How to Be Critical of the Things You Love How to Be Critical of the Things You Love
Poet and critic Hanif Abdurraqib’s new book on A Tribe Called Quest is also a consideration of what it means to be a music fan in 2019.
Feb 12, 2019 / Nawal Arjini
Eve Babitz’s Visions of Total Freedom Eve Babitz’s Visions of Total Freedom
A new biography of the legendary Los Angeles socialite tries to crack the code of her writing’s allure.
Feb 8, 2019 / Marie Solis
The Dark Side of the Cult of Ruth Bader Ginsburg The Dark Side of the Cult of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Justice Ginsburg is an essential voice on the Supreme Court— but portraying her as a dissenter obscures the work of more radical women of color.
Jan 30, 2019 / Mari Uyehara
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
The Long, Entwined History of America First and the American Dream The Long, Entwined History of America First and the American Dream
A new history shows that these expressions were originally used in ways that are significantly different from our current understanding of them.
Nov 21, 2018 / Books & the Arts / Kevin M. Kruse
Zbigniew Brzezinski’s Cold War Zbigniew Brzezinski’s Cold War
A new biography of Jimmy Carter’s national-security adviser attempts to place him among the pantheon of master foreign-policy strategists, but was he?
Nov 21, 2018 / Books & the Arts / Andrew J. Bacevich
Shining a Light on Life Behind Bars Shining a Light on Life Behind Bars
In letters compiled by the American Prison Writing Archive, inmates share accounts of suicide, friendship, and solitary confinement.
Nov 12, 2018 / Ella Fassler
Letters From the December 3-10, 2018, Issue Letters From the December 3-10, 2018, Issue
This is what heroism looks like… Lost in translation… Humph!…
Nov 8, 2018 / Our Readers
Frederick Douglass’s 19th Century Frederick Douglass’s 19th Century
A new biography gives an account of both Douglass’s political and personal life that will likely remain the standard for years to come.
Oct 25, 2018 / Books & the Arts / Eric Foner
Who Owns Kafka? Who Owns Kafka?
The complicated legacy of the writer’s estate.
Oct 3, 2018 / Books & the Arts / Evan Kindley