EVERYDAY THOUGHTS by Peter Mullen (£10 plus £2 p&p from The Administrator, St Michael's Foundation, The Watch House, 10 Giltspur Lane, London EC1A 9DE):

THE new Pope may have to tone down his Rottweiler tendencies, but there's no restraining The Northern Echo columnist, the Rev Peter Mullen, who is as uncompromising as ever in his latest book. His collection of thoughts for every day is a full-blooded and forthright statement of faith in the Christian Faith and a savage put-down for the ungodly, the unthinking and the do-gooders. Like a dog with a bone, he likes to get right to the meat of the matter and bares his teeth to good effect on subjects such as hunting, abortion, the Holocaust, scientific progress and the Government's "moral responsibility". His zero tolerance attitude is bound to raise more than a few hackles, but if it also makes the country's "silent" majority find its voice, then Mullen will be happy.

THE ELEMENTS OF MURDER by John Emsley (Oxford University Press, £18.99)

POISONS and poisoners have always been with us, but John Emsley's history of poison in all its shapes and forms shows how the use of chemicals to harm and murder one another has long been a human trademark. Poisons were around in the times of the Romans and Greeks and were employed by the Nazis and Saddam Hussein, and Emsley highlights how elements such as arsenic, antimony, lead, mercury and thallium have not only been used to commit murder, but also to cover up a crime. It is a good job Emsley is not of a criminal persuasion for he knows his poisons inside out, including the part they have played in such environmental catastrophes as the Minamata Bay Disaster in Japan. A fascinating, if fearsome, read.

PSYCHIC POWER OF CHILDREN by Cassandra Eason (Foulsham, £8.99)

CHILDREN are often said to possess a sixth sense which either diminishes or disappears as they approach adulthood and which manifests itself through experiences such as poltergeists, premonitions and astral projections. While it is easy to be sceptical about such things, Cassandra Eason has investigated the whole subject in depth over a number of years and her book is packed with instances verified by down-to-earth, rational witnesses. Eason admits she cannot fully explain the psychic abilities of children, but she does shed fresh light on an area of the paranormal once thought too weird to believe in.

THE BOY WITH NO SHOES: A MEMOIR by William Horwood (Review, £6.99)

WRITER William Horwood graphically brings to life his boyhood in a south coast town after the Second World War in a book that is bound to bring more than one tear to the eye. Abused by his mother, bullied by his siblings and at school, Jimmy Rova (Horwood's alter-ego) is offered a lifeline when his grandmother arrives from Africa, and his climb from desolation and despair to a new life is a true story of deliverance from the heart of darkness.

THE LION AND THE TIGER by Dennis Judd (Oxford University Press, £8.99)

A CONCISE but wide-ranging appreciation of the ever-changing relationship between Britain and India, dating from the days when Elizabethan adventurers were barely tolerated by the Mughals to the era when the Raj ruled supreme across the subcontinent. India was first wooed, then ruled before the British bowed to Indian calls for independence, but the Lion and the Tiger often formed a mutual admiration society based on tolerance and respect for each other's cultures. The Raj was unique - Judd tells you why.

The Oxford Companion to Twentieth Century British Politics, ed by John Ramsden (Oxford University Press, £17.99)

IF you've managed to survive your post-election hangover and still retain the slightest interest in politics, then you'll relish this companion. It is lively, informative and easily accessible, as its A-Z format allows you to gen up on people, policies and events in seconds. A week may be a long time in politics, but it would fly by with this companion.

Published: 07/06/2005