BOOKS can stretch generosity beyond its breaking point. You set out to buy a
book for someone and end up coveting it. It seems absurd to buy two copies of
the same book—expensive, too.
But there is a cure: buy paperbacks. A pair cost roughly the same as a
hardback, so you can afford to treat yourself and a friend. So what’s on offer
for November? One for bonfire night is Stephen Pyne’s Fire (British
Museum Press, £15.99), the compelling story of how fire has shaped human
history. Pyne is a bit of a specialist—his other books are Vestal…
