Revolutionary Russia 1891-1991:
A Pelican Introduction by Orlando Figes (Pelican, £7.99)
Figes bookends the Russian Revolution with Tsarist Russia and the demise of the Soviet Union, and sees the Cold War as a continuation of what the Bolsheviks began. Figes courted controversy recently over fake online reviews which made many turn away from his books, but he writes as expansively and accessibly here as in, say, Natasha's Dance.
How To Read Literature by Terry Eagleton (Yale University Press, £10.99)
Eagleton takes classic texts by writers like Dickens and Austen and shows how they work, to get away from a conversation about characters as real people and instead introduce readers to the way these characters are constructed. Rather than for students, it's a gentle guide for the more general reader.
The Alchemists: Inside The Secret World Of Central Bankers by Neil Irwin (Headline, £9.99)
Irwin doesn't just give a fascinating timeline of the financial meltdown that followed the sub-prime mortgage chaos in the US in 2007, he also provides an history of the rise of central banking. The role of banks in US elections also started earlier than we might think.
The House Of Fiction: Leonard, Susan And Elizabeth Jolley by Susan Swingler (Scribe, £12.99)
Perhaps fiction writers are best placed to create fictions out of their own worlds, but as Susan Swingler's moving and captivating memoir shows, the damage wreaked can be huge. When her father, Leonard, left her mother to be with Elizabeth Jolley, one of Australia's foremost writers, it was the least of the family deceptions.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article