Emmanuel Macron, the Resolutely Modern Philosopher King

At a time of spreading despondency about democracy and the future of liberal values, it is heartening to find a book that has a good news story to tell about both—so far. This ringside account of Emmanuel Macron's rise to win the French presidency and his early exercise of power by Sophie Pedder, The Economist's Paris bureau chief, is all the more encouraging for the portrait it paints of its subject. As well as a standard bearer for liberalism, Mr Macron emerges as an extremely adept political operator with a healthy streak of cynicism and ruthlessness, a hyper-active politician comfortable with the trappings of power. As the author writes at the end of her impressive combination of reportage and analysis, enriched with tête-à-tête interviews, all this makes the 40-year-old leader “a French president who matters more than most”.