Support 110 years of independent journalism.

  1. Culture
12 February 2010

Culture Vulture: the NS recommends

Have you read our book reviews? Are you hungry for more? Then try these.

By Staff Blogger

The Music Instinct: How Music Works and Why We Can’t Do Without It
Philip Ball
Bodley Head, 451pp, £20

Combining technical knowledge with an illuminating style, the science writer Philip Ball argues for the centrality of music to human culture, taking in philosophy, mathematics, history and neurology.

Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative?
Mark Fisher
Zero Books, 92pp, £7.99

The 2008 financial crash has failed to reinvigorate progressive politics, although many hoped that it would. The critic and academic (and NS contributor) Mark Fisher explains why this is so. His brief but compelling polemic shows how three decades of Thatcherism have left us unable to imagine a better society — and saddled with a dysfunctional market state.

Select and enter your email address Your new guide to the best writing on ideas, politics, books and culture each weekend - from the New Statesman. A quick and essential guide to domestic politics from the New Statesman's Westminster team. A weekly newsletter helping you understand the global economic slowdown. The New Statesman’s weekly environment email. Stay up to date with NS events, subscription offers & updates.
  • Administration / Office
  • Arts and Culture
  • Board Member
  • Business / Corporate Services
  • Client / Customer Services
  • Communications
  • Construction, Works, Engineering
  • Education, Curriculum and Teaching
  • Environment, Conservation and NRM
  • Facility / Grounds Management and Maintenance
  • Finance Management
  • Health - Medical and Nursing Management
  • HR, Training and Organisational Development
  • Information and Communications Technology
  • Information Services, Statistics, Records, Archives
  • Infrastructure Management - Transport, Utilities
  • Legal Officers and Practitioners
  • Librarians and Library Management
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • OH&S, Risk Management
  • Operations Management
  • Planning, Policy, Strategy
  • Printing, Design, Publishing, Web
  • Projects, Programs and Advisors
  • Property, Assets and Fleet Management
  • Public Relations and Media
  • Purchasing and Procurement
  • Quality Management
  • Science and Technical Research and Development
  • Security and Law Enforcement
  • Service Delivery
  • Sport and Recreation
  • Travel, Accommodation, Tourism
  • Wellbeing, Community / Social Services
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
THANK YOU

Read Hard: Five Years of Great Writing from the Believer
Edited by Ed Park and Heidi Julavits
McSweeney’s, 389pp, £16.99

Content from our partners
How software will make or break sustainability
Sustainable finance can save us from the energy crisis – with the Luxembourg Stock Exchange
How trailblazers are using smart meters to make the move to net zero

The American literary journal the Believer, part of Dave Eggers’s McSweeney’s empire, celebrates its fifth birthday with this collection of essays and interviews. An eclectic range of topics (from W G Sebald to Dungeons and Dragons, from urban blight to 1930s crime scandals) is covered by writers including Rick Moody, Jonathan Lethem, Tom Bissell and Richard Powers.

Read our full books coverage here.