Play It (Over and Over Again) Play It (Over and Over Again)
Ben Ratliff's not-quite biography of John Coltrane considers the jazz legend's enduring influence.
Oct 25, 2007 / Books & the Arts / Travis A. Jackson
The Imperfectionist The Imperfectionist
Reconsidering the life and legacy of avant-garde artist and poet Francis Picabia.
Oct 18, 2007 / Books & the Arts / Barry Schwabsky
Company Man Company Man
Martin Duberman's biography of Lincoln Kirstein is a case study of the relationship between art and power.
Jun 21, 2007 / Books & the Arts / Lynn Garafola
Iraq’s Founding Mother Iraq’s Founding Mother
A biography of Gertrude Bell investigates the woman who created Iraq out of the ruins of the Ottoman Empire.
Jun 14, 2007 / Books & the Arts / Charles Glass
The Wharton School The Wharton School
A new biography describes how Edith Wharton transformed her obsessions into stories of loss, regret and entrapment.
May 10, 2007 / Books & the Arts / Brenda Wineapple
At a Loss for Words At a Loss for Words
Ralph Ellison was eager to be counted in any political cause--except those surrounding race.
May 10, 2007 / Books & the Arts / Michael Anderson
Ill Will Ill Will
The most durable piece of Nazi propaganda may yet turn out to be the belief that Leni Riefenstahl is an artistic genius.
Apr 19, 2007 / Books & the Arts / Charles Taylor
A Free Man A Free Man
Madison Smartt Bell's new biography of Toussaint Louverture explores the complexities of the man who created modern Haiti.
Mar 29, 2007 / Books & the Arts / Laurent Dubois
Take the Money and Run Take the Money and Run
New biographies of Andrew Carnegie and Andrew Mellon depict the two primeval capitalists in all their contradictory complexity.
Mar 15, 2007 / Books & the Arts / Steve Fraser
Made in USA Made in USA
Two books about Kofi Annan illuminate the controlling relationship between the US and the United Nations.
Mar 15, 2007 / Books & the Arts / Perry Anderson