Books and Ideas

Harriet Tubman in 1868 or 1869.

The Many Lives of Harriet Tubman The Many Lives of Harriet Tubman

Tiya Miles’s Night Flyer is a landmark biography of one of 19th-century America’s most important figures. 

Jul 2, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Kellie Carter Jackson

A certificate for a volunteer serving in the Union army.

Can the Constitution Save Us? Can the Constitution Save Us?

The Constitution is often invoked as a safeguard for American democracy, but does it more often get in democracy’s way?

Jul 2, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Jedediah Britton-Purdy

The Radical Politics of the Garden

The Radical Politics of the Garden The Radical Politics of the Garden

An interview with author Olivia Laing.

Jul 1, 2024 / Q&A / Sara Franklin

John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon stand at podiums during one of their four debates in 1960.

The Lost Lessons of the First Televised Presidential Debates The Lost Lessons of the First Televised Presidential Debates

In 1960, The Nation asked a collection of thinkers and critics to grapple with the significance of the televised debates between Nixon and Kennedy. Here’s what they said.

Jun 27, 2024 / Column / Richard Kreitner

The Man Hồ Chí Minh Once Was

The Man Hồ Chí Minh Once Was The Man Hồ Chí Minh Once Was

Joseph Andras's novel on the Vietnamese revolutionary's salad days in Paris imagines how a young radical became an icon.

Jun 27, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Terry Nguyễn

New York City police officers preparing to enter Columbia University's Hamilton Hall, 2024.

A Fantasy of Post-Generational Politics A Fantasy of Post-Generational Politics

A recent book argues that reordering the stages of work and life—including retirement—could eradicate conflicts between generations, while ignoring the real issues that divide us....

Jun 25, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Julian Epp

Christopher Bollen’s Cairo Thriller

Christopher Bollen’s Cairo Thriller Christopher Bollen’s Cairo Thriller

The Lost Americans captures the atmosphere of paranoia and surveillance in the years since 2013.

Jun 20, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Hussein Omar

Juneteenth

Juneteenth Juneteenth

Juneteenth (June 19) commemorated the abolition of slavery in the United States, it became a national holiday on June 17, 2021.

Jun 19, 2024 / OppArt / Andrea Arroyo

A Message From 1930: Zion Cannot Be Built on Bayonets

A Message From 1930: Zion Cannot Be Built on Bayonets A Message From 1930: Zion Cannot Be Built on Bayonets

A hope for a more just future echoes across the decades from the pages of The Nation magazine.

Jun 19, 2024 / Richard Kreitner

A photograph by Gordon Parks. of a Washington, DC, street corner.

Diane Oliver’s Fiction From Both Sides of the Color Line Diane Oliver’s Fiction From Both Sides of the Color Line

Neighbors and Other Stories, a posthumously released collection, looks at all the uncertainty and promise of coming of age during and after the civil rights era.

Jun 17, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Kelton Ellis

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