Culture | Spine-tingling
The 40 best books published so far this year
When you lie down by the pool this summer, pick up one of these titles

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Biography and memoir
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This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline “Spine-tingling”

From the June 7th 2025 edition
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What Superman tells you about American foreign policy
Should a man who can do anything choose to do nothing?

Handling feelings with rubber gloves: the odd life of Muriel Spark
An abandoned son, scorned lovers and dazzling, manipulative prose

Why the left gains nothing from pop stars’ support
Artists are entitled to share their views. Doing so is not always noble or wise
What to watch this weekend
Stories of tennis players, chefs and rock stars
Stop crying your heart out—for Oasis have returned to the stage
They are much more popular today than their Britpop peers
Inside the uneasy, incongruous coalition of the Big Three
A new book traces the wartime relationship between Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt and Josef Stalin