Because Cowards Get Cancer Too . . . , by John Diamond. Vermillion, £6.99 in UK

Cancer is the story of Everyman, although this book is exclusively the story of John Diamond who was diagnosed with cancer of the tongue two years ago. His book is a rare report from the frontiers of terminal illness, where one is balancing between life and mortality and still managing to send back messages to the rest of us - as he has been doing in recent months in his popular column in the London Times. Diamond tells the brutally honest story of the progression of his illness in a moving, even funny way. This paperback version has a new updated chapter. The operations have not been successful. John Diamond is dying, much faster than most people. He does not think he is brave, but readers of this brave and important book will think otherwise.