History
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Readers’ books of the year 2016The critics had their say, now it’s time for readers to pick their books of the year – from diaries to dictionaries and emperors to existentialists
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A World Gone Mad by Astrid Lindgren – war and the birth of Pippi LongstockingThese 1939-45 diaries from the Swedish children’s author, which feature roast reindeer and sorrow across Europe, are oddly cheering
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Stalin and the Scientists by Simon Ings review – a scientific state?In the USSR scientific research flourished, but disciplines such as genetics fell foul of political ideology
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Angela Merkel and the history book that helped inform her worldviewJürgen Osterhammel’s The Transformation of the World left its mark on the German chancellor, judging by her recent decisions
Man of Iron: Thomas Telford and the Building of Britain by Julian Glover review – the colossus of roads