Books & the Arts

The Contradictions of Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.

The Contradictions of Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. The Contradictions of Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.

The Supreme Court justice may have been heralded by many of his progressive peers, but the legacy he left behind is far more ambiguous.

Aug 13, 2019 / Books & the Arts / Brenda Wineapple

Richard Holbrooke and the Lost Idealism of a Generation

Richard Holbrooke and the Lost Idealism of a Generation Richard Holbrooke and the Lost Idealism of a Generation

Holbrooke’s public and personal life captures the contradictions of a cohort of liberals that came of age in the 1960s.

Aug 13, 2019 / Books & the Arts / David Klion

Toni Morrison and ‘the Human Project’

Toni Morrison and ‘the Human Project’ Toni Morrison and ‘the Human Project’

Through her novels and essays, Morrison helped inspire a generation of writers to reckon with American history.

Aug 7, 2019 / Books & the Arts / Robert Greene II

The Republicans’ 50-State Strategy

The Republicans’ 50-State Strategy The Republicans’ 50-State Strategy

Alexander Hertel-Fernandez’s State Capture examines the trio of right-wing groups that have helped fortify GOP power in local and state government. 

Jul 30, 2019 / Books & the Arts / Bryce Covert

Chia-Chia Lin’s Haunting Immigrant Novel

Chia-Chia Lin’s Haunting Immigrant Novel Chia-Chia Lin’s Haunting Immigrant Novel

Set in a dreamlike Alaska, The Unpassing examines the hope and tragedy of a Taiwanese-American family. 

Jul 30, 2019 / Books & the Arts / Larissa Pham

Bruno Schulz’s Dream Worlds

Bruno Schulz’s Dream Worlds Bruno Schulz’s Dream Worlds

Born in turn-of-the-century Poland, Schulz lived both longer and better in his books than in real life. 

Jul 29, 2019 / Books & the Arts / Becca Rothfeld

The Migrant Crisis, Through the Eyes of Human Traffickers

The Migrant Crisis, Through the Eyes of Human Traffickers The Migrant Crisis, Through the Eyes of Human Traffickers

Emiliano Monge’s novel Among the Lost leads a reader through the hellish migrant trail from the perspective of its most amoral agents.

Jul 17, 2019 / Books & the Arts / John Washington

Solvitur Ambulando

Solvitur Ambulando Solvitur Ambulando

After the impossibility of the movement of any object through time was raised in light of the fact that, in time’s smallest unit, no motion can take place (which is to say, that an…

Jul 16, 2019 / Books & the Arts / Timothy Donnelly

Is ‘Veep’ Still Funny?

Is ‘Veep’ Still Funny? Is ‘Veep’ Still Funny?

The show’s vicious political satire defined a decade of comedy, but its last season lacked the same punch.

Jul 16, 2019 / Books & the Arts / Erin Schwartz

The Class Politics of the Civil War

The Class Politics of the Civil War The Class Politics of the Civil War

By naming a common enemy—the privileged class of slaveholders—the Republican Party and Union Army were able to build and then steer a coalition of Americans toward the systematic d...

Jul 15, 2019 / Books & the Arts / James Oakes

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