Times Higher Education's Books of 2013

The year’s best reads for work and pleasure, chosen by scholars and senior figures in the sector. 
Alasdair Allan Minister for learning, science and Scotland’s languages, Scotland
For pleasure: King Leopold’s Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism (Pan) by Adam Hochschild. Pleasure is perhaps not the right word, but this is an eye-opening and sobering account of a forgotten piece of history – what happened in the Belgian Congo a hundred years ago to hundreds of thousands of Africans forced to labour in European rubber plantations. For work: Complete Norwegian: Teach Yourself (Hodder Education) by Margaretha Danbolt Simons. I have been meaning to do this for a long time, as I am a bit of a fan of Norway. I have not, in honesty, mastered much of the language, but I can now sing the Norwegian national anthem. Read more...