Canbury Press April's Favourite Nonfiction Books
Posted on April 25 2023
Photo: Kimberly Farmer at Unsplash
Here is a list of our favourite nonfictions books of the month. To purchase any of these books or read more about them, please check out our list on Bookshop.org.
1. How Westminster Works... and Why It Doesn't (Weidenfeld) by Ian Dunt
From the author of two previous Canbury books (How to be a Liberal and Brexit: What the Hell Happens Now?) comes this excoriating investigation into the shambolic way central government makes decisions, looking at, for instance, the role of MPs, Ministers and the Press
2. My Back Pages: An undeniably personal history of publishing 1972-2022 (Marble Hill) by Richard Charkin
There are few things about publishing that the author does not know, having worked in trade, academic, scientific and professional sectors. This lively account covers his 50-year career and takes in some of publishing's characters, such as Robert Maxwell and Paul Hamlyn. It rattles along at a brisk pace.
3. The Future of Geography: How Power and Politics in Space Will Change Our World by Tim Marshall (Elliott & Thompson)
From the author of the gazillion-selling Prisoners of Geography comes a stellar update. We haven't read it yet, because it's out on 27th April, but Marshall has never disappointed in his previous books, most of which became bestsellers. The blurb points out that space is "a wild and lawless place" and "already central to communication, economics, military strategy and international relations on Earth." Another nifty move from the publishers Elliott & Thompson
4. Pathogenesis: How Germs Made History by Jonathan Kennedy (Torva) .
As we know from Covid, microbes have a habit of interrupting our plans. Kennedy's clever idea has been to go back through history and show us how and why infectious diseases have warped its flow, in often surprising ways: “Find out why we don’t lay eggs, why Romans' love of bread weakened their Eastern Empire, why Vikings didn't colonise North America, why slavery first became racialised in the West Indies, why Scotland was forced to join a Union with England...” Riveting.
5. Citizens: Why the Key to Fixing Everything is All of Us by Jon Alexander (Canbury Press).
Jon Alexander explains the vital role that we must all adopt if we are to solve the big challenges of our time, such as global heating and rising inequality. Bursting with case studies of where active citizenship has worked – among them, the National Trust and the Guardian. Updated to take account of the role ordinary people have made in the defence of Ukraine. Foreword by Brian Eno
6. Spare: by Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex (Penguin)
Still selling well after several months, Prince Harry's memoir is an eye-opening look into the Royal Family - the first such book by an actual member for... ever? Hugely revealing, both about Harry himself (sometimes unwittingly) and one of Britain's biggest institutions.