Pages of pleasure

Hannah Beckerman selects the best non- fiction of 2020 to turbocharge your Christmas shopping…

SCIENCE AND NATURE A Life On Our Planet by David Attenborough

Ebury Press, £ 20

The nation’s favourite natural historian pens an impassioned and heartfelt polemic about the care we urgently need to take of our planet. Told chronologically through his life and career, Attenborough relates personal stories from his many international filming expeditions alongside his vision for future conservation.

Dear Life by Rachel Clarke

Abacus, £ 9.99

Rachel Clarke is a palliative care doctor, working with patients at the end of their life. Here she reflects on her career, arguing passionately that the treatment we give people when they know they are dying can make their final months some of the most fulfilling of their lives. It’s compassionate, heartfelt and deeply life- affirming.

COFFEE TABLE BOOKS Island Dreams by Gavin Francis

Canongate, £ 20

Francis explores islands across the globe in a book that combines travelogue with history, philosophy and the stories of great voyages. Beautifully illustrated, with dozens of maps, it is especially timely, enabling us to live out our travel fantasies during lockdown.

How Wildlife Photography Became Art

Natural History Museum, £ 35

This magnificent compendium brings together some of the very best photographs from over five decades of the Wildlife Photographer Of The Year exhibition, resulting in a spectacular visual history of our planet.

BIOGRAPHY AND MEMOIR A Promised Land by Barack Obama

Viking, £ 35

Sure to be the biggest biography of the year, the first volume of Obama’s presidential memoirs traces his route to The White House from the early days of his political activity in Iowa. He provides a compelling and inspirational account of his time in office in a memoir that is intimate and revealing, remarkable and profound.

My Life In Red And White by Arsene Wenger

W& N, £ 25

The former Arsenal manager shares the story of his incredible success. From his groundbreaking approach to training – changing attitudes towards diet and fitness across the sport – to his multiple Premier League titles, Wenger also shares the leadership techniques that have made him one of football’s most revolutionary figureheads.

The Ratline by Philippe Sands W& N, £ 20

Sands tells the story of a senior Nazi officer accountable for the death of thousands of Jews and

Poles, including the family of Sands’ grandfather. With all the tension of a thriller, and supported by meticulous research, Sands produces a gripping and unflinching story.

A Del Of A Life by David Jason

Century, £ 20

National treasure David

Jason reflects on his life and career – as Derek Trotter, Pip Larkin, Frost and more – in a new memoir that reveals what he’s learnt about love and friendship, success and failure, hope and ambition.

Tomorrow Will Be A Good Day:

My Autobiography by Captain Tom Moore Michael Joseph, £ 20

When Captain Tom Moore walked around his garden 100 times to raise money for the NHS, he became a national hero. Here, he tells the story of his long life with unfailing optimism and charm.

PUZZLE BOOKS The Archers Quizbook

W& N, £ 14.99

Fans of the longrunning radio drama will revel in this quiz book which tests listeners’ knowledge on all things Ambridge- related.

Funny You Should Ask... Your Questions Answered by the QI Elves Faber, £ 12.99

The QI Elves appear weekly on Zoe Ball’s Radio 2 Breakfast Show, answering random, quirky and sometimes outrageous questions from listeners.

COOKERY Nadiya Bakes by Nadiya Hussain

Michael Joseph, £ 22

The former winner of The Great British Bake Off presents her new cookery book, teeming with cakes, biscuits, breads, pies and savoury specials. There’s everything here from French onion and blue cheese tart to caramel crunch rocky road – all explained in easy- tofollow steps.

Cook, Eat, Repeat by Nigella Lawson Chatto & Windus, £ 26

Nigella is back with a cookbook that combines recipes with anecdotes and reflections. Written in her inimitable warm and conversational style, it’s an eclectic mix, with recipes for chicken, ribs, artichoke hearts and rhubarb, among others.

The Rangoon Sisters Cookbook by Amy and Emily Chung

Ebury Press, £ 20

Amy and Emily Chung are sisters, GPs and supper club hosts, drawing on their heritage to compile an accessible and utterly irresistible collection of 80 flavoursome Burmese recipes, including noodles, stir- fries, curries and stews.

Ottolenghi Flavour by Yotam Ottolenghi and Ixta Belfrage Ebury, £ 27

While the list of

Ottolenghi and

Belfrage’s essential 20 ingredients at the beginning of their new book might seem a little daunting, the results are worth it. There’s a reason this book is called Flavour – it’s because the recipes are packed with it. Ever inventive, they range from noodle salads and pastas to vegetable dishes that will show you cauliflower in a whole new light.