George Saunders’s Lincoln George Saunders’s Lincoln
The novel ‘Lincoln in the Bardo’ examines the Civil War as the root of America’s violent past—and as a possible source of empathy that might release us from it.
May 3, 2017 / Books & the Arts / Jon Baskin
The Fight Over Sexual Freedom The Fight Over Sexual Freedom
Geoffrey Stone’s book is a powerful reminder that the history of sexual equality is one of backlash as well as progress.
May 3, 2017 / Books & the Arts / Anna North
Pushing the Limits of Photography Pushing the Limits of Photography
The reflexive photography of Paul Mpagi Sepuya and Jason Loebs.
May 2, 2017 / Books & the Arts / Barry Schwabsky
When Big Names Are Everywhere When Big Names Are Everywhere
Norman and Obit are movies lovingly dedicated to the virtues of the small and the anonymous.
Apr 21, 2017 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans
Obama From the Rearview Mirror Obama From the Rearview Mirror
The former president didn’t lose the argument with the right; he chose not to wage it.
Apr 20, 2017 / Books & the Arts / Robert L. Borosage
Inside the Birth of a Trump-Inspired Intellectual Magazine Inside the Birth of a Trump-Inspired Intellectual Magazine
Reading through American Affairs, one gets the sense that avoiding policy questions is as much a strategy as a politics.
Apr 19, 2017 / Books & the Arts / Gideon Lewis-Kraus
What America’s 19th-Century Reformers and Radicals Missed What America’s 19th-Century Reformers and Radicals Missed
A new book on the antebellum period captures the dangers of confusing self-improvement with institutional change.
Apr 18, 2017 / Books & the Arts / Brenda Wineapple
Is Our Common Humanity a Discovery or an Invention? Is Our Common Humanity a Discovery or an Invention?
A new book offers a panoramic view of how we came to recognize each other as equals.
Apr 6, 2017 / Books & the Arts / Michael Walzer
What Did Equality Mean for the Founders? What Did Equality Mean for the Founders?
Three new books on the early republic explore the critical, if contested, role equality has played in shaping American political culture.
Apr 5, 2017 / Books & the Arts / Sophia Rosenfeld
Le Pen’s Long Shadow Le Pen’s Long Shadow
If you want to understand the wave of right-wing populism erupting in Europe and the United States, France is a good place to start.
Apr 4, 2017 / Books & the Arts / David A. Bell