Yesterday
Ten of the best music books of 2023
From a biography of Aboriginal band No Fixed Address to the last word on Barbra Streisand, this year’s crop of music-themed books has something for everybody.
- Michael Bailey
This Month
The first Australian writer to make politics and sex sing
Frank Moorhouse was one of Australia’s most adventurous and productive authors. A new biography explains his rise.
- Andrew Clark
Looking for a good book? Try these 10 chosen by foreign policy experts
Writers at Foreign Policy pick a selection of non-fiction titles, from AI’s hype and fear to one of the biggest financial scandals in world history.
- Foreign Policy
The year’s top 20 reads as chosen by the newsroom team
From cookbooks and design tomes to literary page-turners to savour, with subjects that include living longer, garden design and a fallen crypto king.
- Staff writers
The eclectic houses of Australian suburbia
A new book showcases the range of architectural styles celebrated in the popular Instagram account, with many reflecting the playful character of Australia.
- Updated
- Isabella Steger
November
I helped make Succession, so I enjoyed this book about TV and greed
As the power in Hollywood has moved from film to the small screen, so has the much-mythologised alpha male auteur.
- Jesse Armstrong
Hasta la vista, losers! Arnold Schwarzenegger’s unlikely life lessons
In his surprising fourth act, the former movie star is a self-help guru who trades in the toughest of tough love.
- Will Lloyd
- Analysis
- USA
Two beautiful women. The same shameful story
The exploitation of actress Brooke Shields and singer Britney Spears when they were young is a stain on the entertainment industry.
- Myriam Robin
October
Why women should never get married – ever
A new book by Australian feminist Clementine Ford aims to stop females entering into an institution that does them harm.
- Theo Chapman
Inside a brand that became a unicorn in just five years
A new book looks at the bumpy career of Emily Weiss, the enigmatic founder of Glossier.
- Lauren Sams
- Opinion
- Cryptocurrencies
A TV actor wrote the crypto book Michael Lewis should have
When Ben McKenzie of The OC saw other celebrities cashing in on the digital coin craze, he got angry, righteous, and decided to correct the record.
- Myriam Robin
- Opinion
- Opinion
Did Michael Lewis get sucked in by Sam Bankman-Fried?
The bestselling financial author met the cryptocurrency boss at the apex of his wealth and influence. The pair may have become far too close.
- James Ledbetter
September
- Opinion
- Review
The new Musk bio is more love letter than personal history
The entrepreneur’s much-anticipated biography has interesting anecdotes but is too uncritical of its flawed subject.
- Mark Di Stefano
May
This author’s bestselling book shows you how to continue after failure
“Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow” writer Gabrielle Zevin talks about the never-ending cycle of hopes and broken dreams in a creative life.
- Lucy Dean
March
How Australia helped save Solomon Islands from itself
An important new book explains how Australian soldiers, police officers and diplomats staunched a cycle of bloodshed and rebuilt a shattered state.
- James Curran
December 2022
- Opinion
- Investing
These books will restore financial common sense in 2023
You might have gone into last year with a touch of crypto FOMO, a feeling that you must read “Bitcoin Billionaires” and so on. By now, you probably don’t.
- Merryn Somerset Webb
- Opinion
- Opinion
The best nonfiction books of 2022 that will make you think
This year’s most thought-provoking tomes include Tyler Cowen and Daniel Gross’ “How to Identify Energisers, Creators, and Winners Around the World”.
- Stephen Carter
The best nine music books of the year
The Australian Financial Review’s pick of the year’s books about music and musicians.
- Michael Bailey
Why the US is addicted to greatness and haunted by its loss
If the US is to craft a new political culture less obsessed with grandeur and more in touch with reality, it must start with the young.
- Adam Tooze
The 16 best books of 2022 – and designer coffee tables to put them on
Five categories, from fiction to brain food, covering books to give as gifts or to read yourself – or both.
- Luke Slattery
