Books & the Arts

Illustration by Lily Qian.

The Enigmatic Science Fiction of Djuna The Enigmatic Science Fiction of Djuna

The radical visions of South Korea’s mononymous, pseudonymous, and officially anonymous sci-fi novelist and film critic.

Oct 30, 2023 / Books & the Arts / E. Tammy Kim

African American women employed as gardeners in the rose garden of the Botanical Gardens, Washington DC, 1943.

The Pleasure and Peril of Gardening While Black The Pleasure and Peril of Gardening While Black

Poet Camille T. Dungy's Soil is a personal and wide-ranging history of the garden and the environment in African American life.

Oct 26, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Edna Bonhomme

A scene from the day Princess Isabel abolished slavery in Brazil, 1888.

In Brazil, a Best-Selling Novel Confronts the Brutal Afterlife of Slavery In Brazil, a Best-Selling Novel Confronts the Brutal Afterlife of Slavery

Crooked Plow made Itamar Vieira Junior an essential voice in Brazilian letters.

Oct 25, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Jimin Kang

The Dark Message of “Killers of the Flower Moon”

The Dark Message of “Killers of the Flower Moon” The Dark Message of “Killers of the Flower Moon”

Unlike the visions of unbounded freedom found in traditional westerns, Martin Scorsese’s new film is a study of a West bounded by the vertical geometry of oil rigs and the violent...

Oct 25, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Jorge Cotte

Osamu Dazai, 1924.

The Ironist and the Exhibitionist: On Osamu Dazai The Ironist and the Exhibitionist: On Osamu Dazai

The Japanese novelist’s dark-hearted comedies are at once unhinged and brilliant.

Oct 24, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Paul Franz

Stephen Schwarzman, billionaire and cofounder of Blackstone Group LP, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, 2015.

How Asset Managers Ruined Our Lives How Asset Managers Ruined Our Lives

Firms like Blackstone have made investments in real estate, energy, and infrastructure to become the world’s most crooked landlords and bill collectors.

Oct 23, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Michael Eby

Trans Amazon highway construction near Altamira Brazil, 1971.

Is It Time to Imagine a World Without Roads? Is It Time to Imagine a World Without Roads?

Be it highway or dirt track, our infrastructure has become an ecological disaster. Ben Goldfarb’s Crossings catalogs the devastation.

Oct 19, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Jimmy Tobias

Samuel Ringgold Ward.

The Many Lives of Samuel Ringgold Ward The Many Lives of Samuel Ringgold Ward

Books & the Arts / October 18, 2023 The Creed of Liberty The remarkable life of Samuel Ringgold Ward. The Many Lives of Samuel Ringgold Ward R.J.M. Blackett’s new biography…

Oct 18, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Kellie Carter Jackson

The Latin School Teacher Who Made Classics Popular

The Latin School Teacher Who Made Classics Popular The Latin School Teacher Who Made Classics Popular

A new biography of Edith Hamilton tells the story of how and why ancient literature became widely read in the United States.

Oct 17, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Emily Wilson

How Everything Became Data

How Everything Became Data How Everything Became Data

Starting with the birth of statistics in the 19th century and concluding with algorithms and AI systems, a new book examines how humans became studied as a set of ones and zeroes....

Oct 16, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Ben Tarnoff

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