Our top book picks this week: Trainspotting’s Begbie returns and a look into Africa’s changing fortunes

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Revolutionary Science in the Age of the Guillotine, and a look at the rise of Boko Haram from one of Nigeria’s most talented writers.

Continental Shift: A Journey into Africa’s Changing Fortunes

Kevin Bloom and Richard Poplak

Head of Zeus, April 7

Is Africa failing or succeeding? This reportage goes beyond the lazy assumptions about the continent to document to the rapid pace of change affecting all its residents.

Women in Music Who Have Changed Our Lives

Jeff Gordinier and Marc Weingarten, Icon,

April 7

From Nina Simone to Taylor Swift, this looks at the many female musicians who have rocked our world. It includes contributions from top writers such as Susan Choi and Daniel Walters.

No Need for Geniuses: Revolutionary Science in the Age of the Guillotine

Steve Jones,Little, Brown and Company, April 7

Paris was arguably the world capital of science in the 18th century. This looks at how its scholars founded modern chemistry, transformed farming and improved our knowledge of the stars.

Where the Trees Were

Inga Simpson,

Blackfriars,

April 28

A group of friends stumble across trees that have been marked by an Aboriginal tribe to identify sacred land. But tensions about who owns the grove crushes their hopes to protect it. But 17 years later, a chance arises to make amends.

Born on a Tuesday

Elnathan John,

Cassava Republic Press, April 1

Dantala is young boy who falls in with a gang of street boys in northern Nigeria. Forced to flee after setting fire to a building in his town, he is given shelter by an extremist. Behind the scenes look at the rise of Boko Haram from one of the country’s most gifted writers.

The Blade Artist

Irvine Welsh,

Jonathan Cape,

April 7

Francis Begbie is back. But the psychopathic, incendiary star of Trainspotting is now a painter, who lives a quiet life in an affluent California beach town. But Begbie is forced to return to Scotland for the funeral of a murdered son he never knew. Will be take bloody revenge, as everyone expects?