In this week's magazine A-Z of Iran

• Columns

  • 

    The Beeb under fire, drone strikes and small hope for republicans

    By Peter Wilby
  • 

    Editor's Note: England, Scotland, Britain?

    An independent Scotland would be viable but why break up Britain?

    By Jason Cowley

• Critics

  • 

    Tooth and claw

    Alexandra Coghlan enjoys two operas wrestling with the follies of old age.

    By Alexandra Coghlan
  • 

    Cackling in the kitchen

    Sixty-year careers offer glimpses into worlds apart, writes Antonia Quirke.

    By Antonia Quirke
  • 

    Brute force

    Thirty years after his death, Fassbinder’s influence endures.

    By Ryan Gilbey
  • 

    The Second World War by Antony Beevor - review

    The horror that followed.

    By John Gray
  • 

    Peter Hennessy — The Books Interview

    The eminent historian and "Never Again" author on Thatcher, Blair, Brown, “overmightiness”, hindsight and the role of historical advice in politics.

    By Jonathan Derbyshire
  • 

    The Girl Who Fell from the Sky by Simon Mawer - review

    By Alex Preston
  • 

    Tubes: Behind the Scenes at the Internet by Andrew Blum - review

    By Helen Lewis
  • 

    How England Made the English: From Hedgerows to Heathrow by Harry Mount - review

    By Peter Wilby
  • 

    Sex, gore and the good ruler: Laurie Penny on Game of Thrones

    By Laurie Penny
  • 

    Lionel Asbo: State of England by Martin Amis – review

    Martin Amis’s latest book shows his changing vision of London.

    By Leo Robson
  • 

    Monarchy in the UK

    Rachel Cooke winces and blubs her way through the royal celebrations.

    By Rachel Cooke

• Backpages

  • 

    The beauty of roadkill

    John Burnside's nature column.

    By John Burnside