Swept Away
When Géricault painted The Raft of the Medusa, he immersed himself in his subject’s horrors
By Anthony Brandt Saturday, September 1, 2007
The Wreck of the Medusa By Jonathan Miles
Nurtural Intelligence
The discoverer of the Flynn effect claims that genes control IQ less than you’d expect
By Richard Restak Saturday, September 1, 2007
What Is Intelligence? Beyond the Flynn Effect By James R. Flynn
Words and Music
Two ways of thinking about what our brains can do
By Jennifer Michael Hecht Saturday, September 1, 2007
The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human NatureBy Steven Pinker / Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain By Oliver Sacks
The Whirling Princess
How a little rich girl known as Pussy Jones became Edith Wharton, writing her way into the aristocracy of American letters
By Sandra M. Gilbert Friday, June 1, 2007
Edith Wharton By Hermione Lee, Alfred A. Knopf
The Heroic and the Crass
Case studies in American presidential backbone
By Gary Hart Friday, June 1, 2007
Presidential Courage: Brave Leaders and How They Changed America, 1789-1989 By Michael Beschloss, Simon & Schuster
Wide World
An essayist and activist who makes eloquent connections
By Sarah Fay Friday, June 1, 2007
Storming the Gates of Paradise: Landscapes for Politics By Rebecca Solnit
The Meandering Naturalist
By William Howarth Friday, June 1, 2007
A Wanderer All My Days: John Muir in New England By J. Parker Huber
Magical Mind
Albert Einstein’s life
By Stephen Petranek Friday, June 1, 2007
EINSTEIN: His Life and Universe By Walter Isaacson
Dismantling the Dream
By Sandra Beasley Friday, June 1, 2007
The Trap: Selling Out to Stay Afloat in Winner-Take-All America By Daniel Brook, Henry Holt
Happy Talk
What did we know about joy, and when did we know it?
By Wayne Curtis Thursday, March 1, 2007
The Happiness Myth: Why What We Think Is Right Is WrongBy Jennifer Michael Hecht / Dancing in the Streets: A History of Collective Joy By Barbara Ehrenreich
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
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
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
Island Royalty
A new biography of a Caribbean revolutionary
By Madison Smartt Bell Monday, December 2, 2024
The First and Last King of Haiti: The Rise and Fall of Henry Christopheby Marlene L. Daut
The Creator’s Code
Are humans alone in their ability to make art?
By Evelyn McDonnell Monday, December 2, 2024
The Uncanny Muse: Music, Art, and Machines From Automata to AIby David Hajdu
Barbarity at the Bataclan
A chilling account of darkness in the City of Light
By Charles Trueheart Monday, December 2, 2024
V13: Chronicle of a Trial by Emmanuel Carrère, translated from the Frenchby John Lambert
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
