Books and Ideas

Toward a Global History of the Communist Party

Toward a Global History of the Communist Party Toward a Global History of the Communist Party

A. James McAdams’s new history examines the tensions between the communist party as an institution and as an ideal.

Mar 7, 2019 / Books & the Arts / Tony Wood

The Post-Apocalyptic Novel Meets the Trump Presidency (Aboard a Giant Zeppelin)

The Post-Apocalyptic Novel Meets the Trump Presidency (Aboard a Giant Zeppelin) The Post-Apocalyptic Novel Meets the Trump Presidency (Aboard a Giant Zeppelin)

Mark Doten’s masterful satiric novel Trump Sky Alpha imagines how a world without the internet pushed Trump to doomsday measures.

Mar 6, 2019 / Lisa Borst

Susan Orlean’s Tale of Arson and Unfulfilled Dreams

Susan Orlean’s Tale of Arson and Unfulfilled Dreams Susan Orlean’s Tale of Arson and Unfulfilled Dreams

The Library Book is more than a work of true crime; it is a study of Los Angeles and the burning ambition of the people who flock to it.

Mar 6, 2019 / Books & the Arts / Jennifer Wilson

Tom Tomorrow cartoon

Strange News From Another Star… Strange News From Another Star…

What life on another planet can teach us about our own.

Mar 5, 2019 / Tom Tomorrow

What if Plants Were One of Us

What if Plants Were One of Us What if Plants Were One of Us

A new book from the philosopher Emanuele Coccia reimagines plants’ place in our lives—and in the cosmos.

Mar 1, 2019 / Rachel Riederer

Darius James’s Antic Satire of American Racism

Darius James’s Antic Satire of American Racism Darius James’s Antic Satire of American Racism

Provocative and slapstick, his 1992 debut, Negrophobia: An Urban Parable, dives into the frenzied subconscious of white prejudice.

Feb 28, 2019 / Nawal Arjini

White Women Prospered on the Brutality of the Slave Economy

White Women Prospered on the Brutality of the Slave Economy White Women Prospered on the Brutality of the Slave Economy

Historian Stephanie E. Jones-Rogers’s new book is a definitive account of how deeply invested white women were in slavery in the South.

Feb 26, 2019 / Lynne Feeley

Tom Tomorrow cartoon

Trump’s Time-Travel Adventure Trump’s Time-Travel Adventure

One man’s incompetence is another man’s principled discipline.

Feb 26, 2019 / Tom Tomorrow

Capitalism Is Responsible for Your Depressing Office Building

Capitalism Is Responsible for Your Depressing Office Building Capitalism Is Responsible for Your Depressing Office Building

Over a century ago, John Ruskin predicted how ugly and inhuman industrialized capitalism would become.

Feb 25, 2019 / Chris Gelardi

A Punk-Rock Path to Inner Peace

A Punk-Rock Path to Inner Peace A Punk-Rock Path to Inner Peace

Buzzcocks’ first two seminal albums, recently reissued, offer something besides anarchy.

Feb 22, 2019 / Joe Bucciero

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