The world was shocked when the plane carrying the UN Secretary General was shot down over Congo in 1961. Awarded the Nobel peace prize in the same year, Dag Hammarskjold's death robbed the world of a dedicated peacemaker. Hammarskjold is also remembered as a christian mystic. A book of his reflections, taken from his journal, was published postumously as Markings which is recommended to Labour supporters by Keith Vaz MP.

Keith Vaz  was first elected to parliament in 1987 and held a number of ministerial posts between 1997 and 2001. He currently chairs the home affairs select committee in the house of commons.

Claude Moraes MEP offers a fiction and a non fiction choice. For non fiction he travels to India with Edward Luce's In Spite of the Gods - The Strange Rise of Modern India and returns to Scotland for his fiction choice, Lewis Grassic Gibbon's classic Sunset Song.

Claude has represented London in the European parliament since 1999 and headed the Labour list in the capital in the 2004 elections. Born in India, Claude grew up in Scotland where he began his legal studies. Before entering the parliament, Claude had been the director of JCWI, an independent body working on  immigration, refugee and free movement issues.

Join the discussion of In Spite of the Gods.

Join the disussion of Sunset Song.

A history which avoids stereo-types and bogus national narratives, is MEP Richard Corbett's verdict on The Isles by Norman Davies, his recommendation to Roses Are Read. The book puts the "history of the British/Irish archipelago in a European context".

Richard is deputy leader of Labour's MEPs and worked for the socialist group in the parliament before his election in 1996. He leads for the socialist group on constitutional affairs, dealing with issues like the Lisbon treaty.

Scottish MEP Catherine Stilher was so moved by The Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng that she had to thank him personally.
"It is not often that I get in touch with an author to thank them." This is the first novel by Tan Twan Eng which is set during the Japanese occupation of Malaysia. "I felt that this book brought home to me the personal struggles people face during a time of conflict," said Catherine.
Catherine Stihler was the youngest British member of the European parliament at her election in 1999, and is currently labour spokesperson on both regional development and fisheries.

Join the discussion of The Gift of Rain here.