82 Books & arts The EconomistDecember 7th 2019
2 Cambodia,VolliereturnstoAmericaandis
dispatchedtoNewYorktoconductsur-
veillanceona supposedrenegadeNazi.
Thisassignmentwillcometohaunthim,
too.“Whoamongus”,heasks,“haslived
onlyonce?”A searingyetpoeticrecordof
warandtheliespeopleliveby.
TheFarField.ByMadhuriVijay.GrovePress;
448 pages;$27and£14.99
A courageous,insightfulandaffecting
debutnovel—andthewinnerofthepresti-
giousjcbprizeforIndianliterature—
whichplacesa naiveupper-classwoman
fromsouthernIndiainthemidstoffar
messierrealitiesinKashmir.Alongthe
way,thestorychallengesIndiantaboos
rangingfromsextopolitics.
TrustExercise.BySusanChoi.HenryHolt;
272 pages;$27.Serpent’sTail;£14.99
Thetitleofthistricksy,beguilingnovel,
winnerofa NationalBookAward,refersto
therelationshipbetweenwriterandread-
er,aswellastothebondingexercises
undertakenbythetheatrestudentsinthe
story—andtothetrustbetweenteenage
girlsandpredatorymen.A taleofmissed
connectionsandmanipulation,andof
willingsurrendertothelureandperilof
theunknown.
BlackSun.ByOwenMatthews.Doubleday;
320 pages;$26.95.BantamPress;£16.99
Basedonrealevents—thebidbyAndrei
Sakharovtodevelopa bombtoendall
bombs—thisstoryissetina secretSoviet
cityin1961.Featuringmurderandbetray-
als,anda flawedbutprincipledkgbman
asitshero,it unfoldsintheaftermathof
Stalinism,amidthescarsleftbythe
purges,denunciationsandGreatPatriotic
War.Theprolificauthor(seeBiography),a
formerMoscowcorrespondent,knowshis
terraininsideout.Science and technology
The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warm-
ing. By David Wallace-Wells. Tim Duggan
Books; 320 pages; $27. Allen Lane; £20
One of the most persuasive of the many
books that spell out the consequences of
climate change—and one of the most
terrifying. As Earth moves beyond the
conditions that allowed people to evolve,
the author warns, “the end of normal” has
arrived. Yet amid the rising seas, floods,
fires, droughts and hurricanes, both cur-
rent and impending, he remains optimis-
tic about humanity’s ability to deal with
the havoc it has caused.
The New Rules of War: Victory in the Age of
Durable Disorder. By Sean McFate. William
Morrow; 336 pages; $29.99
A former paratrooper and mercenary
makes the case that the American armed
forces are ill-equipped for the conflicts ofthe 21st century. To keep the country safe,
he contends, the top brass need to mo-
dernise their thinking, and respond to the
information warfare that is now waged by
their adversaries.
Good Reasons for Bad Feelings. By Ran-
dolph Nesse. Dutton; 384 pages; $28. Allen
Lane; £20
A fascinating study of the evolutionary
roots of mental illness. The author, a pro-
fessor of psychiatry, argues that, in the
right proportion, negative emotions may
be useful for survival in a similar way to
physical pain. Humans, he says, may have“minds like the legs of racehorses, fast but
vulnerable to catastrophic failures”.
Novacene: The Coming Age of Hyperintelli-
gence.By James Lovelock with Bryan Ap-
pleyard. MIT Press; 160 pages; $22.95. Allen
Lane; £14.99
In a brief but thought-provoking book, the
scientist who developed the “Gaia Theory”
about the Earth’s life and climate—and
who this year turned 100—predicts that
cyborgs may eventually evolve to supplant
carbon-based humankind. But don’t de-
spair: the robots, he suggests, might de-
cide to keep people around as pets.Genesis. By GeoffreyCarr.ElsewhenPress;
285 pages; £9.99
Our science editor’s debut novel is a
techno-thriller in which computerised
devices suddenly go haywire; scientists
and researchers perish in a string of
mysterious accidents; and a billionaire
inventor schemes to colonise Mars.
Meanwhile, deep in the Cloud, some-
one—or something—is watching the
havoc unfold.
Extreme Economies. By Richard Davies.
Farrar, Straus and Giroux; 416 pages; $28.
Bantam Press; £20
An exploration of the lessons to be drawn
from disaster-stricken economies and
imperilled (but innovative) people,
which ranges from the jungles of Panama
to post-tsunami Indonesia to the prison
system of Louisiana and Syrian refugee
camps. By a former economics editor,
now at the London School of Economics.
The House on the Hill. By Christopher
Impey. Tangerine Press; 215 pages; £14
This history of Brixton prison (now 200
years old) recalls the stints behind its
bars of Mick Jagger, Oswald Mosley and
Bertrand Russell, and chronicles its place
in criminal-justice policy, from tread-
mills to rehabilitation schemes. By a
senior producer on “The Intelligence”,
our daily podcast, who was formerly
editor of National Prison Radio.
The Moon: A History for the Future.
By Oliver Morton.Hachette; 352 pages;
$16.99. Economist Books; £20
A multifaceted account of humankind’s
past relationship with the Moon—from
the imaginings of artists to the Apollo
missions—and of its possible future,
from space tourism to Moon-mining and
(perhaps) human settlement. “Brilliant
and compelling”, said the Sunday Times.“Engrossing”,reckonedthe Washington
Post. By our briefings editor.
Uncommon Knowledge: The Economist
Explains.Edited by Tom Standage. Econo-
mist Books; 272 pages; $11.99 and £8.99
A compendium of our explainer articles
and daily charts, which spell out why
Americans are sleeping more, why the
global suicide rate is falling and why
carrots were not always orange. Com-
piled by one of our deputy editors.
Cricket 2.0: Inside the T20 Revolution.
By Tim Wigmore and Freddie Wilde. Polaris;
320 pages; $28.95 and £17.99
Through dozens of interviews with
players and executives, Mr Wigmore, a
frequent contributor on sport, and his
co-author show how the shortened
Twenty20 format has transformed crick-
et for an age of globalisation and big data.
The New Statesmancalled it “a lucid and
thoughtful guide”.Giant leaps
Staff booksThis year our writers went to the Moon and back