How to build a dictionary
A new book identifies the army of amateurs, eccentrics and criminals who created the Oxford English Dictionary
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Book of the Day
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Book of the Day
The strange rebirth of Sinn Féin
Under Mary Lou McDonald the party is on the path to power – but can she keep its uneasy alliance…
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Hobbes was wrong
John Gray’s latest book argues that the new Leviathans of liberalism have led to a war of all against all.
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From Yiyun Li to Wolfram Eilenberger: new books reviewed in short
Also featuring Kenneth W Harl’s history of nomadic tribes and Redstone Press’s Seeing Things.
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Homer’s history of violence
Emily Wilson’s translation of the Iliad reveals a bleak vision of the self-interest and savagery of humankind.
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Anne Enright’s damaged lives
In The Wren, The Wren, the Irish author rigorously traces the line between love and trauma.
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Still fighting the history wars
Debates about Britain’s colonial legacy are not just a product of Brexit or woke politics – empire has always been…
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The cruelty of cricket
Nick Compton had talent and a famous name, but the unforgiving sport both hid and exacerbated his insecurities.
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