Books & the Arts

Buffy (Darren Robinson) of the Fat Boys in Chicago, 1985.

Questlove’s Personal History of Hip-Hop Questlove’s Personal History of Hip-Hop

An elegiac retelling of rap's origins, Hip-Hop Is History also ends with a sense of hope.

Aug 27, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Bijan Stephen

Danzy Senna’s Acerbic Satires of Art and Money

Danzy Senna’s Acerbic Satires of Art and Money Danzy Senna’s Acerbic Satires of Art and Money

Having gnawed away at literary and political conventions from within their hallowed forms, Senna has now set her eyes on Hollywood.

Aug 27, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Lovia Gyarkye

Then–US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner testifying before the Senate Budget Committee in 2009.

The Intractable Puzzle of Growth The Intractable Puzzle of Growth

For more than a century, the key measure of a healthy economy has been its capacity to grow and yet if production and consumption continues to expand at their current rate we migh...

Aug 26, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Benjamin Kunkel

Saddam Hussein and Mulla Mustafa al-Barzani, 1970.

The “Cascade of Errors” That Led to America’s War on Terror The “Cascade of Errors” That Led to America’s War on Terror

Steve Coll’s new book looks at the hubris and delusions of American foreign-policy makers and counterparts in the Middle East that led to a war that still haunts the globe.

Aug 22, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Lyle Jeremy Rubin

Guy Davenport, 1997.

Guy Davenport—the Last High Modernist Guy Davenport—the Last High Modernist

In the essays collected in Geography of the Imagination, one can glimpse the inner workings of the mind of a 20th-century literary genius.

Aug 21, 2024 / Books & the Arts / David Schurman Wallace

Percival Everett’s Great American Novel

Percival Everett’s Great American Novel Percival Everett’s Great American Novel

In his new novel James, Everett reminds us of the thorny absurdity that is U.S. history.

Aug 19, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Omari Weekes

Detail of Bundi School, 17th century, National Museum, New Delhi, India.

A Paean to Nonhuman Life A Paean to Nonhuman Life

In Lydia Millet’s We Loved It All, she compels readers to decenter human experience in the stories we tell about the natural world.

Aug 14, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Julia Case-Levine

American tennis star Althea Gibson hits a return shot to Colette Monnot during her singles match at the Surrey Grass Court Championship, held at the Surbiton Racket and Fitness Club.

Althea Gibson Let the Racquet Do the Talking Althea Gibson Let the Racquet Do the Talking

A recent biography of the complicated tennis legend underlines the sport’s persistent challenges with race, class, and celebrity.

Aug 13, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Alisa Solomon

Police in Baltimore, Maryland, 2015.

What Is Policing For? What Is Policing For?

Sociologist Michael Sierra-Arévalo’s recent book explains how an obsession with violence has defined the police’s purpose and worldview.

Aug 12, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Michael Friedrich

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