Our top six books this week: how Steve Jobs transformed Apple into a global tech giant and more

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  Introducing the Ancient Greeks by Edith Hall. They gave us democracy, philosophy and the joke. But who were the ancient Greeks? This well-­researched introduction to a rich civilisation reveals an inquisitive, articulate and rebellious people, defined by their relationship with the sea. (Bodley Head, April 2)

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  Interesting by Steve Davis. Long called boring, Davis turned snooker from a shady sport into a national obsession. This memoir looks at the sport’s golden era in the 1980s, when tens of millions watched on TV, the intrigue behind the scenes and what it takes to become a winner. (Ebury, April 9)

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  In the Night of Time by Antonio Munoz Molina. Spanish architect Ignacio Abel arrives at Penn Station from war-torn Madrid. He has left behind his wife and children, abandoning them to uncertainty. A rich portrait of Spain in 1936, being torn apart by a civil war that’s leaving cities and families divided. Translated by Edith Grossman. (Tuskar Rock, April 2)

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  The Valley by John Renehan. A desk-bound officer is sent to a remote and eerie outpost in Afghanistan to investigate alleged misconduct among US troops. Black soon learns he will be lucky to get out alive. The author is a former US Army captain who based the book on his own experiences. (Head of Zeus, April 9)

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  Orient by Christopher Bollen. A strange twisted creature washes ashore. A human corpse is found in the water. And an elderly woman dies in bizarre circumstances. These terrible events coincide with the ­arrival of a stranger in a sleepy Long Island town. Who is Mills Chevern and why is he here? (Simon & Schuster, April 9)

Here are top picks for books to read this week.