Asperger’s Children by Edith Sheffer review – the origins of autism in Nazi Vienna

In popular legend, Asperger was an Oskar Schindler figure who shielded his charges from euthanasia. The truth is more uncomfortable

Like trees in a forest, humans share a root system

The poet and philosopher Mark Nepo says that however divided we seem right now, we’re far more connected than we think. To be the best we can be, we have to meet the outer world with our inner world

In Brief: Notes on a Nervous Planet; We Begin Our Ascent; The Bedlam Stacks – reviews

Matt Haig extends his hard-won mental health wisdom to an anxious world, Joe Mungo Reed crafts a convincing cycling novel, and Natasha Pulley pulls of a fine steampunk adventure

Best summer books 2018, as picked by writers – part one

Surrealist artists, dogged detectives, modern lovers and spies behaving badly ... leading authors pick their best books to enjoy these holidays

The Incurable Romantic by Frank Tallis review – stuck in the crazy stage of love

A psychologist tells numerous and eye-opening stories of love sickness, rampant sex and obsessions with inappropriate partners

Notes on a Nervous Planet by Matt Haig – how to survive the 21st century

This follow-up to Reasons to Stay Alive is not a smug self-help book, but an honest and human guide to coping with the modern worldo

Jen Sincero says she can make you a badass – has it worked for her millions of readers?

The self-help guru’s book You Are a Badass is a bestseller in the US and making waves in the UK. But can her brand of straight-talking positive thinking really help you escape your ‘sucky life’?

Michael Pollan: ‘I was a very reluctant psychonaut’

The bestselling author and activist has been exploring the use of psychedelic drugs in medical research for his book How to Change Your Mind. And yes, he had to try them for himself

Dean Burnett: ‘Happiness shouldn’t be the default state in the human brain’

The neuroscientist and author of The Idiot Brain on the difficulty of trying to explain happiness and what he learned from Charlotte Church

Natural Causes by Barbara Ehrenreich review – wise words on real wellness

The author and activist’s sharp critique of what she calls an ‘epidemic of overdiagnosis’ is a joyous celebration of life