The Wild Oats Project by Robin Rinaldi – digested read
John Crace reduces one woman’s sexual odyssey through San Francisco to an orgasmic 600 words
CIA self-help book: how to win friends and interrogate people
A new guide from some former intelligence agents promises to train you to elicit the truth from ‘targets’ such as ‘the plumber’ or your own children
The Village Effect by Susan Pinker review – the science of friendship
Being sociable can lengthen your life – but there’s a risk of making it into a self-improvement chore
Publishers to cease printing paleo cookbook and ‘anti-cancer’ diet book
Bubba Yum Yum paleo cookbook, co-authored by Pete Evans, will not make it to shops after health outcry and Belle Gibson’s The Whole Pantry is under review
Touch: The Science of Hand, Heart and Mind review – touch is a sense we shouldn’t underestimate
In this engrossing study, neurobiologist David J Linden explains why touch is so vital for the mental and physical health of humans
Belle Gibson’s book publisher never verified cancer survivor’s health claims
Penguin says it published The Whole Pantry ‘in good faith’ and never checked Gibson’s claims she cured her brain cancer through diet and lifestyle alone
Wellcome Trust 2015 Book Prize shortlist announced
GrrlScientist: The Wellcome Trust just announced the shortlist for their book prize. The shortlist, which celebrates the finest recent writing in health and medicine, includes two novels and four non-fiction books.
Girl in the Dark review – a powerful chronicle of a life without light
Anna Lyndsey’s sparkling biographical account of her strange and sudden illness steers clear of being a misery memoir
The woman who is allergic to light: ‘Walls were what I had to wear’
Ten years ago, Anna Lyndsey developed an extreme photosensitivity. At first, her skin would burn whenever she sat in front of a computer screen; soon, she was unable to leave a specially blacked-out room
Winners and How They Succeed by Alastair Campbell – digested read
John Crace reduces a high-achievers’ handbook by the former Labour party spin doctor to a triumphant 700 words