It is the 80th anniversary of the world war and a quarter of a century since the fall of the communist bloc.

And in between we talk about human evolution, energy and our tribulations.

This summer will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. With it came the capitulations, the winners and the vanquished. And a wonderful book, “Victoria 1945,” by historians James Holland and Al Murray, recalls it. Timothy Garton Ash, meanwhile, takes us to 1989 and the revolutions that led to the fall of the communist bloc on its quarter-century anniversary. It is curious, but among the striking novelties of this reading season that reaches its second quarter of the year there is a lot of primates.

Several essays on the evolution of our brains and our emotions, our mental illnesses, our tribulations. Even our stupidity. We want monkeys to explain why we are the way we are. For better and for worse. Also, Caitlin Moran brings an amusing essay on man.

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