Giving the Devil His Due by Michael Shermer – a defence of free speech
Shermer is a particular kind of “scientific” truthteller, who aims to cut through the bullshit. How useful are these short reflections?
Extraction review – hokey, high-octane action thriller
Chris Hemsworth plays a super-tough mercenary on an all-guns-blazing mission to rescue a crime lord’s kidnapped son
At the Risk of Thinking by Alice Jardine review – the importance of Julia Kristeva
Kristeva is one of the major European writers of our time, and a glamorous feminist intellectual. This biography is very much on her side
The Butchers by Ruth Gilligan review – scepticism v superstition
The clash between folklore and modern capitalism drives a compelling tale set against the Irish BSE crisis
Set the Night on Fire by Mike Davis and Jon Wiener review – the real LA in the 1960s
Blue skies, palm trees ... and a dark heart. This long-awaited study gets behind the myths to detail riots and radical action centring on race, class and sex
MBS: The Rise to Power of Mohammed bin Salman review – riveting account
A chilling study of the Saudi crown prince
We Are Attempting to Survive Our Time by AL Kennedy review – wise, funny, human tales
The writer’s latest short story collection is adept at pulling the rug from under your feet
In brief: No Return, Peace Talks, This Is Shakespeare – reviews
A gripping account of five Britons waging jihad in Syria; an elegant novel about a diplomat’s peace negotiations in a luxury hotel; witty interpretations of the Bard
The Trick review – William Leith on how to make a packet
The journalist and writer turns his stream-of-consciousness style to a question that has always niggled him – why isn’t he rich?
Sitopia by Carolyn Steel review – big questions about food
An ‘all-you-can-eat buffet of thoughts’
Zonal by Don Paterson review – rich, masked musings on midlife crisis
The prize-winning poet’s new collection, inspired by The Twilight Zone, is a witty, wily hall of mirrors
The Better Half: On the Genetic Superiority of Women review – bold study of chromosomal advantage
Sharon Moalem offers an intriguing theory on how two X chromosomes give women the edge in everything from colour vision to coronavirus
Dorothy Day review: biography of a radical rebel is the masterpiece she deserves
John Loughery and Blythe Randolph achieve wonders in their life story of one of Francis I’s four morally exemplary Americans
One Two Three Four by Craig Brown review – all about the Beatles
Humour and skilful writing bring alive a collection of anecdotes that retell the Beatles story
Barn 8 by Deb Olin Unferth review – the great chicken heist
An enthralling caper about a plucky band of activists with a crazy plan to free 900,000 battery hens in Iowa