The Art of Losing
The end of the war in Afghanistan shows the danger of our commitment to perpetual optimism
By Elizabeth D. Samet Tuesday, November 30, 2021
The Capital of Self-Reliance
How a backwater became a philosophical powerhouse
By Anne Matthews Monday, November 29, 2021
The Transcendentalists and Their World by Robert A. Gross
The Bird That Sang I Am
Poems about the place where we belong
By Christian Wiman Thursday, November 25, 2021
Touché-ing the Void
How can we live only to die?
By John Kaag Monday, November 22, 2021
The Sweet Spot: The Pleasures of Suffering and the Search for Meaning by Paul Bloom
Her Pages Caught Fire
A new biography of a ferociously talented and determined writer
By Rosanna Warren Thursday, November 11, 2021
A Splendid Intelligence: The Life of Elizabeth Hardwick by Cathy Curtis
Dark White
The caste status of Arabs in the United States and Germany
By Rosalie Metro Thursday, November 4, 2021
Creative Destruction
The spiritual quest of the alchemist
By Jennifer Sinor Monday, October 25, 2021
A Prophet and a President
Why Black biography matters
By David Levering Lewis Thursday, October 21, 2021
The Writer in the Family
The fiction of E. L. Doctorow gave a young man hope of connecting his father and his literary hero
By Jonathan Liebson Wednesday, January 8, 2025
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
