Writer's reads: Peter Schwartzstein

Peter Shwartzstein recommends his favourite books in our latest Writer’s Reads. His latest book, The Heat and the Fury, is out now

Environmental journalist and author Peter Shwartzstein has spent years reporting from the frontlines of climate change. Shwartzstein’s latest book, The Heat and the Fury, delves into the complex relationship between climate and violence. Here he recommends his top reads from his library…

The Thirty Years War – CV Wedgwood (1938)

Written against the backdrop of the Nazis’ rise, when Wedgwood was in her mid-20s, this is a superb account of one of Europe’s most formative conflicts.

The Leopard – Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa (1958)

The first two-thirds make for a good but non- magnificent novel. The final third is some of the most devastating prose I’ve ever read.

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A Savage War for Peace – Alistair Horne (1977)

A classic journey through Algeria’s war of independence, which almost plunged France into civil war, and which draws from interviews with top French and FLN parties to the conflict.

The Emperor – Ryszard Kapuściński (1978)

Like most (perhaps all?) of the legendary Pole’s books, this one ought to be read with a bucket of salt. Too good to fact check, but gosh the details are great.

A Bright Shining Lie – Neil Sheehan (1988)

A great journalistic delve into a disastrous war, mostly told through the experiences of its deeply troubled protagonist.

Christ Stopped at Eboli – Carlo Levi (1945)

A beautifully written and loosely fictionalised memoir of the author’s exile in southern Italy under Mussolini.

Coming Into the Country – John McPhee (1976)

One of the 20th century’s journalistic masters at his very best. Replete with excellent details, such as early pioneering US army officers’ tendency to prohibit the use of thermometers through the long winters for fear of negative impacts on troop morale.