Books & the Arts

Tana French’s Crime-Fiction Masterpiece

Tana French’s Crime-Fiction Masterpiece Tana French’s Crime-Fiction Masterpiece

The Witch Elm is a triumph of the genre.

Feb 21, 2019 / Books & the Arts / J. Robert Lennon

The Southern Paradox: The Democratic Party Below the Mason-Dixon Line

The Southern Paradox: The Democratic Party Below the Mason-Dixon Line The Southern Paradox: The Democratic Party Below the Mason-Dixon Line

Why and how the region switched from being the stronghold of one party to the base of its adversary.

Feb 21, 2019 / Books & the Arts / Michael Kazin

Folk Music That Bends Time and Space

Folk Music That Bends Time and Space Folk Music That Bends Time and Space

The songs on Jessica Pratt’s new album Quiet Signs seem to exist in a tranquil place just outside reality.

Feb 18, 2019 / Books & the Arts / Olivia Horn

Saving the Children

Saving the Children Saving the Children

Every day they were trapped, we checked in with the nightly news to hear how the Wild Boars were doing. A boot camp had been set up at the mouth of the cave after two divers discov…

Feb 7, 2019 / Books & the Arts / Julia Alvarez

The Weight and Power of Kiese Laymon’s ‘Heavy’

The Weight and Power of Kiese Laymon’s ‘Heavy’ The Weight and Power of Kiese Laymon’s ‘Heavy’

His memoir is an affecting chronicle of both hope and despair in the American South.

Feb 7, 2019 / Books & the Arts / Bijan Stephen

How Did the Constitution Become America’s Authoritative Text?

How Did the Constitution Become America’s Authoritative Text? How Did the Constitution Become America’s Authoritative Text?

A new history of the early American republic recasts the origins of originalism and how the Constitution gained its “fixed” status.

Feb 7, 2019 / Books & the Arts / Karen J. Greenberg

The Making of Our Polluted Age

The Making of Our Polluted Age The Making of Our Polluted Age

Three new books examine how the rise of coal, oil, and gas has permanently remade our world.

Feb 6, 2019 / Books & the Arts / Bill McKibben

Where Does Art Belong?

Where Does Art Belong? Where Does Art Belong?

A trio of recent shows—from Hilma af Klint, Warhol, and Bruce Nauman—propose radically different answers to that question. 

Feb 4, 2019 / Books & the Arts / Barry Schwabsky

‘Maid’ Offers a Striking Portrait of Single-Working-Motherhood

‘Maid’ Offers a Striking Portrait of Single-Working-Motherhood ‘Maid’ Offers a Striking Portrait of Single-Working-Motherhood

Stephanie Land’s memoir is an intimate look at the day-to-day reality of poverty in the United States.

Jan 31, 2019 / Books & the Arts / Ann-Derrick Gaillot

Reckoning With the Man Who Sold Architecture to the Masses

Reckoning With the Man Who Sold Architecture to the Masses Reckoning With the Man Who Sold Architecture to the Masses

A new biography explores how Philip Johnson’s career transformed architecture into the celebrity-obsessed and market-driven field it’s become. 

Jan 29, 2019 / Books & the Arts / Kate Wagner

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