Matthew Dallek’s fine new history looks at the 1950s conspiracy movement that radicalised America’s Republican party
Vivid and engaging accounts track Putin and Xi’s misjudgments and the growing pains of Spain
A haunting account of the impact of western policies premised on sectarianism that engulfed the country after 2003
Three new books assess the social, historical and ideological factors shaping Tory electoral strategy under Rishi Sunak
Stefaan De Rynck argues that Brussels took control of the process from the start
From the ‘miracle’ of 1989 to the return of state thuggery, readers could hardly wish for a wiser guide to the continent’s triumphs and travails
Observant accounts tackle Trump’s footsoldiers, Biden’s White House, Johnson’s downfall and Brussels diplomacy
How Washington sustained its institutions and saved the nation from destruction
Isolationist superpower or still ‘the world’s policeman’? Two books explore the competing impulses in US politics
Melvyn Leffler’s new history of the war against Saddam reveals how guilt, fear and hubris led to a fateful military intervention
Is the term ‘white privilege’ doing more harm than good? Three insightful books look at anti-Semitism, migration and class amid the battle to end racism
A new book distils huge amounts of open-source information on Beijing’s Ministry of State Security
The former deputy governor of the Bank of England lays out principles for international co-operation in the face of geopolitical challenges
As unification rises up the agenda, traditional allegiances are challenged by demographic change — and the fallout from Brexit
Gideon Rachman selects his must-read titles
Training a spotlight on Chinese influence are these new titles tackling economy, security and Covid lockdowns
The writer on the savage realities of the homeland he fled at the start of the Ukraine war
A compelling study of leadership during conflict should be required reading for those who send soldiers to war
From biographies of Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin to two books that seek a new kind of politics through imaginative thinking about the future
Eighty years of intelligence-sharing between the US and UK are judiciously chronicled in this enlightening read
Listen to our Twitter discussion with FT literary editor Frederick Studemann, deputy books editor Laura Battle and FT Weekend podcast host Lilah Raptopoulos
Gideon Rachman selects his best mid-year reads
From politics, economics and history to art, food and, of course, fiction — FT writers and critics choose their favourite reads of the year so far
A clutch of books makes an alarmingly persuasive case that the warning lights are flashing redder than at any point since 1861
An economist’s primer on the UK Treasury over the past 25 years highlights how the office has struggled to change with the times