Snatch squad
Joanna Briscoe on The Story of V, a comprehensive investigation into the history, culture and power of female genitalia by Catherine Blackledge
Can a guru heal himself?
When M Scott Peck wrote The Road Less Travelled 25 years ago, he brought the self-help book into our lives and taught us that all our problems were solvable. The book has been a bestseller ever since - but how has Peck's own life matched up? Edward Marriott finds him on a winding road.
How I tamed the Toxic Bachelor
Dee O'Connell finds out how New York's biggest cad met his match - and his mate
His ‘n’ hers
David Adam on men, women and the 'extreme male brain' in Simon Baron-Cohen's The Essential Difference
The Virgin Travel Health Handbook by Michael Wright (Virgin Books, £14.99)
This opus could equally well be entitled How to Scare Yourself Witless Before Setting Off On Your Holidays.
When your child won’t stop screaming …
Do you: a) smack him; b) ignore him; c) seek government advice; d) consult a parenting book: More and more parents are trusting parenting gurus? Amelia Hill reports.
A history of unsatisfactory diagnoses
Nicholas Lezard finds Roy Porter's Madness a fascinating and useful assessment of the causes and treatment of mental illness
‘Mummy was the light of my life’
But Daddy was chilly and remote. Oliver James discovers what made Penelope Leach such a powerful advocate of 'child-centred' parenting.
What the doctor ordered
Is it really possible to pig out on bacon and fried eggs and still look like Catherine Zeta-Jones? William Leith meets Robert Atkins, the world's most successful diet doctor.