Heart of Semi-Darkness
A writer’s delectable quest for rare flavors
By Tim Carman Thursday, November 7, 2024
Masters of Horror and Magic
The German folklorists who helped build a nation
By Anne Matthews Friday, November 1, 2024
For Want of Touch
The astonishing breadth of our passions
By Diana Goetsch Thursday, September 26, 2024
Imperiled Planet
The ecological havoc we’ve wrought
By Priscilla Long Tuesday, September 3, 2024
The Burning Earth: A History by Sunil Amrith
Ground Truth
A story of dirt, dollars, and death
By Steve Yarbrough Tuesday, September 3, 2024
The Barn: The Secret History of a Murder in Mississippi by Wright Thompson
Insisting on the Positive
A popular historian’s philosophical musings
By Carlin Romano Tuesday, September 3, 2024
On Freedom by Timothy Snyder
A Stranger in the Seven Hills
A refugee’s experience in the Eternal City
By Ingrid D. Rowland Tuesday, September 3, 2024
Roman Year: A Memoir by André Aciman
Mortal Coils
We aren’t alone in facing the inevitable
By Sy Montgomery Tuesday, September 3, 2024
Playing Possum: How Animals Understand Death by Susana Monsó
Silent Partner
The union that may have made possible a writer’s late flourishing
By Robert Zaretsky Tuesday, September 3, 2024
A Wilder Shore: The Romantic Odyssey of Fanny and Robert Louis Stevenson by Camille Peri
Schmaltz of Significance
How the first talkie treated the myth of the melting pot
By Steven G. Kellman Tuesday, September 3, 2024
Only in America: Al Jolson and The Jazz Singer by Richard Bernstein
Admired and Abhorred
The German composer whose legacy continues to confound
By Steven G. Kellman Wednesday, September 23, 2020
Wagnerism: Art and Politics in the Shadow of MusicAlex Ross
Beneath the Powdered Wig
Reinterpreting the life of our trendiest Founding Father
By Nancy Isenberg Wednesday, September 23, 2020
Radical Hamilton: Economic Lessons From a Misunderstood Founder by Christian Parenti
Varieties of Experience
Culture rewires our brains and shapes how we think
By T. M. Luhrmann Wednesday, September 23, 2020
The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous by Joseph Henrichby Joseph Henrich
Bugging Out
The buzzing, crawling creatures we would be lost without
By Natalie Angier Thursday, September 17, 2020
The Butterfly Effect: Insects and the Making of the Modern Worldby Edward Melillo
Creeping Illiberalism
A bleak account of the West’s slide toward tyranny
By Charles Trueheart Monday, July 27, 2020
Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianismby Anne Applebaum
Beyond Classification
One writer’s journey into the labyrinth of political and bureaucratic obfuscation
By Michael Sherry Thursday, July 23, 2020
Baseless: My Search for Secrets in the Ruins of the Freedom of Information Actby Nicholson Baker
How We Came Together
America purchased its sense of itself at a high price
By Jill Leovy Tuesday, June 2, 2020
Union: The Struggle to Forge the Story of United States Nationhoodby Colin Woodard
A Lifelong Habit of Being
Exploring a fundamentally ambiguous attribute
By Elizabeth D. Samet Tuesday, June 2, 2020
Character: The History of a Cultural Obsessionby Marjorie Garber
Our Feathered Friends
They aren’t the intellectual lightweights we take them for
By Sy Montgomery Tuesday, June 2, 2020
The Bird Way: A New Look at How Birds Talk, Work, Play, Parent, and Thinkby Jennifer Ackerman
The People’s Gallery
A collection that is the brightest light in a city full of them