THE BOOK OF LOVE: In Search of the Kamasutra by James McConnachie

McConnachie’s calm and sober narrative reveals the Kamasutra to be less about gymnastic sex and more about refined manners, neatly arranged with a faintly ludicrous attention to categories. It was the eight subjects (embracing, kissing, scratching, moaning, and so on) multiplied by eight moods that gave rise to the idea of an ancient sex manual detailing 64 positions, a number that boggled the western mind. In fact, it only gives 18, and they are all fairly sensible. McConnachie discusses the book’s reputation among the Victorians and the heroic work of the larger-than-life orientalist and explorer Sir Richard Burton in making it available, and comes up to date with a final chapter about the “commodification” of the Kamasutra, resulting in, for example, pop-up editions, a condom and some new-age nonsense.

(Atlantic £8.99). PhB

SIX DEGREES: Our Future on a Hotter Planet by Mark Lynas

Lynas does not mince his words: no matter what humankind does from now on to combat climate change, we are already facing a world that will be one degree centigrade warmer than it currently is, with all that implies for the destruction of certain species and extreme weather patterns. The challenge, he says, is to keep the increase below 2C. As this book shows, in grim and sober detail, anything higher than that will leave us with a planet barely worth inhabiting, even if our species manages to survive. Lynas’s book is a brilliant and highly readable synthesis of all the available scientific literature, laying out the stark consequences of our failure to act swiftly.

(Harper Perennial £8.99). IC

DARK SIDE OF THE MOON: The Magnificent Madness of the American Lunar Quest by Richard DeGroot

DeGroot’s thesis is simple: “The American people were fleeced; they were persuaded to spend $35billion on an ego-trip to the moon.” His account of the events leading to America’s moon landing in 1969 is sharp and convincing. In 1961, President John Kennedy was in trouble. For years the Russians had been ahead in space; then Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space. Five days later, Kennedy’s involvement in the antiFidel Castro putsch ended in disaster in Cuba’s Bay of Pigs. In desperation, Kennedy promised to have Americans on the moon by the end of the decade. Although DeGroot’s hard-nosed report makes sense of events, it fails to convey the romance and heroism that were involved.

(Vintage £8.99). SB

CAN ANY MOTHER HELP ME? by Jenna Bailey

While sifting through an archive specialising in British daily life, Bailey came across the Cooperative Correspondence Club, a private magazine started in the 1930s, written and circulated by women, often lonely wives and mothers, who wanted to communicate with others. This engaging book comprises their letters and comments, contextualised with biographical details. Born at the end of the Victorian era, these women lived through two world wars, and their correspondence gives a rare insight into the quotidian activities and preoccupations during this time of extraordinary change. The club membership was diverse, and the women’s letters (honest, articulate, humorous and moving) reflect their distinct backgrounds, families and politics, and their shared resilience and humour.

(Faber £7.99). JW

SO SPIRITED A TOWN: Visions and Versions of Liverpool by Nicholas Murray

In this overview of his native Liverpool, Murray examines the nooks and crannies of the city’s history by combining literary anecdotes from those who have disembarked there, such as Daniel Defoe, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville, with his own reminiscences of his post-war Catholic childhood. He writes unflinchingly about the infamous “Africa Trade”, conveys what it means to be Scouse and emphasises that Liverpool should not be associated with “thievery” (a label that is increasingly old hat as regeneration under the European Capital of Culture banner continues), but as a place rich in diversity and creativity.

(Liverpool UP £12.95). CB

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