Bending Toward Justice
Rejecting the “race riot” myth means facing the ugly truth
By Sally Greene Thursday, July 16, 2026
They Stole a City: Wilmington’s White Supremacist Coup and the Families Who Live With Its Legacy by Lauren Collins
Verse From the Abyss
How a Jewish poet rebuilt his mother tongue in the wake of the Holocaust
By Piotr Florczyk Thursday, July 9, 2026
Paul Celan: A Life by Anna Arno, translated by Soren Gauger
Where Are We?
Finding our bearings has never been so risky
By Peter Turchi Monday, June 29, 2026
Little Blue Dot: How GPS Shaped the Modern World By Katherine Dunn
Blood—and Beauty—at the Root
Fifty years ago, Alex Haley’s landmark novel changed the way many Americans thought about race
By Brandon Tensley Monday, June 15, 2026
Remembering Roots: How an American Classic Transformed the World by Lucas L. Johnson II
In Defense of Difficult Reading
The tomes of the past cultivate the lost art of sustained attention
By Todd Shy Friday, June 5, 2026
What’s So Great About the Great Books?: Why You Should Read Classic Literature (Even Though It Might Destroy You) Naomi Kanakia
Inside Man
A young reporter’s devastating exposé of the amoral elite
By Anne Matthews Monday, June 1, 2026
How to Rule the World: An Education in Power at Stanford University By Theo Baker
Things Fall Apart
A meditation on entropy, obsolescence, and death
By Steven G. Kellman Monday, June 1, 2026
How We Disappear: A Personal History of Information By Thomas S. Mullaney
Into the Wilds
The tangled terrain of untrammeled lands
By Miranda Weiss Monday, June 1, 2026
The Savage Landscape: How We Made the Wilderness By Cal Flyn
The Painter Time Forgot
An overdue reckoning of an artist’s volcanic genius
By Rebecca Bedell Monday, June 1, 2026
Glorious Country: How the Artist Frederic Church Brought the World to America and America to the World By Victoria Johnson
Canonical Contempt
Even in the 18th century, Edward Gibbon’s misogyny set him apart
By Michael O'Donnell Monday, June 1, 2026
The Conversions of Edward Gibbon: A Modern Biography By Martha Saxton
End Times
The Bible’s failed prophecy
By Sarah Ruden Thursday, March 1, 2012
Revelations: Visions, Prophecy, and Politics in the Book of Revelation By Elaine Pagels
Dirty Books
A publisher’s lifelong battle against censorship
By John McIntyre Thursday, March 1, 2012
The Tender Hour of Twilight: Paris in the ’50s, New York in the ’60s: A Memoir of Publishing’s Golden Age By Richard Seaver
Big Thinker
The diplomat who argued for “containment”—and lived to regret it
By James Gibney Wednesday, November 30, 2011
George F. Kennan: An American Life By John Lewis Gaddis
The Nature of Things
An ancient poem’s appeal
By Sissela Bok Wednesday, November 30, 2011
The Swerve: How the World Became Modern By Stephen Greenblatt
Irregular Guy
The sage of Baker Street
By William Howarth Wednesday, November 30, 2011
On Conan Doyle: Or, the Whole Art of Storytelling By Michael Dirda
Memento Mori
A mother’s grief
By Britt Peterson Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Blue Nights By Joan Didion
Fields Apart
Physics, past and future
By Sam Kean Wednesday, November 30, 2011
The Infinity PuzzleBy Frank Close /Physics on the Fringe By Margaret Wertheim
Virtual Vigilantes
A tale of crime online
By Rachel Hartigan Shea Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Worm: The First Digital World War By Mark Bowden
Identity Crisis
Who was the real Tolstoy?
By Marshall Poe Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Tolstoy: A Russian Life By Rosamund Bartlett
Getting Better All the Time
Although you wouldn’t know it by watching the local news, humankind is becoming ever more civilized
By Michael Shermer Thursday, August 25, 2011
The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined By Steven Pinker
