The Next Great Migration by Sonia Shah review – movement is central to human history
This nuanced study argues that far from being an unwelcome threat to global stability, migration and mixing are essential to human survival
The Booksellers review – warm study of a fast-shifting subculture
New York’s bibliophiles provide the contents of a documentary about a once-cherished trade caught in a bind by the digital age
Rummage by Emily Cockayne review – the joys of rubbish
A dazzling, anecdote-rich study of what, in the past, has been reused, and what discarded
Survivor Song by Paul Tremblay; Devolution by Max Brooks review – tales of apocalypse
A new strain of rabies makes the jump to human transmission and Bigfoot attacks … two prophetic visions of crisis and isolation offer terror, resilience - and hope
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett review – two faces of the black experience
A light-skinned twin sister constructs a new identity as a white woman in a clever novel that confounds expectations
Rag and Bone by Lisa Woollett review – of mudlarks, scavengers and beachcombers
An absorbing memoir of generations of family raised on the Thames shoreline dredges up tales of desperate lives – and some bizarre flotsam
The Summer of Her Life by Thomas von Steinaecker and Barbara Yelin – review
The rich memories of an elderly German woman are brought vividly to life
The Covid-19 Catastrophe; Covid-19: The Pandemic That Never Should Have Happened – review
Two vital studies of Covid-19’s impact on the UK
In brief: The Seduction; Good Morning, Destroyer of Men’s Souls; James and Nora – review
A brave memoir on love and addiction
The Group by Lara Feigel review – female friendship and anger
Five wealthy women about to turn 40 rethink their lives in the wake of #MeToo in a caustic reimagining of a 60s classic
The Pink Line; The Book of Queer Prophets; United Queerdom – reviews
Three important books capture LGBT people’s individual stories, and the evolution of the fight for equality
The Room Where It Happened review: John Bolton fires broadside that could sink Trump
The ex-national security adviser is no hero or martyr – and certainly no prose stylist. What counts is how damaging his memoir will be
The Weekend by Charlotte Wood review – old age as a state of mutiny
The 70something protagonists of this glorious, forthright novel are less afraid of death than of irrelevance
The Pink Line by Mark Gevisser review – the world’s queer frontiers
An engrossing study, full of stories, of the extent to which the world has changed in its attitudes to LGBT people
My Brilliant Friend review – sink into a slice of this Neapolitan delight
Gripping, heartbreaking, and beautiful, the second series of the gorgeous Elena Ferrante adaptation shows no signs of slacking