Britain’s fertility crisis
Felicity Lawrence is fascinated by Graham Harvey's study of the downsides of modern agriculture, We Want Real Food.
What is it about Albert Camus’ The Outsider that makes it such an enduring favourite with men?
Marcel Berlins: Imagine my distress to discover that a whole swathe of English male media types, academics and students were claiming similar intimacy with the book, and attesting to its significance for them.
The ideas interview: Lewis Wolpert
If religion is a consequence of the way our brains are wired, hears John Sutherland, all the more reason to question the truth of our beliefs.
Message understood?
Convoluted academic language is OK for the initiated, but the rest of us need plain English, says Michael McCarthy.
Brushes with genius
Richard Cork on the strange friendship of Van Gogh and Gauguin as revealed in Martin Gayford's The Yellow House.
Shakespeare for blokes
Fiona Shaw explores Dominic Dromgoole's account of a life lived in the shoes of Shakespeare in Will and Me.
High jinks and horrors
In Too Close to the Sun, Sara Wheeler unveils an infuriating charmer who helped create modern Kenya, says Peter Longworth.
Newly discovered letters show Brecht’s talent for offending
· Isherwood among artists at receiving end of insults
· Documents also include photos and manuscripts
The boy who made everything luminous
Michael Blastland's explanation of his son's autism, Joe, the Only Boy in the World, touches Simon Baron-Cohen.
Weldon becomes Brunel creative writing professor
Fay Weldon has been appointed professor of creative writing at Brunel, the university has announced.
Empty words
Daniel Davies: It's time for politicians to utilise synergy, take up the struggle, and engage in a myriad of ways with the English language.
Crows in the fold
Horatio Clare's thoughtful memoir, Running for the Hills, is a cautionary tale for wannabe downshifters, says Daniel Butler.
The ideas interview: Julia Kristeva
Why is a great critic ashamed of being fashionable? By John Sutherland.
A light in time’s bottomless well
Amanda Vickery wonders if history books for children from Terry Deary, HE Marshall and EH Gombrich can spark a youthful fascination with the past.
John La Rose
Obituary: An elder statesman of the black community, he campaigned for justice, cultural and social change.