Maxwell: The Final Verdict, by Tom Bower (Harpercollins, £6.99 in UK)

"The book the brothers tried to stop", proclaims the cover - and no wonder, for Bower has unearthed it all, in gruesome physical and revolting financial detail. It is written in a racy, sassy style - "The corpse was instantly recognisable", is the opening sentence - which belies the mind-boggling quantities of research which must have gone into its production; Bower wears his impressive mastery of capitalism at its, most complex very lightly indeed. There may never be a truly final verdict on Robert Maxwell, but a careful reading of this book will certainly answer most questions, for the moment.