Across the Border Across the Border
A new biography of William Henry Ellis reminds us how much we still don’t know about the elusive history of racial subterfuge in America.
Jul 21, 2016 / Books & the Arts / Michael A. Elliott
Svetlana Alexievich’s Voices Svetlana Alexievich’s Voices
At a time when populism is in vogue, the Nobel Laureate has gone in the opposite direction. We need to read her and listen to the people she hears.
Jul 6, 2016 / Books & the Arts / John Palattella
Hume’s Call to Action Hume’s Call to Action
For philosophy to be effective, it has to understand the world in which it operates. David Hume brought history and politics to the realm of ideas.
Apr 20, 2016 / Books & the Arts / Richard Bourke
Joseph Brodsky, Darker and Brighter Joseph Brodsky, Darker and Brighter
A spellbinding new biography rescues the poet from sentimentality and kitsch.
Mar 24, 2016 / Books & the Arts / Cynthia Haven
Margaret Thatcher’s Fogeyism Margaret Thatcher’s Fogeyism
Charles Moore, the prime minister’s authorized biographer, believes the successes of Thatcherism to be self-evident, and he frequently lets his biases show.
Mar 10, 2016 / Books & the Arts / K. Biswas
Ms. Grief Ms. Grief
Out of two new books, Constance Fenimore Woolson emerges as a figure of some dimension in her own right.
Mar 3, 2016 / Books & the Arts / Vivian Gornick
J.M. Coetzee’s Facts of Life J.M. Coetzee’s Facts of Life
For the South African author, the selves we write and read may be truer than any other.
Jan 28, 2016 / Books & the Arts / Becca Rothfeld
The Many Manipulations of Henry Kissinger The Many Manipulations of Henry Kissinger
In his new biography, Niall Ferguson is blind to his subject’s recklessness and treachery.
Jan 7, 2016 / Books & the Arts / David Milne
Nothing Remains Unchanged but the Clouds Nothing Remains Unchanged but the Clouds
With his worries about the gigantic power of technology and the minuscule moral illumination it can afford, Walter Benjamin remains our contemporary.
Nov 18, 2015 / Books & the Arts / Neima Jahromi
A Poet Who Believed in Nothing As in Love A Poet Who Believed in Nothing As in Love
After first writing poetry to impress and entertain his wealthy parents’ guests, cosmopolitan James Merrill went cosmic.
Nov 17, 2015 / Books & the Arts / Ange Mlinko