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
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
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
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
The Brahmin and His Imaginary Friend
How a classic paean to the honest virtues of a Maine fisherman obscured several ugly truths
By Janna Malamud Smith Monday, December 2, 2024
Granaries of Language
Dictionaries are far more than alphabetized collections of words
By Ilan Stavans Monday, December 2, 2024
Reborn in the City of Light
At a time when Paris was an incubator of modernism, a group of bold American women arrived to make art out of their lives
By Rosanna Warren Thursday, October 24, 2024
Thoreau’s Pencils
How might a newly discovered
connection to slavery change
our understanding of an abolitionist
hero and his writing?
By Augustine Sedgewick Thursday, October 17, 2024
Meeting the Mystics
My California encounters with Gerald Heard and Aldous Huxley
By Sissela Bok Wednesday, March 4, 2015
School Reform Fails the Test
How can our schools get better when we’ve made our teachers the problem and not the solution?
By Mike Rose Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Habits of Mind
Why college students who do serious historical research become independent, analytical thinkers
By Anthony Grafton and James Grossman Wednesday, December 10, 2014
What I Have Taught—and Learned
After 50 years as a professor, I understand that my job is to make students think hard about thinking
By William M. Chace Wednesday, December 10, 2014
For Better and for Worse
The aftermath of a disorienting divorce
By Clellan Coe Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Traveling Corpse
How an American sergeant’s journey through frigid North Russia inspired a work of historical fiction
By Andrea Barrett Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Instant Gratification
As the economy gets ever better at satisfying our immediate, self-serving needs, who is minding the future?
By Paul Roberts Monday, September 8, 2014
Why Science Is Not Enough
Only through our imagination can we know the world
By John Lukacs Monday, September 8, 2014
Going Haywire
Delusions can occur in perfectly “normal” people
By Richard Restak Monday, September 8, 2014
