lev Nussimbaum to be a master of reinvention throughout his remarkable life, says Dvid Jays.

Bobbing about in Cork

Seamus Sweeney on Patrick Cockburn's engaging memoir of a forgotten epidemic, The Broken Boy.

In defence of reason

Pankaj Mishra applauds Amartya Sen's cosmopolitan view of India's cultural and political history in The Argumentative Indian.

Fox on the loose

Peter Conradi finds Elias Canetti's recollections of Iris Murdoch in Party in the Blitz awash with bile, backstabbing and envy.

Looking for myself

Gabriel Gbadamosi finds grounds for hope in a black Briton's search for identity in Black Gold of the Sun by Ekow Eshun.

Here’s hoping

Rebecca Solnit offers an upbeat analysis of present-day democracy in Hope in the Dark, says Peter Preston.