Andrew Lynch

Memoir charting climb out of poverty avoids usual self-help tropes

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum: Dubai to all that

Until the controversy surrounding his 33-year-old daughter Latifa broke, Sheikh Mohammed’s image in the West was a reasonably positive one

Another side of Wilde explored in a clear and comprehensive biography

Matthew Sturgis draws on a wealth of new material discovered over the last 30 years, including around 60 Wilde letters, an early notebook kept by him and the full transcript of his disastrous libel action against the repulsive Marquess of Queensberry

Profile Fortnite: The game-changer

Factfile Name: Fortnite Battle Royale Age: one year and four months Appearance: bright, colourful...

O’Toole gleefully gets stuck into Brexit with both fists

Politics: Heroic Failure: Brexit and the Politics of Pain, By Fintan O’Toole, Apollo, €16 Mic...

‘Chameleon’ Clapton has proved difficult to pin down

Music/biography: Slowhand: The Life and Music of Eric Clapton, By Philip Norman, Weidenfeld &...

A genius answers your biggest questions, mostly with simplicity

Based around ten questions Stephen Hawking was commonly asked by politicians, journalists and fellow academics, the book mostly uses science as a mere jumping-off point to discuss the future of humanity as well

Profile Noel Edmonds: No deal in the jungle

Factfile Name: Noel Edmonds Age: 69 Appearance: short, bouffant hair, trim beard, often wears ter...

The former First Lady shares recollections of life in the White House

Memoir: Becoming, By Michelle Obama, Viking, €30 Never judge a book by its photo captions. Anyo...

Tóibín’s fascinating study writes literary fathers into their sons’ stories

Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know is based on a series of lectures that Tóibín delivered in honour of the late biographer Richard Ellmann at Emory University in Georgia last year

Second volume of de Valera biography looks at political years

While the first volume, Rise, was chiefly about Dev the revolutionary, Rule focuses on Dev the politician

Striking an attitude: Portrayal of workplace strife still rings true

In theory, almost two hours of constant arguing over industrial relations does not sound like an enticing prospect. In practice it works extremely well

Ballagh’s self-portrait is perceptive, provocative and sometimes chaotic

Memoir: A Reluctant Memoir, By Robert Ballagh, Head of Zeus, €30 How did Robert Ballagh become ...

Rigorous and compelling study of Henry VIII’s chief henchman

Diarmaid MacCulloch does not deny his subject’s ruthless side, but insists that it must be put in historical context

New take on Poirot feels like a pale imitation

FICTION: The Mystery of Three Quarters, By Sophie Hannah, Harper Collins, €17.25 Agatha Christi...