The Best Course
A beloved professor’s long shadow
By Michael Dirda Friday, December 6, 2013
Splendor of Heart: Walter Jackson Bate and the Teaching of Literature By Robert D. Richardson
The After-War
Some wounds don’t bleed
By Neil Shea Friday, December 6, 2013
Thank You for Your Service By David Finkel
Dean of Satire
A writer’s many masks
By George O’Brien Friday, December 6, 2013
Jonathan Swift: His Life and His Work By Leo Damrosch
Abolition Gone Wrong
Despite good intentions, some opponents of the Atlantic slave trade caused more harm
By Fergus M. Bordewich Friday, December 6, 2013
Ship of DeathBy Billy G. Smith / The Empire of Necessity: Slavery, Freedom, and Deception in the New World By Greg Grandin
Ministry of Talent
JFK’s thousand days of crisis
By Ernest B. Furgurson Friday, December 6, 2013
Camelot’s Court By Robert Dallek
Soaring Ambitions
Early hot-air balloonists ascended to previously unimaginable heights, stirring humanity’s sense of perspective and possibility
By Toby Lester Thursday, September 5, 2013
Falling Upwards By Richard Holmes
Southern Son
The wit and wisdom of a master
By William S. McFeely Thursday, September 5, 2013
The Letters of C. Vann Woodward Edited by Michael O'Brien
Upward Bound
Abraham’s merciful stay of hand
By Sarah Ruden Thursday, September 5, 2013
But Where Is the Lamb?: Imagining the Story of Abraham and Isaac By James Goodman
Priestly Powers
A comic writer’s critical eye
By George O’Brien Thursday, September 5, 2013
Suitable Accommodations: An Autobiographical Story of Family Life: The Letters of J. F. Powers, 1942–1963 Edited by Katherine A. Powers
On the Brink
How safe are our nukes?
By Scott D. Sagan Thursday, September 5, 2013
Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety By Eric Schlosser
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 Historyby 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 Mississippiby Wright Thompson
Insisting on the Positive
A popular historian’s philosophical musings
By Carlin Romano Tuesday, September 3, 2024
On Freedomby 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 Memoirby André Aciman
Mortal Coils
We aren’t alone in facing the inevitable
By Sy Montgomery Tuesday, September 3, 2024
Playing Possum: How Animals Understand Deathby 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 Stevensonby 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 Singerby Richard Bernstein
