Kevin Nash takes a look at some newly published titles

The Cripps Version: The Life of Sir Stafford Cripps by Peter Clarke, Penguin Press £25

A towering figure in 20th-century British politics, Cripps - a fun-loving Christian teetotal vegetarian landowner and barrister - was credited with bringing the Soviet Union into the Second World War and getting Churchill (and later Attlee in the economic crisis of 1947) off the hook. Based on Cripps' diaries, letters and private papers, it is, in a way, a story straight from the horse's mouth.

The Nautical Chart by Arturo Perez-Reverte, Picador £16.99 (£12.99)

A salty tale of lost treasure, love and betrayal on the high seas. A romantic saga from a hard-bitten Spanish TV journalist who has been compared with Dumas and Conan Doyle.

Berlin: The Downfall 1945 by Antony Beevor, Viking £25 (£19.99)

Hitler was half-crazed in his bunker and Stalin prepared to sacrifice any number of men to seize Berlin before the Americans. A terrible account of moral chaos, pride, stupidity, fanaticism, revenge and savagery - yet also endurance, sacrifice and survival against all the odds.

The Stone Monkey by Jeffery Deaver, Hodder & Stoughton £14.99 (£11.99)

Our hero Lincoln Rhyme returns, with partner Amelia Sachs, to track down a cargo ship carrying two dozen illegal Chinese immigrants... as well as the notorious human smuggler and killer known as the Ghost. Psychological thriller with plenty of twists.