Brilliant books for dad: perfect for Father's Day

‘Amazing: of all the books in all the world Mr Free Speech Zuckerberg wants to ban, it’s the one about him.’ – Marina Hyde

Careless People pulls back the curtain on one of the most powerful companies of our time: Facebook. A young diplomat from New Zealand, Sarah Wynn-Williams believed in the platform's potential to change the world for the better. But as she ascended the company’s ranks, she discovered a vastly different reality – one in equal parts absurd, maddening, and jaw-dropping. From wild schemes hatched on private jets to narrowly avoiding prison abroad, this memoir is both darkly funny and deeply unsettling. It isn't just a story about tech – it’s a warning about what happens when responsibility is outsourced and ambition goes unchecked.

A lively, no-holds-barred memoir from one of Britain’s most influential comic voices, this is as entertaining as you’d expect – and more revealing than you might anticipate. Ben Elton takes readers behind the scenes of landmark shows like Blackadder and The Young Ones, while reflecting on the creative risks, friendships and controversies that shaped his career. Packed with sharp humour and candid insight, it’s also a portrait of how comedy evolved over decades of cultural change. A must-read if you want to understand what makes great comedy – and the people behind it. Plus, of course, a ‘little bit of politics’.

From brutal schooldays to 80s anarchy, through The Young Ones and beyond, Berserker! is the one-of-a-kind, fascinating memoir from an icon of British comedy, Adrian Edmondson. His star-studded anecdotes and outrageous stories are set to a soundtrack of pop hits, transporting the reader through time and cranking up the nostalgia. But, as one would expect, these stories are also a guaranteed laugh as Ade traces his journey through life and comedy. 

After hitting rock bottom having suffered with depression for years, Christian Lewis made an impulsive decision to walk the entire coastline of the UK. Just a few days later he set off with a tent, walking boots and a tenner in his pocket. Finding Hildasay tells us some of this incredible story, including the brutal three months Christian Lewis spent on the uninhabited island of Hildasay in Scotland with no fresh water or food. It was there, where his route was most barren, that he discovered pride and respect for himself. This is not just a story of a remarkable journey, but one of depression, survival and the meaning of home. 

Ninety-seven-hour weeks, life and death decisions, a constant tsunami of bodily fluids, and the hospital parking meter earns more than you. The life of a junior doctor may not sound funny, but Adam Kay’s memoir certainly is. These true stories of life on the hospital ward were scribbled in his diaries after endless days, sleepless nights and missed weekends.

When David Harewood was twenty-three, his acting career began to take flight and he had what he now understands to be a psychotic breakdown. He was physically restrained by six police officers, sedated, then hospitalized and transferred to a locked ward. Only now, thirty years later, has he been able to process what he went through. In this powerful and provocative account of a life lived after psychosis, critically acclaimed actor, David Harewood, uncovers a devastating family history and investigates the very real impact of racism on Black mental health.

Presenter, commentator, (sometimes masked) singer, footballer, manager and campaigner, Kammy's action-packed career has made him a bona fide British hero. Kammy had a tough upbringing, faced racism on the terraces during his playing career and has, in recent years, dealt with a rare brain condition – apraxia – that has affected his speech and seen him say goodbye to Sky Sports. With entertaining stories of his playing career from Pompey to Leeds and beyond; his management at Bradford City and Stoke; his crazy travels around the world; of Soccer Saturday banter; presenting Ninja Warrior; and the incredible friendships he's made along the way, Kammy is an unforgettable ride from one of Britain's best-loved broadcasters.

An honest and moving memoir from one of English rugby’s most accomplished players, Beyond the Line looks past the trophies to the person behind the career. Ben Youngs writes with candour about sporting success, grief, burnout and the complicated role rugby has played in his life. Alongside the highs of elite competition, he explores the losses and struggles that shaped him off the pitch, making this more than a sports memoir – it’s a story about identity, healing and endurance. A compelling read for rugby fans and memoir readers alike.

Double world champion and Team GB heptathlete Katarina Johnson Thompson’s path to success has not been easy. Raised by a single mother, she recounts times when she struggled to keep up with other athletes – many of whom received more funding than her – but she persevered. Unbroken provides an intimate insight into the pressures she faced representing Britain at just sixteen, building a champion mindset through discipline, and navigating a complex relationship with mentor turned rival Jessica Ennis-Hill. This is an inspiring memoir that explores Katarina's path to recovery from multiple injuries and highlights the power of believing in yourself.

This inspiring read follows rugby league legend Rob Burrow on his career, his friendship with fellow Leeds Rhino Kevin Sinfield, and his battle with motor neurone disease. As a boy, Rob was told he was too small to play the sport. Even when he made his debut for Leeds, people wrote him off as a novelty. But Rob never stopped proving people wrong. And then in December 2019, Rob was diagnosed with motor neurone disease and given a couple of years to live. Far more than a sports memoir, Too Many Reasons to Live is a remarkable story of boundless courage and infinite kindness.

In the last forty years, only a handful of climbers have pushed themselves as far, ‘free soloing’ to the absolute limit of human capabilities. Half of them are dead. Although Alex Honnold’s exploits are probably a bit too extreme for most of us, the stories behind his incredible climbs are exciting, uplifting and truly awe-inspiring. Alone on the Wall is a book about the essential truth of being free to pursue your passions and the ability to maintain a singular focus, even in the face of mortal danger. This updated edition contains the account of Alex's El Capitan climb, which is the subject of the Oscar and BAFTA winning documentary, Free Solo.

A new standalone novel featuring Detective Jimmy Perez, last seen in Wild Fire, the final book in Ann Cleeves’ bestselling Shetland series. When a violent storm descends upon Orkney, the body of Archie Stout is left in its wake. An unusual murder weapon, a Neolithic stone bearing ancient inscriptions, is found discarded nearby. Detective Jimmy Perez, no stranger to the complexity of human nature and the darkness it can harbour, is soon on the scene. He counted Archie as a childhood friend, so this case is more personal than most. Here, in these ancient lands where history runs deep, Perez must discern the truth from legend before a desperate killer strikes again . . .

Roy Grace would never have believed that a murder investigation would take him into Buckingham Palace. Her Majesty, Queen Camilla, is aboard the Royal Train heading to a charity event in Sussex when disaster strikes – the train is derailed, and a trusted aide is killed by a sniper. Grace alone is not convinced The Queen was the intended target – but no-one else agrees. Fighting against the scepticism of his colleagues and the Palace itself, Grace pursues his own investigation. But when there is a second murder, the stakes rise even higher, and Grace is at risk of being embroiled in a very public catastrophe – and in mortal danger.

Among Friends begins in the polished world of old loyalties and inherited privilege, then coolly strips away its certainties, as a shocking act of violence brings long-held resentments and rivalries to the surface. Amos and Emerson have had an unbreakable friendship for over thirty years. Their wives are close. Their daughters grew up together. They're enjoying a wealthy middle age. But now their worlds have been shattered and each must choose whom and what they love most. Elegant, psychologically acute and edged with menace, it is the kind of social novel that leaves a bruise.

This is the long-awaited fourth installment of Adrian Tchaikovsky's Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning Children of Time series, and the epic journey has reached a darker, more dangerous frontier. When a long-lost terraformed world is rediscovered, what should be a refuge quickly reveals itself as something far more sinister. Scientist Alis awakens from a nightmare to a nightmare: her crew has vanished, leaving only a volatile captain and a watchful AI. As they descend to the planet’s surface, they uncover the catastrophic consequences of playing God. Vast in scope and rich with ideas, this is bold, thought-provoking science fiction at its most gripping.

In Signs, Music, Raymond Antrobus meditates on his journey to becoming a father and the impact of losing his dad almost a decade ago, as he prepares for the birth of his son and the hypotheticals of parenthood become real. 

Dr John Cooper Clarke, the esteemed 'People's Poet', presents his dynamic new collection, WHAT. His influential voice, affecting generations of poets and musicians, takes aim at subjects including James Brown, John F. Kennedy, Jesus Christ: nobody is safe from the punk rocker's acerbic pen – and that's just the first poem. Vivid and alive, with a sensitivity only a writer with a life as varied and extraordinary as Cooper Clarke's could summon, WHAT is an exceptional collection from one of our foremost satirists.

If you want to understand how human intelligence really works – and what that means for the future of AI – this is an essential guide. Drawing on cutting-edge cognitive science, Suri and McClelland explain how complex thought emerges from simple neural processes, linking the human brain to modern artificial intelligence. Clear, engaging and intellectually rich, the book demystifies how we think, decide and feel, while offering a grounded perspective on AI’s rapid evolution. You’ll come away with a deeper understanding of both your own mind and the technologies reshaping the world.

In Supremacy, award-winning journalist Parmy Olson takes readers deep into the battle between two of the world’s tech giants – Microsoft and Google – as they vie for dominance in the race to develop the most powerful artificial intelligence. We follow the founders of OpenAI and DeepMind as they navigate the ethical dilemmas, financial pressures, and the looming dangers of AI technology. What begins as a quest to solve humanity's greatest challenges soon morphs into a fierce competition, where the stakes are nothing less than the future of the world as we know it, raising critical questions about the role of technology in our lives. 

A cutting-edge new vision of biology that proposes to revise our concept of what life is – from Science Book Prize winner and former Nature editor Philip Ball. Today we can redesign and reconfigure living systems, tissues, and organisms. Some researchers believe that ultimately we will be able to regenerate limbs and organs, and perhaps even create new life forms that evolution has never imagined. Incorporating the latest research and insights, How Life Works is a sweeping journey into this new frontier of the nature of life, a realm that will reshape our understanding of life as we know it.

In Space Oddities, physicist Harry Cliff takes readers on a tour of a baffling universe, discovering odd phenomena that challenge established cosmic theories. Unexplained particle energies are appearing under Antarctic ice, unidentifiable forces are meddling with matter's building blocks, and stars are inexplicably speeding away. Cliff delves into these mind-bending puzzles, meeting scientists seeking answers and questioning if these are natural anomalies or signs of hidden worlds. Through wonder, clarity, and humour, Cliff paves a path to investigate evolving physics and cosmology.

In her enlightening book, Dr. Becky Smethurst explores the enigmatic phenomenon of black holes, which we orbit along with the Sun in the Milky Way center. From early cosmic observations and massive star collapse, to the famous black hole photographs and her research findings, Dr. Smethurst unravels mysteries. She explains why black holes aren't truly 'black', the dire consequence of 'spaghettification', their resemblance to sofa cushions rather than hoovers, and the future direction within the event horizon. The book reveals secrets of the universe, hidden in black holes.

What happens if the First World War breaks out while you’re at university? How does a young woman born without arms or legs make a living in Georgian London? What turns a rugby-obsessed teenager from a Welsh mining town into Richard Burton? In this witty history, award-winning writer and broadcaster Alice Loxton delves into Britain’s past, exploring the country through eighteen inspiring figures at the formative age of eighteen. 

Spanning continents and centuries, and celebrating unsung heroes and familiar names, Black History for Every Day of the Year is the new book from David Olusoga and his siblings, Yinka Olusoga and Kemi Olusoga. Each day of the year covers a different event in Black history, from the anti-slavery movement of the nineteenth century to the World Wars, the Harlem Renaissance and beyond. Richly presented with quotes, illustrations, pictures, and poems, this beautiful book will inspire and educate history lovers of all ages.

In his revisionist account of the origins of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, Robert Service explores the factors that led to the abolition of Tsarist rule in and the rise of communism in Russia. Exploring the period from the beginning of the First World War to Lenin’s death in 1924 through primary source material, Service argues that the seeds of revolution were planted not by the workers pushing for socialism, but by the Tsar’s unpopular decision to join the war against Germany in 1914. This compelling new book by one of the foremost experts on Russian history is a must-read.