Five Books Newsletter 31

This week's interview

http://www.fivebooks.com/interviews/free-will-and-responsibility-on-paul-russell http://www.fivebooks.com/interviews/free-will-and-responsibility-on-paul-russell

Paul Russell on Free Will and Responsibility

Many philosophical theories try to evade the uncomfortable truth that luck and fate play a role in the conduct of our moral lives, argues philosopher Paul Russell. He chooses the best books on free will and responsibility.

Books of the Week

http://fivebooks.com/recommended/uncle-albert-and-quantum-quest-by-russell-stannard“There is a character loosely based on Albert Einstein and a child character, his niece, who asks a lot of questions.”

Alice Bell on Science Books for Children (http://fivebooks.com/interviews/alice-bell-on-science-books-children)

http://fivebooks.com/recommended/ali-and-nino-by-kurban-said“The book is full of humour and very easy to read. It’s a real adventure full of heroism and love.”

Nigar Hasan-Zadeh on Azerbaijan (http://fivebooks.com/interviews/nigar-hasan-zadeh-on-azerbaijan)

http://fivebooks.com/recommended/tales-ovid-by-ted-hughes“Hughes’s voice and his poetic ear are just so wonderful. I remember reading the whole lot of them out loud to myself and thinking 'Wow! This is how they were meant to be heard!'”

Lucy Coats on Greek Myths (http://fivebooks.com/interviews/lucy-coats-on-greek-myths)

http://fivebooks.com/recommended/mandela-by-anthony-sampson“The way children feel has become more important than what they learn.”

John Carlin on Understanding Mandela and South Africa (http://fivebooks.com/interviews/john-carlin-on-understanding-mandela-and-south-africa)

http://fivebooks.com/recommended/golem-by-gustav-meyrink“Meyrink's novel is just one version of the Golem story, there are dozens. But I like it best because Meyrink was a mystic.”

Andrei Codrescu on Fantastical Tales (http://fivebooks.com/interviews/andrei-codrescu-on-fantastic-and-magical-tales)

http://fivebooks.com/recommended/secret-chanel-no-5-by-tilar-mazzeo“This is a brilliant idea, to look at the 20th century through the prism of this one very special perfume.”

Denise Hamilton on Perfume (http://fivebooks.com/interviews/denise-hamilton-on-perfume)

http://fivebooks.com/recommended/economics-microfinance-by-beatriz-armendáriz-and-jonathan-morduch“This is the book I would love to have had when I was in those shanty towns in Managua.”

Stuart Rutherford on The poor and their money (http://fivebooks.com/interviews/stuart-rutherford-on-poor-and-their-money)

http://fivebooks.com/recommended/yacoubian-building-by-alaa-al-aswany“The Yacoubian Builiding is celebrated, possibly even notorious, for being such a bestseller.”

Humphrey Davies on Egyptian Writing (http://fivebooks.com/interviews/humphrey-davies-on-egyptian-writing)

Quote of the Week

"It was telling that the protests that marked Bin Laden’s death were incredibly small. He became more irrelevant over time. ”
Brent Landau on The Real Christmas Story (http://fivebooks.com/interviews/brent-landau-on-real-christmas-story)