Highlights of the Season
bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a “definitive” account of the rise and fall of Britain’s own nuclear strike force, the Valiant, Victor and Vulcan RAF bombers, against a backdrop of Britain’s changing role through the Cold War.
Humour, Novelty & Gift
Amy Tan The Backyard Bird Chronicles
Corsair, 7 August, pb, £20, 9781472160577
Mapping the passage of time through daily journal entries and her original sketches, this New York Times bestseller by the author of The Joy Luck Club charts her forays into the natural world as she imagines the intricate lives of the birds she so admires.
Charles Firth, James Schloeffel W*nkernomics
John Murray, 7 August, hb, £12.99, 9781399828482
Written by two Aussie comedians, this humorous business guide aims to teach readers how to outmanoeuvre their colleagues and climb the corporate ladder with nothing more than an obnoxious LinkedIn profile, a pack of Post-It notes and the phrase “circle back”.
Mark Radcliffe Et Tu, Cavapoo? Corsair, 14 August, hb, £16.99, 9781472160348
The BBC Radio presenter takes a three-month sabbatical from broadcasting and drives across Europe to Rome with his wife and dog Arlo in a VW Beetle. His and Arlo’s Roman adventures are narrated both by himself and the dog, and include encounters with the city’s cat colony, and queuing for pizza.
Philosophy
Catherine Conybeare Augustine the African Profile Books, 21 August, hb, £25, 9781788167505
Award-winning classicist Conybeare reassesses the life and work of early Christian writer Augustine of Hippo, centralising his African origins and formative years in Numidia in 354 CE as moulding his later thinking and faith after leaving North Africa to travel to the European continent.
Autumn/Winter 2025 Popular Science
Geertje Dekkers Myriad, Microscopic and Marvellous Reaktion Books, 1 August, hb, £20, 9781836390978
This account of pioneering 17th-century Dutch microbiologist Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, who discovered hidden worlds of microscopic life, shows how his curiosity propelled the study of nature in surprising new directions.
Noah Giansiracusa Robin Hood Maths Torva, 7 August, hb, £22, 9781911709794
The algorithm is trying to screw you over, using maths to take from the poor and give to the rich. So says the maths and data science professor author, offering simple maths concepts and hacks designed to help you beat the number crunchers at their own game.
Madeleine Beekman The Origin of Language Simon & Schuster, 14 August, hb, £25, 9781398548428
In which the evolutionary biologist author argues that it was not hunting, fighting or tool-making that forced early humans to develop language, but instead “the inescapable need to care for our children”.
Religion
Max Carocci Shamans Thames & Hudson, 28 August, hb, £25, 9780500028681
Said to be a clear, concise and compelling analysis of the eclectic and beautiful visual and material culture of shamanism.
Fergus Butler-Gallie Twelve Churches Hodder & Stoughton, 28 August, hb, £30, 9781399731300
From a Baptist church in the segregationist American South to a sparse, tiny church above the rocky coastline of Southern Japan, the writer and priest tells the story of Christianity over the last two millennia through its followers and 12 churches.
Crafts, Hobbies & Pastimes
Clare Hunter Making Matters Sceptre, 14 August, hb, £20, 9781529346299
The author of Threads of Life returns with a
celebration and manifesto for the kind of creative pleasures that fire our minds and imaginations as children but which we often abandon when we grow up: from building snowmen and making paper boats, to blowing bubbles and dressing up,
Food & Drink
Sabrina Ghayour Persiana Easy Aster, 14 August, hb, £28, 9781783256129
Ghayour’s delicious recipes are already eminently doable but this new collection is designed to be as easy as possible and includes ideas for Midweek Meals, Comfort Food, Roasts and Traybakes, Sweet Treats and more.
Jon Watts Speedy Comfort Bloomsbury, 28 August, hb, £22, 9781526690517
In chapters including Family Feasts, Weekend Treats and Cosy Traybakes, the author of Speedy Weeknight Meals returns to share 80 recipes designed to be both delicious and comforting.
Abby Allen The Farm Kitchen Octopus Publishing Group, 28 August, hb, £30, 9781804193075
This second book from Devon ethical food brand Pipers Farm features 80 “carefully crafted” recipes for meat, fish and vegetable dishes that celebrate honest food made from local, sustainable ingredients.
fibre-packed salads, anti-bloat lunches, metabolism boosting dinners and more.
Health, Self-Help & Parenting
Melissa Hogenboom Breadwinners Canongate Books, 14 August, hb, £18.99, 9781837262243
Drawing on interviews with dozens of female breadwinners as well as stay-at-home dads and same-sex couples, Hogenboom explores the changing dynamics of breadwinning, and their consequences, aiming to help us all live more equal and fulfilled lives.
Angus Fletcher Primal Intelligence Headline Press, 28 August, hb, £22, 9781035412549
What if our focus on the importance of logic is misplaced? This smart-thinking book with a soft business angle reveals that the true source of resilience, problem- solving, innovation and creativity lies in the emotive, non-logical side of our brains.
Ann Russell How to Be an Adult Headline Home, 28 August, hb, £14.99, 9781035429042
Self-described “middle- class English old bag” and TikTok Auntie, Russell is a self- employed cleaner with 2.5 million followers. Her second book is a guide to everything you need to know to be a grown-up, from renting and budgeting, to dealing with break-ups and grief… and how to change a plug, too.
Sports & Gaming
Jen Benson, Sim Benson Ultra Cassell, 28 August, hb, £25, 9781788405775
Mariella Frostrup, Belles Berry Menolicious: Eat Your Way to a Better Menopause
DK RED, 28 August, hb, £22, 9780241754979
Frostrup teams up with the daughter of Mary Berry for this accessible cookbook designed for anyone navigating the challenges of midlife. It includes anti- inflammatory breakfasts,
From the icy tundras of Sweden to the sun- scorched deserts of the USA, this “first ever” atlas of ultramarathons profiles 50 of the world’s greatest races, illustrated with maps, photography, elevation profiles and more.
Art & Antiques
James Delbourgo A Noble Madness riverrun, 12 August, hb, £25, 9781529424010
From ancient looters and idolators, to fin-de-siècle decadents, Freudian
psychos and hoarders, a “short and twisted” cultural history of mad collectors, whose passion is often driven by a darker side and even dangerous obsession.
Hope Werness
The Secret Language of Plants Thames & Hudson, 14 August, hb, £25, 9780500028179
Weaving together botany, mythology, folklore, religious texts and centuries of art and literature, this richly illustrated reference guide details the cultural significance and underlying meanings of more than 50 plants.
Music
Elizabeth Alker Everything We Do Is Music Faber & Faber, 28 August, hb, £20, 9780571370177
From Stockhausen to Donna Summer’s I Feel Love, and from Bruckner to Sonic Youth via Glenn Branca, this “panoramic” exploration of the ways in which pop and rock were transformed by the visionaries of classical music draws on interviews with the likes of Paul McCartney and Steve Reich.
Conservation & Environment
Peter Betts, Ed Miliband The Climate Diplomat Profile Editions, 28 August, hb, £25, 9781805226895
Betts was one of the UK and EU’s lead negotiators on climate and a leading architect of the Paris Agreement; this book is published posthumously following his death in October 2023, and is an “authoritative and entertaining” survey of 30 years of Conference of the Parties, its politics and its main players.
Geography
Maxim Samson Earth Shapers Profile Books, 7 August, hb, £22, 9781800815230
Shedding light on unsung histories, from the Native Americans’ portage routes to Mozambican freedom fighters, this explores places where humans have harnessed the geographical landscape and written ourselves into our surroundings and into history in the process.
Monisha Rajesh Moonlight Express Bloomsbury Circus, 28 August, hb, £22, 9781526644121
After circumnavigating the globe for her book Around the World in 80 Trains, Rajesh returns to explore the art of slow travel by sleeper train, from the heart of Transylvania to South Africa and beyond.
11
Natural History & Pets
Sarah Siân Chave Hafren: The Wisdom of the River Severn
Calon, 21 August, hb, £16.99, 9781915279828
In a time of ecological crisis, how can we listen to the wisdom of Hafren? This explores the history of Hafren (the River Severn) and its place within a wider British context, as well as the myths and legends that have sprung up along its course from source to sea.
Adrian Potter Interrupted Journeys John Murray, 28 August, hb, £14.99, 9781399822404
After retiring as a teacher, the author joined a local badger group, taking over the “Badger Phone” and travelling across West Yorkshire with two other enthusiasts. This is an “irresistible” memoir of his devotion to conservation, caring for badgers and other mammals across his home county.
Travel Writing
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164 |
Page 165 |
Page 166 |
Page 167 |
Page 168 |
Page 169 |
Page 170 |
Page 171 |
Page 172 |
Page 173 |
Page 174 |
Page 175 |
Page 176 |
Page 177 |
Page 178 |
Page 179 |
Page 180 |
Page 181 |
Page 182 |
Page 183 |
Page 184
