The Jewish vaccine pioneer forgotten by history
Simon Schama wants the post-pandemic world to learn from the case of Waldemar Haffkine: a tragic story of how prejudice…
ByScience books
Discover our best-rated science books with the New Statesman’s expert reviews. From scientific histories to in-depth examinations and essays.
How germs shape history
Jonathan Kennedy’s Pathogenesis reveals how diseases have built and broken empires and economies.
By
The science of fandom
What communities devoted to hero-worship tell us about the psychology of belonging.
By
From Guy Gunaratne to the science of allergies: new books reviewed in short
Also featuring M John Harrison's Wish I Was Here and Jonathan Miles on the French Riviera.
By
Secrets of the womb
Leah Hazard’s new book shows how this complex, life-giving muscle has been maligned and misunderstood.
By
From Don Paterson to Brigitte Reimann: new titles reviewed in short
Also featuring Pegasus by Laurent Richard and Sandrine Rigaud and Sensational by Ashley Ward.
By
Nietzsche, narwhals and the burden of consciousness
Justin Gregg’s witty exploration of animal intelligence is a useful guide – but there is more to human life than…
By
What cells tell us about life
Siddharta Mukherjee’s new study of how cells work reveals the complexities of the human body – and the science that…
By
Books of the year 2022
New Statesman writers and guests choose their favourite reading of the year.
By
How oil become the world’s most contested resource
Keith Fisher’s A Pipeline Runs Through It charts how oil revolutionised transport and war, and continues to shape today’s geopolitics.
By
The 15 best books for summer
The New Statesman’s selection of essential recent releases.
By
A creed for the anthropocene
Staving off climate change will entail not only a technological revolution but transforming our relations with the natural world.
By
The psychoactive plants that change our consciousness
It is fascinating to learn how three plant-derived drugs – caffeine, opium and mescaline – can shape society.
By
A timely check-up on the GP’s vital role in the community
Updating John Berger’s 1967 classic, A Fortunate Woman shares the devotion and anguish of a modern family doctor.
By
How animal senses reveal hidden worlds
Ed Yong’s fascinating new book on the complex behaviours of creatures uncovers a universe of unfathomable beauty.
By
A history of nuclear catastrophe
Seen by many as a route to net zero, nuclear power is haunted by its past disasters.
By
Desperate Remedies: A new work charts the cruel and often gruesome history of mental health treatments
The sociologist Andrew Scull acknowledges that contemporary psychiatry is more rigorous – but is it more effective?
By
The myth of the white male scientific genius – and why its time is up
Darwin and Newton acknowledged their debt to other cultures. Why don’t we?
By
Who is to blame for 30 years of climate change inertia?
Two new books trace the history of global inaction over the climate emergency, and seek to identify the culprits.
By
Where the internet went wrong – and how we can reboot it
The online world is run by tech companies that we depend on but deeply distrust. New books by Justin EH…
By