Romanzo Criminale
Giancarlo De Cataldo,
Corvus, September 3
Rome, 1977. A brutal gang of youths, La Banda della Magliana, take over the heroin trade. This was the era of the “Years of Lead”, and the book details the rampant crime and corruption at this time. The book was first published in Italy in 2002 and spawned a TV series and film.
Two Years Eight Months & Twenty-Eight Nights
Salman Rushdie,
Jonathan Cape,
September 10
A graphic novelist’s creation comes to life. A baby has the ability to identify corruption. They and others are all descendants of whimsical creatures known as jinn and an epic war between good and evil is about to begin. Fantastical novel.
Where My Heart Used to Beat
Sebastian Faulks, Hutchinson, September 10
A retired doctor has a past he doesn’t like to talk about. When he stays with someone who fought alongside his father in the First World War, Robert Hendricks is forced to confront his demons and the trauma of the 20th century. A meditation on war and memory.
How to Plan a Crusade: Reason and Religious War in the Middle East
Christopher Tyerman
Allen Lane, September 3
What’s the best way to ship horses? How does one make siege engines? These are just some of the interesting details of the logistical effort that went into the Crusades. Tyerman is a respected scholar on the subject.
Other People’s Money
John Kay,
Profile Books,
September 3
Provocative analysis that takes the finance sector to task. Kay argues that the industry has become dominated by intra-bank trading, using other people’s money, and this activity is unnecessary and detached from the needs of the real economy.
The Invention of Science: A New History of the Scientific Revolution
David Wootton,
Allen Lane, September 3
This book tracks how a new age of science in the Middle Ages killed off astrology, alchemy and witchcraft and led to an era of rationalism. This, argues Wootton, led to the Industrial Revolution, and a world transformed.
