"Where's the Da Vinci Code?"

When I gave the list of books to the debate's moderator, Mercury editor Phil Andrews, he asked where the Da Vinci Code is on the list.

Point taken. There's little light reading. In fact, with a book about AIDS, one about climate change and one about apartheid, we seem to have covered off a good chunk of the world's problems.

The books were chosen by the panelists as books they think can change the world. And if they feel like a slog, the panelists assure us it's worth it.