A Tribute to Smell
13th July, 2026
In this blog, author Bjørn Berge dedicates his time to a fading sense: smell. Based on his new book, Smell: The Tale of a Fading Sense, he explains why smell is so important and why, despite that, it is dying out. *** I have been an architect for nea…
The Year: How the Zodiac Still Holds Relevance
8th June, 2026
In this blog, author Spike Bucklow talks about the inspiration behind his book, The Year: An Ecology of the Zodiac, and its importance in today’s world. *** The Year, An Ecology of the Zodiac is nature writing focussed on the nature of time rather th…
A History of Children and Food
21st May, 2026
In this blog, authors Deborah Albon and Amy Palmer talk about the subject of their new book, First Helpings: A History of Children and Food. *** It is our conviction that food matters – it is vital to consider it when we write the social history of a…
Desmond Morris (1928 – 2026)
21st April, 2026
All of us at Reaktion Books are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Desmond Morris (1928 – 2026). Desmond Morris was an English zoologist, ethologist and surrealist painter, as well as a popular writer in human sociobiology. He wrote a number o…
What the AI bubble means in 2026
22nd January, 2026
In this blog, Jason Whittaker (author of You Want What We’ve Got) ponders the meaning of AI on the economy and society in 2026. *** When I began writing You Want What We’ve Got: Big Tech v. Big Journalism, ChatGPT had not even launched. Automated jou…
On Writing About the English Soul
17th December, 2025
In this blog, Peter Ackroyd reflects on his inspiration to write The English Soul. *** From my early years Christianity has in part created the landscape of my imagination, and so it is no accident that it pervades the both the novels and biographies…
Caravaggio and the Language of Dress
9th October, 2025
In this blog, author Elizabeth Currie talks about the subject of her new book, Street Style, Caravaggio, and his works in relation to the language of dress. *** Caravaggio’s appeal goes from strength to strength. He was the subject of a blockbuster e…
The Miraculous and the Monstrous
13th August, 2025
In the second of his two blogs, author of Miracula: Weird and Wonderful Stories of Ancient Greece and Rome, Paul Chrystal, takes you through the monstrous world of the ancients. *** Last time, I introduced you to Miracula – my new, unconventional boo…
Alexander the Great – What is History?
9th August, 2025
In this blog, author of Alexander the Great: Lives and Legacies, Stephen Harrison ponders what is the significance of a new book on Alexander, and how this one came to be. *** Sometime in the middle of the second century CE, Lucius Flavius Arrianus –…