Top 10 summer reads 2014: Non-fiction

As the annual indecision over which books to pack for your holiday descends, we break down the top ten  non-fiction summer books 2014 ... By Flora Hughes-Onslow.

Baghdad: City of Peace, City of Blood, by Justin Marozzi

Justin Marozzi’s brave, vivid and meticulously researched history of Baghdad is a revealing and fascinating masterpiece, full of insightful detail as it documents the story of the city from its settlement in 762 by the Abbasid caliph Mansur to the fall of Saddam Hussein. As the author actually lived and worked in the city during the end of Hussein’s reign of terror, the book includes some chilling first-hand accounts, notably of Saddam’s first Ba’ath party conference where he – dressed in a tailored suit and puffing a Cuban cigar – read out a list of names of people in the room who had conspired against him, inviting them to ‘repeat the party slogan and leave the hall’ (to be executed). But, as the title suggests, the overarching conclusion of this impressive book is that alongside the blood and spilled guts, Baghdad has also always been a city of peace and love.

The Zhivago Affair, by Peter Finn & Petra Couvée

In May 1956, upon paying a visit to elderly Russian poet Boris Pasternak at his dacha outside Moscow, Italian journalist Sergio D’Angelo managed to secure a copy of Pasternak’s first, and so far unpublished, novel, Doctor Zhivago. Presenting D’Angelo with the manuscript, Pasternak said ‘You are hereby invited to my execution'. Sadly, this was far from paranoia: Pasternak’s friend Boris Pilnyak had received a bullet in the back of the head in the 1930s for the very same reason – unauthorised publication in the West, or ‘treason’ according to the Kremlin. This gripping book follows the role of Pasternak’s novel in the ongoing war between the CIA and the Soviets, as the U.S. attempted to smuggle the book back behind the Iron Curtain, and Pasternak was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1958. Read it, and those literary lunches will be that much livelier.

A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal, by Ben Macintyre

Masterfully written by Ben Macintyre, A Spy Among Friends tells the story of the most notorious defector and Soviet mole, Kim Philby. A story so riveting and remarkable that it is hard to believe it is fact, not fiction. Harold Adrian Russell ‘Kim’ Philby was a pupil of Westminster, Cambridge graduate, cricket enthusiast, genteel charmer, undercover agent and ultimately, ruthless betrayor. As The Observer’s Middle East correspondent, Philby used his position of power and trust to manipulate leading figures in the West for decades, successfully obtaining countless secrets which he then passed on to the KGB. And exploring the enigma that is Philby, Macintyre digs deep, asking questions about why Philby resumed his career as a spy once he had been set up in his post for The Observer in Beirut, the family dynamic that seemingly led him to espionage, and his complicated 30-year friendship with fellow spy Nicholas Elliott – finally broken as one friend tried to extract a confession from the other.

The Deluge: The Great War and the Remaking of Global Order 1916-1931, by Adam Tooze

To mark the centenary year of World War I, Adam Tooze’s powerful explanation of how and why the legacy of the war continues to shape and affect us, is a poignant and immensely important one. Demonstrating the influence of the past upon the present, and the significance of this history in today’s society, Tooze examines current structures and trends in relation to the powers that emerged from the Great War.

Everyday Sexism, by Laura Bates

For anyone even the slightest bit interested in the fourth wave of feminism, Laura Bates’s book is a tome with which you ought to familiarise yourself. Though with considerable flaws (it's essentially just Bates venting her frustration at the media’s treatment of women, with little practical suggestions for future action, and far from revolutionary), it is worth a read if only to inform yourself of her argument to the point that you can justifiably weigh in on the debate. A debate that very much needs to be had.

Hard Choices, by Hillary Clinton

Speaking of sexism, Hillary Clinton’s story is a refreshing example of women’s ability to get to the top. Despite the fact that such a climb requires determined steeliness, a characteristic that dehumanises most women in politics (though for men, quite the opposite), Clinton has risen to a level whereby the prospect of America’s first female president is a highly plausible one. Though the book is hardly revealing or surprising, it is certainly an impressive if not amazing story. From the patient and faithful wife sitting by her husband’s side defending him against the damage caused by scandals from Gennifer Flowers to Monica Lewinsky, Hillary has come an incredibly long way, and her journey makes for an interesting read, even if it's not exactly 'festival literature'.

Village of Secrets: Defying the Nazis in Vichy France, Caroline Moorehead

On the endlessly fascinating topic of the Resistance, Caroline Moorehead’s narrative investigating the French citizens who risked their lives to save enemies of the Nazis is highly engrossing. A situation truly impossible to imagine (though of course we all like to think we would have nobly disobeyed Nazi orders), this book sheds light on the lives and behaviour of ordinary people under the occupation; not only an arresting historical study, but offering insight into the core of human nature.

The Road to Middlemarch: My Life with George Eliot, by Rebecca Mead

For any Eliot, or indeed classic literature fans, this in-depth analysis of Middlemarch will make for an ideal summer read. A close and intelligent study of the characters, the themes and the writing, with an Eliot biography running alongside, Mead’s book is (while not exactly radical) at best a generous contribution to Eliot scholarship, and at worst a lengthy essay of admiration for Eliot herself.

Good Morning, Mr Mandela, by Zelda La Grange

An honest and compelling memoir, written by the woman who served as Nelson Mandela’s secretary,gatekeeper and constant companion for the best part of 20 years. Marketed as the story of a white South African girl, whose childhood racism was transformed as she became devoted to a man her father had labelled a ‘terrorist’;the real value in the book lies in its heartbreaking description of the final years of Mandela’s life – from his treatment by the South African government to the infighting within his family, who shamelessly exploited him.

Capital, Thomas Piketty

Thomas Piketty’s divisive economic manifesto, Capital , has provoked powerful reactions from experts all over the world, igniting an unprecedented level of controversy on the difficult subject of capitalism. Challenging capitalism is of course nothing new, but Piketty’s argument, whereby in an economy where the rate of return on capital exceeds the rate of economic growth, inherited wealth will always grow faster than earned wealth and extreme inequality will emerge, is a profound and interesting one. The logic that raging inequality is no accident, but in fact the normal and inevitable outcome of a capitalist society, is a troubling and sobering (if hardly new) thought. Though Piketty may have enraged the right with his unrelenting views, this bestselling book is well worth a read, whatever your political leaning.

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