The Best New Books To Read in May
Facebook: The Inside Story by Steven Levy
Mark Zuckerberg’s success story is well known. It was immortalised a decade ago by director David Fincher in The Social Network. Steven Levy is here to tell you there’s more to the story. Facebook today is a tech giant that’s virtually unrecognisable from its early days. After scandals surrounding election-influencing fake news accounts and the handling of users’ personal data, the future of the company has never been under more intense scrutiny. For three years, Levy was granted an access-all-areas pass into the company, including interviews with its controversial founder and CEO. The result is the first comprehensive insight into the world’s biggest social media network, and the ways in which it has changed our world irreversibly.
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The F*ck-it List by John Niven
It’s 2026 and the US is deep into the Trump era. President Ivanka has replaced her father and now seeks to make America even greater, eroding abortion rights, diminishing gun controls and toughening up immigration policies. This is the world Frank Brill lives in – and loathes. A retired small-town newspaper editor who has already endured more than his fair share of bad luck, Frank is diagnosed with terminal cancer and asks himself: what have I got to lose? Compiling a list of all those he blames for his misfortunes, he embarks on a revenge mission that leads him all the way to the gates of the White House. From the Scottish author of Kill Your Friends, The F*ck-It List is a hilarious, and somewhat unsettling, glimpse into a not-so-distant possible future.
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Here We Are by Graham Swift
The latest novel from Booker Prize-winning Graham Swift looks back to the golden age of the British seaside. As Evie White marks the anniversary of her husband’s death, she reminisces about that summer in 1959; about the theatre at the end of Brighton pier, and the events there which shaped the course of their lives. As a dazzling assistant (and fiancée) to brilliant young magician Ronnie Dean, Evie’s life is a vibrant montage of fantasy and illusions. Held together by compère Jack Robinson, the show is a spectacular success each night. But three can be a crowd, and tensions behind the scenes threaten to overshadow everything. This is a vivid portrayal of post-war Britain and the fading glamour of its seaside culture.
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Hidden Valley Road by Robert Kolker
Going straight in at number one on the New York Times nonfiction bestseller list, Hidden Valley Road has been one of 2020’s most highly anticipated books. In the aftermath of World War 2, Don and Mimi Galvin built an enviable life in Colorado Springs – in the baby boomer era, they had no fewer than 12 children. By the mid 70s, their seemingly idyllic existence was shattered as six of their sons were diagnosed with schizophrenia. What followed was a dark path into the world of institutions, lobotomies and scientific testing that ultimately laid the foundations for how the illness is understood and treated today. Through meticulous research, Kolker tells an astonishing story that will endure as an intimate portrait of a family devastated by mental illness.
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New Waves by Kevin Nguyen
Lucas is not happy in his low-paid job at a Manhattan-based tech start-up. When his friend Margo, a brilliant programmer and the company’s sole black employee, loses her job after challenging racist remarks made against her, the two decide to take revenge by stealing the company’s user database. When Margo is killed in a car accident, Lucas must bear the weight of their secret on his own. As he searches for answers about Margo’s death, he begins to wonder if he ever really knew her at all. Nguyen’s debut novel brings an insider’s knowledge of the tech industry to contemplate contemporary concerns about the ever-rising tensions between digital culture and our innate need for human companionship.
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Putin’s People by Catherine Belton
Catherine Belton is an investigative journalist and former Moscow correspondent for the Financial Times. This chilling exposé is her definitive account of how Putin and his KGB associates seized power in Russia and built a new generation of loyal oligarchs. Interviewing many of those who were instrumental in Putin’s rise to the presidency, Belton has written a page-turner bursting with vital new information that sheds light on how Russian black cash has become a corrupting force around the world. From sponsoring extremist politics in Europe to military intervention in Ukraine and interference in US elections, Belton explains how Putin’s Soviet mindset and mafia values have enabled the Kremlin to bend laws in order to stay in power. An eerily important read.
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The Restaurant: A History of Eating Out by William Sitwell
Food critic and Masterchef guest judge William Sitwell has been busy. His new book is a sweeping 2,000-year history of one of the cornerstones of our culture: the restaurant. Each chapter is a chronological step in the culinary timeline, tracing the restaurant back to its earliest incarnations in ancient Pompeii and culminating in the modern Michelin-starred establishment. Although dining out may be temporarily off the table, this is a timely reminder that it has, and should always be, a globally shared experience. The History of Eating Out is a story of life. A must read for anyone interested in food or history.
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The Second Life Of Tiger Woods by Michael Bamberger
First, golf’s brightest star captured the eyes of the world. Then a string of scandals and injuries derailed his career. Everything came to a head in the early hours of a public holiday in 2017: Tiger Woods was arrested and charged with driving under the influence. Sports Illustrated journalist Michael Bamberger tracked Woods on the road to redemption, as he rebuilt towards one of the greatest comebacks sport has ever seen. For a man who has spent his life in the spotlight, Woods is remarkably enigmatic. As it celebrates the gift of a second chance, this book delivers some refreshingly intimate insight into the life and career of a sporting legend.
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The Splendid And The Vile by Erik Larson
On Winston Churchill’s first day as prime minister, Adolf Hitler invaded the Netherlands and Belgium. The Dunkirk evacuation was only a fortnight away. It was down to the new man to unify a nation under attack and ultimately, of course, lead Britain to victory. But there is a lesser-known story about the personal turmoil that Churchill the family man was simultaneously managing. The Splendid and the Vile chronicles the darkest year in modern British history through the day-to-day experiences of the nation’s most iconic leader. Unearthing once-secret intelligence reports and diaries, as well as original archival documents, Erik Larson tells a history of the Blitz that reveals the deep relationship between the personal and the public.
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