True stories

WHO OWNS HISTORY by Geoffrey Robertson, Penguin QC Geoffrey Robertson tackles one of the most controversial topics in history with an uncompromising stance – heritage antiquities stolen, plundered or confiscated in bygone eras should be returned to their cultural homes, unless their return would endanger them. The Elgin Marbles are a case in point. They have been on display at the British Museum since 1817 but, says Robertson, should be returned to Greece. The museum is also home to the Gweagal Shield – dropped when Cook shot at Aboriginals in Botany Bay in 1770.

CONFESSIONS OF A BOOKSELLER

by Shaun Bythell,

Allen & Unwin

Scottish bookseller Bythell’s

The Diary of a Bookseller was a surprise bestseller, soon to be a TV series. In this fascinating peek through his shop window we are taken on a history of The Book Shop – the biggest second-hand book store in Scotland – where he records the number of daily customers, till total and even the weather. The curmudgeonly author loves to learn, especially from collectors of antique books. “Most of what I know [about books] is imparted by customers, the very same whom my instinct is to discourage from talking!”

THE LOST PIANOS OF SIBERIA

by Sophy Roberts, Penguin With a history of exile, penal colonies and unmarked tombs, Siberia has a grim reputation. Yet, as Sophy Roberts discovers, in a country where people can endure the worst weather and hardship in the world, the tinkle of pianos has been a constant backdrop. She hunts down more than 50 Steinways in Siberia’s freezing landscape and peels back the stories of how these stately pianos came to be there. It’s a journey that traces back to Catherine the Great, who collected “new technologies”.