IAN SINCLAIR draws attention to the powerful role that literature plays in foreseeing the way humanity will deal with climate crisis
Crimea scene investigation
JOHN GREEN recommends a history of the Black Sea peninsula, situated at a crossroads between Europe and Asia

The Crimea - a History
Neil Kent, Hurst, £16.99
THIS fascinating history through the ages is essential reading for all those wishing to understand the background to the present conflict in Ukraine. In this ongoing war between Ukraine as a Nato proxy and Russia, the Crimea has played a key role.
It shapes the headlines much as it did some 160 years ago, when the Crimean War pitted Britain, France and Turkey against tsarist Russia. Yet few books have been published on the history of this peninsula. For many readers, Crimea seems as remote today as it was when colonised by the ancient Greeks.
More from this author

JOHN GREEN recommends an entertaining, if harsh and instructive, study of bullying, discipline and power dynamics in schools and at work

JOHN GREEN surveys the remarkable career of screenwriter Malcolm Hulke and the essential part played by his membership of the Communist Party

As climate change makes vast mineral deposits accessible, the island’s 56,000 residents face unprecedented pressure from Trump’s territorial ambitions while struggling to maintain their traditional way of life, writes JOHN GREEN

JOHN GREEN is dissatisfied with a book that fails to address the promotion of ignorance as a ruling-class strategy to maintain control