Narcomania: How Britain Got Hooked on Drugs by Max Daly and Steve Sampson – review

The global drug economy is now an essential component in our modern banking system and cannot be debated honestly, write Max Daly and Steve Sampson

Some Remarks by Neal Stephenson – review

An interesting and entertaining collection of speeches, articles, interviews and short stories from the science-fiction novelist, writes PD Smith

The Lives of the Muses by Francine Prose – review

A fascinating book in which Prose shows the currents flowing between remarkable couples, dissecting the legends to reveal their messy human hearts, writes Victoria Segal

New Books Party: books received this week

GrrlScientist: This week, I tell you about three interesting books that arrived on my doorstep

Eyes Wide Open by Noreena Hertz – digested read

Trust nothing in life, except yourself (and this self-help book). John Crace reduces one economist's advice to 700 words

Expecting Better by Emily Oster – review

Does a glass of wine harm baby? Zoe Williams on why all the advice about pregnancy is wrong

The Novel Cure by Susan Elderkin and Ella Berthoud – review

Gavin Francis signs up for a course of bibliotherapy as a cure for emotional and physical pain

Eyes Wide Open by Noreena Hertz – review

A self-help book that practises what it preaches against still manages to deliver some practical life tips, says Steven Poole

The Wisdom of Psychopaths by Kevin Dutton – review

A book that goes beyond cliche to view the world through a psychopath's eyes, writes Victoria Segal

Life Lessons from… Bergson, Byron, Freud, Hobbes, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche – review

A series of books from Alain de Botton's School of Life project uses the ideas of six great thinkers as a path to self-improvement, writes Peter Conrad