Island Royalty
A new biography of a Caribbean revolutionary
By Madison Smartt Bell Monday, January 13, 2025
The First and Last King of Haiti: The Rise and Fall of Henry Christophe by Marlene L. Daut
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 Age by 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 Union by 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
Mysterious Inheritance
A new biography of the founder of population genetics
By David Brown Tuesday, June 2, 2020
A Dominant Character: The Radical Science and Restless Politics of J. B. S. Haldaneby Samanth Subramanian
Words Preserved Against a Day of Fear
Remembering Joseph Brodsky
By Peter Filkins Tuesday, June 2, 2020
Western Sahara: A Fragile Peace
As an unofficial state, Western Sahara doesn’t really exist—and being tiny and well behaved, it is easy to ignore.
By Hannah Armstrong Tuesday, June 2, 2020
Five Sonnets
On Peeling Potatoes, Dandelions (III), Gross National Unhappiness, Face of the Bee, and Keep Me
By Henri Cole Tuesday, June 2, 2020
Two Prophets and an Angel
Looking back at one of Raphael’s most compelling studies, on the 500th anniversary of his death
By Ingrid D. Rowland Tuesday, June 2, 2020
War by Other Means
Subverting governments with lies is nothing new
By James Gibney Monday, March 2, 2020
Active Measures: The Secret History of Disinformation and Political Warfareby Thomas Rid
Image Was Everything
A new biography of the seminal pop artist of the 20th century
By Meryle Secrest Monday, March 2, 2020
Warholby Blake Gopnik
