A selection of paperbacks reviewed
Nature's Engraver: A Life of Thomas Bewick By Jenny UglowFaber, £9.99
An enormous chorus of delight - not least from the Brontë sisters - greeted the publication in the late 18th century of the Northumbrian Bewick's General History of Quadrupeds and British Birds, with woodcuts of extraordinary accuracy and beauty. Uglow's is a wise and perceptive portrait of the bluff northcountryman, in an age of enclosure, industrialisation, and radical politics. This is also a beautiful book, the design deeply sympathetic to the huge number of woodcuts used. His much-loved tailpieces are printed exactly to the size he cut them so that the reader sits in awe of the skill with which Bewick could put a whole story into an image the size of a postage stamp. On a visit to Bewick's birthplace of Cherryburn , the staff of the little museum there told me they thought this biography is "the very bee's knees". And so it is. - Andy Barclay
Parsons Bookshop: At the Heart of Bohemian Dublin 1949-1989 Brendan Lynch Liffey Press €16.95
It was the end of an era the day the indomitable May O'Flaherty finally closed the door on Parsons bookshop on Dublin's Baggot Street. For four decades she and her first lieutenant, the amiable and erudite Mary King, presided over an emporium of good reading and congenial conversation that was at the heart of Dublin's bohemia - or Baggotonia as it was to its aficionados. "One could meet as many interesting writers on the floor of the shop as on the shelves," Mary Lavin once observed. Brendan Lynch's brilliantly crafted and beautifully presented memoir is a fitting tribute to the time and place. Poets and politicians, artists and artisans flit leisurely in and out of its pages with fitting anecdotes and quotes. May's favourite was Patrick Kavanagh; Mary King's, the jovial, until the drink got him, Brendan Behan; the quietest of all, was our own Myles na Gopaleen. "Ní bheidh a leithéid arís ann." - Martin Noonan
The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda's Road to 9/11 Lawrence Wright Penguin, £8.99
Terrorism in all its complexity, and particularly Islamic fundamentalism, is perhaps best understood by studying the individual characters and personalities of a movement, their motivations and ambitions, their vulnerabilities and the points upon which they refuse to compromise. Lawrence Wright's book is a formidable achievement and paints perhaps the most detailed and personal picture of the rise of al-Qaeda, the planning of the 9/11 attacks, and the people who have pursued Bin Laden since his earliest fumbling forays into terrorism. Despite the crushing inevitability of the story, this is an utterly thrilling and revealing work. Wright weaves a seductive and forensic narrative that traces the web of al-Qaeda, and goes a long way towards revealing the inner mechanics of Islamic fundamentalism. - Laurence Mackin
Forza Italia Paddy Agnew Ebury Press, £7.99
It seems most aspects of Italian life, public and private, can be brought back on some level to football. Irish journalist Paddy Agnew, who has lived in Italy for more than 20 years, details the idiosyncratic nature of the nation's relationship with the sport. And he paints a largely negative picture: there are chapters dedicated to Berlusconi's use of AC Milan for his own political ends; Maradona's links with Mafia figures; the Juventus doping scandal; the recent Serie A match-fixing revelations; persistent problems of racism and violence among "ultras"; and worrying drops in attendance levels. Despite the pessimism, Agnew believes the game is too important to the country to ever go into a permanent decline - though this doesn't always come over strongly. All in all, though, a vivid portrait of a nation's obsession. - Ciaran Murray
Sacred Causes Religion and Politics from the European Dictators to Al Qaeda Michael Burleigh Harper Perennial, £9.99
One word could describe this book - superb. Many words could be used to describe the author: didactic, contentious, but, above all, brilliant. Sacred Causes is a tour de force, embracing European and Middle East religions and politics of the 20th century and exploring how they contributed to the tragedies of 9/11. Burleigh writes with a critical eye and a sharp pen of the fall of communism, the churches' (especially Roman Catholic) (mis)use of power, the two big European wars and the Cold War. He is not short of an opinion, but his book is compelling. Irish readers will be interested in his chapter on the Troubles. With a few exceptions, Burleigh does not really like the Irish (a gross understatement). The book is worth buying for this chapter alone, though it's a pity it was published just before Rev Paisley found his road to Damascus. - Owen Dawson
The Gift Lewis Hyde Canongate Books, £8.99
What is the difference between "real" art and art as a commodity? What role does creativity play in our increasingly consumerist society? These questions are at the core of this thought-provoking examination of the spiritual, financial and political value we place on art. Lewis Hyde begins by exploring the idea of a "gift economy", using folk tales and ancient tribal customs to illustrate how a gift is a thing in motion, and must be passed on. Applying this theory to art, he discusses the dilemma between ownership and monetary value and the idea of art as a collective treasure. With anecdotes from Walt Whitman, Ezra Pound and Allen Ginsberg, who describes how to settle down to the "muck of your mind", Hyde also explores how artists can nurture their talent and produce "gifts to society". Ainspired look at the creative world and our relationship to it. - Sorcha Hamilton