The Books Blog

We generally assume music is used for the good – but occasionally this is not so… Plus win a free copy of the No-Nonsense Guide to World Music.

Radio 5 Live: Vanessa Baird talks about what’s behind the panic as World Population hits 7 billion.

With tall tales of tanks and bold citizen arrests, activists celebrate the spirit of resistance at Metalworks.

The world’s population is about to hit seven billion - should we panic?

‘Writing a book is a lonely experience… Speaking about a book is much more enjoyable’

When I first embarked on writing a brief history of the world, my colleagues at the New Internationalist thought I was mad, says Chris Brazier.

‘An embrace from Silvio Berlusconi is generally best avoided, at any age. But one of the more dubious welcomes he extended earlier this year was to 20,000 or so migrants from Tunisia in an exodus following the Arab spring.’

The winner of the 2011 Caine Prize is Zimbabwean writer NoViolet Bulawayo for her story ‘Hitting Budapest’.

Read the stories for yourself and then find out what others think by following the Caine Prize blogathon. 

‘Terrorism has decreased over the past decade. What has increased, on the other hand, is the investment and activity of counterterrorism… The size and scope of this new apparatus is astonishing.’

The shortlist for the 2011 award has been announced and the stories are available online. Choose your favorite before the award on 11 July.