General non-fiction

Mary Mellor examines money’s social, political and commercial histories to debunk longstanding myths such as money being in short supply and needing to come from somewhere. She sets out a new finance system, based on green and feminist concerns, to bring radical change for social good.

Rethinking Britain presents a range of ideas from some of the country’s most influential thinkers, offering solutions which, if implemented, would lead to a fairer society. This book is an essential aid for citizens who are interested in critiquing inequalities while looking to build a better future.

Geoff Mulgan, a pioneer in the global field of social innovation, explains how it provides answers to today’s global social, economic and sustainability issues. He argues for matching R&D in technology and science with a socially focused R&D and harnessing creative imagination on a larger scale than ever before.

The Happiness Problem shows that the illusion of control over our lives is too simplistic and can even be harmful. Sam Wren-Lewis offers an alternative: he proposes that we can connect with, and gain a deeper understanding of, the personal and social challenges that define our time.

Drawing on a two-year multi-platform initiative, this book by award-winning journalist and author Mary O’Hara, asks how we can overturn the portrayal of poverty once and for all. Crucially, she turns to the real experts to try to find answers – the people who live it.

When newspapers reported a court ruling on Brexit, senior judges were condemned as 'enemies of the people'. But they still ruled that an order by the Queen on the advice of her prime minister was just ‘a blank piece of paper’. Joshua Rozenberg asks how judges can maintain public confidence while making hard choices.

Cars transmit and modify our identities behind the wheel. As a symbol of independence and freedom, the car projects status, class, taste and, significantly, embeds racialisation. Using fascinating research from drivers, Alam unpicks the ways in which our identity is enhanced and driven.

Pat Thomson takes on England’s muddled education system and exposes fraudulent and unethical practices, including the skewing of the curriculum and manipulation of results. She argues for an urgent review of current practices, leading to a revitalised education system that has the public good at its heart.

Is it possible to experience the joy and benefits of computing in a way that asserts individual and collective autonomy?

Drawing on the ideas of the ‘slow movement’, Slow Computing sets out numerous practical and political means to take back control and counter the more pernicious effects of living digital lives.

Renowned political scientist Terri Givens calls for ‘radical empathy’ in bridging racial divides to understand the origins of our biases, including internalized oppression. Deftly weaving together her own experiences with the political, she offers practical steps to call out racism and bring about radical social change.

An anthropologist visits the frontiers of genetics, medicine, and technology to ask: whose values are guiding gene-editing experiments, and what are the implications for humanity?

What Have Charities Ever Done for Us? uses case studies and interviews to illustrate how charities support people and communities, foster heritage and culture and pioneer responses to crucial social, ethical and environmental questions.