
LITERARY REVIEW —- FEBRUARY 2026



APOLLO MAGAZINE: The latest issue features ‘Miquel Barceló’s Mutant Art’….
While the architect’s approach to restoring France’s medieval buildings remains controversial, his many and varied talents are still utterly awe-inspiring by Tim Smith-Laing

THE GUARDIAN WEEKLY: The latest issue features ‘Showdown’ – Minneapolis, Ice and A Moment of Truth.
Is the worm turning against Trump? Last week saw a concerted pushback against the US president by western allies over Greenland. This week, it is on the domestic front where the Trump administration seems to be buckling – this time under intense criticism after the killing of another American citizen by federal agents in Minneapolis.
The massive winter storm that swept across North America last weekend could not obscure from the nation video footage of an ICE agent shooting dead Alex Pretti, an intensive care nurse and father of three who was seemingly rushing to protect a woman as she was pepper-sprayed by Border Patrol personnel.
As our Washington bureau chief David Smith writes in this week’s big story, the events were seen by many as clear evidence of fascistic overreach and a potential moment of reckoning for Trump in the US. A wave of condemnation from politicians across the political spectrum led to a swift softening of tone from the White House, though not before leading administration figures had wrongly tried to pin the blame on the victim.
From Minneapolis, Rachel Leingang reports on the sense of shock and fury in the city, while in a stark commentary, Francine Prose voices her fears that the US may be on the brink of an authoritarian takeover.
Spotlight | Are Trump’s tantrums pushing America’s allies closer to China?
After a week of diplomatic turmoil, some western nations are turning to a country that many in Washington see as an existential threat. Amy Hawkins reports
Science | Fly me to the moon, again
Nasa is readying its most powerful Artemis II rocket for a new, 1.1 million km lunar circumnavigation flight – and lift-off could come as soon as next week. Science editor Ian Sample sets the scene
Feature | Secrets of the superagers
Why do some people age better than others? Five extraordinary individuals – who scientists are studying – share their tips with Isabelle Aron
Opinion | It’s now clear. Labour needs a new leader – and quickly
UK prime minister Keir Starmer’s dismal decision to block likely leadership challenger Andy Burnham from standing in a byelection has bought him time, but it won’t change his fate, says Polly Toynbee
Culture | Has Netflix killed our attention spans?
Matt Damon has got it right, argues Stuart Heritage: the streaming giant knows we all just watch TV with one hand gripping our smartphones, which is why we need plotlines explaining to us over and over again

LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS: The latest issue features ‘Visions of America’
Iran’s Grand Strategy: A Political History by Vali Nasr.

Doctor, writer, musician, and orator: Rudolph Fisher was a scientist and an artist whose métier was Harlem By Harriet A. Washington
The music of Jimi Hendrix continues to strike a chord By James McManus
When a filmmaker wanted to understand the war that changed his father, he decided to make a documentary By Thomas A. Bass
Two deaths nearly five decades apart and the hospital that felt like a nightmare By Natalie Angier

HISTORY TODAY MAGAZINE: The latest issue features ‘Life and Death in the Thirty Years War’ – Refugees in the Thirty Years War, the Trojan myths of medieval Wales, Russia in the 1990s, the godless students of London University, brothels of the British Empire, and more.
The Thirty Years War devastated continental Europe, killing millions and creating as many refugees. How did they experience the conflict?
From 1517, when Luther’s 95 Theses sparked schism and bloodshed, the Protestant Reformation divided Europe. Can we say when – or if – the conflict concluded?
Demosthenes: Democracy’s Defender by James Romm looks for hope amid the sound and fury surrounding the great orator of ancient Athens.

President Trump’s decision to support Delcy Rodríguez as Venezuela’s new leader makes clear that oil, not democracy, is his main concern.
The US capture of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro reinforces the Trump administration’s capacity to invent any pretext to justify the use of armed force.
A new life of Gertrude Stein treats her as a philosopher of language to trust, not explain—and gathers force from archival discoveries and intriguing plots of her reception and reputation.
Gertrude Stein: An Afterlife by Francesca Wade
The difficulty of amending the Constitution does not mean that it is a flawed and outdated relic of a distant past.
We the People: A History of the US Constitution by Jill Lepore

TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT: The latest issue features ‘The state of British poetry’ by Tristram Fane Saunders…
The forward march of British poetry
A history of childbirth and a defence of the C-section
By Leah Hazard
Newly discovered photographs of Baudelaire’s muse
The thrill of marine archaeology
By Alan Jenkins

The dystopian nightmare of 2026 continued apace this week with Donald Trump seemingly hell-bent on taking over Greenland, either by purchase or military force if necessary, while potentially collapsing the entire western security alliance in the process.
Updates were delivered by the US president to European leaders in a trademark stream of social media insults and invective. As ever with Trump, it’s hard to tell if it all should be read as maximalist positioning ahead of a negotiation, or a genuine precursor to a military attack. But as Patrick Wintour and Jennifer Rankin write in this week’s Big Story, the damage among fellow Nato members already looks to have been done.
Melting sea ice has much to do with Greenland’s increasing strategic desirability. With the help of some great graphics, visuals editor Ashley Kirk explains what’s changing in the Arctic and who lays claim to what.
Spotlight | The man who trusted Trump – and paid with his life
Many Iranian protesters believed a US president would – for the first time – rescue them, but now people can only despair after mass arrests and brutality. Deepa Parent and William Christou report
Environment | Where have all Thailand’s dugongs gone?
The Andaman coast was one of few places in the world with a viable population of the marine mammals, but then dead ones began washing up. Now half have gone. Gloria Dickie reports from Phuket
Feature | Cuba edges closer to collapse
Disillusioned with the revolution after 68 years of US sanctions and a shattered economy, one in four Cubans have left in recent years. Can the regime, and country, survive? By Andrei Netto in Havana
Opinion | Take a lesson from the past, and light the way forward
As Martin Kettle writes his last regular column for the Guardian, his thoughts turn to the examples and hope we can take from history
Culture | Michael Sheen on launching Welsh National Theatre
As the newly founded national company’s first show comes to the stage, the proudly Welsh actor tells Kate Wyver about his plan to bring big productions back to his homeland

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE: The latest issue features ‘Can Science Build a Better Beer?’ – How breakthroughs in the lab could upend a global industry…
On a Bahamian island, in a landlocked lagoon, the planet’s densest collection of seahorses is offering scientists new insights into the secret lives of one of the world’s most mysterious fish.