The Ballad in the Street
Listening for the muffled strains of a national culture
By Alan Trachtenberg Friday, December 1, 2006
The Edgy Optimist
At 76, saxist Sonny Rollins is still on top of his game
By Gene Santoro Friday, December 1, 2006
When Maestros Were Maestros
Innovator, mentor, tyrant, Leopold Stokowski brought real joy to music making
By Janet Frank Friday, December 1, 2006
The Historical Present
Robert Fagle’s bold solutions to the problem of Virgil
By A. E. Stallings Friday, December 1, 2006
The Aeneid By Virgil, translated by Robert Fagles
Pleasure out of Desperation
Thomas Eakins, yearning for the ideal in a materialistic age
By Brenda Wineapple Friday, December 1, 2006
Portrait: The Life of Thomas Eakins By William S. McFeely
The Weight of a Stone
Searching for stability in an erratic world led Oliver Sacks and other writers to the realms of geology
By Megan Craig Thursday, January 2, 2025
Verde
Learning a foreign language isn’t just about improving cognitive function—it can teach us to sense the world anew
By Jesse Lee Kercheval Thursday, December 12, 2024
Aging Out
Many of us do not go gentle into that good night
By Anne Matthews Thursday, December 5, 2024
Golden Years: How Americans Invented and Reinvented Old Ageby James Chappel
Under a Spell Everlasting
Thomas Mann’s Magic Mountain, published a century ago, tells of a world unable to free itself from the cataclysm of war
By Samantha Rose Hill Monday, December 2, 2024
Divided Providence
Faith’s pivotal role in the outcome of the Civil War
By Robert Wilson Monday, December 2, 2024
Righteous Strife: How Warring Religious Nationalists Forged Lincoln’s Unionby Richard Carwardine
The Fair Fields 
Only rarely did the outside world intrude on an idyllic Connecticut childhood, but in the tumultuous 1960s, that intrusion included an encounter with evil
By Rosanna Warren Monday, December 2, 2024
Ideology as Anatomy
How shifting ideas about women’s bodies have affected their lives
By Sierra Bellows Monday, December 2, 2024
Immaculate Forms: A History of the Female Body in Four Partsby Helen King
In the Mushroom
True foraging isn’t the domain of the weekend warrior; it’s serious, serious business
By Michael Autrey Monday, December 2, 2024
