There are people who deny that the Holocaust happened; there are people who say that if it happened, nobody high up planned it; there are people who say it might have happened but it wasn't really that bad. Underlying all of this is a barely-disguised foundation of racism.

This is the book that David Irving sued over and lost. Revisionism is a legitimate scholarly practice, where history is re-examined in the light of new evidence or theories. Holocaust revisionism, however, consists almost exclusively of denial. Dr Lipstadt calls these deniers for the liars and frauds that they are.

It is easy to forget that racism and bigotry are more than just ideas and can have terrible consequences. Here is the story of just one among the millions of victims.

The book that helped to win a battle! Edited by Lisa Appignanesi, the PEN/Penguin book with thought-provoking essays by Salman Rushdie, Hanif Kureishi, Monica Ali, Hari Kunzru, Howard Jacobson, Helena Kennedy and many more was published on December 1 2005.

Gould has been criticised for being a bit cruel and nasty (and even a bit inaccurate) in his criticisms of people who didn't know the things we know today, but it is a useful book to show how science can change as more is learned about something. There is no doubt that science is influenced by the culture of the time, but the difference between science and non-science or pseudoscience is that the real thing can break away from culture when the facts demand it.

You just know that the author of this book is hitting the target right in the middle when you see that an Islamist web site referred to him by using the words: "May Allah rip out his spine from his back and split his brains in two, and then put them both back, and then do it over and over again. Amen". Apparently the writer of that comment was upset about Spencer's view that Islam is not all about peace and light.

An excellent introduction to the world of conspiracy thinking, with some history to show why people can believe almost anything if it fits their belief systems, prejudices, ideology or agenda.

I am continually amazed by the sorts of things that people can believe without any evidence to support the belief, and often in spite of comprehensive evidence against the belief. Faith is a wonderful thing, but it can't make facts disappear.