Letters From the July 1-8, 2019, Issue Letters From the July 1-8, 2019, Issue
Devil in the details… Furry logic… Debunking junk science…
Jun 18, 2019 / Our Readers
Vasily Grossman in War and Peace Vasily Grossman in War and Peace
In both his life and his writing, the novelist and journalist captured the complications and contradictions of the Soviet century.
Jun 12, 2019 / Books & the Arts / Sheila Fitzpatrick
Adam Gopnik and the Cul-de-sac of 21st-Century Liberalism Adam Gopnik and the Cul-de-sac of 21st-Century Liberalism
In his new book, the New Yorker writer sets out to defend liberalism from its critics, but only ends up revealing its current limitations.
Jun 12, 2019 / Books & the Arts / David A. Bell
Remembering Tony Horwitz, Intrepid Traveler and Chronicler of the South Remembering Tony Horwitz, Intrepid Traveler and Chronicler of the South
A kindred spirit to Frederick Law Olmsted, Horwitz heard antebellum echoes everywhere.
May 31, 2019 / Jamie Stiehm
In Our Tumultuous Times, History Offers Hope In Our Tumultuous Times, History Offers Hope
A new memoir calls us to action.
May 28, 2019 / Katrina vanden Heuvel
Werner Herzog’s Curious Love Letter to Mikhail Gorbachev Werner Herzog’s Curious Love Letter to Mikhail Gorbachev
In Herzog’s latest film, Meeting Gorbachev, we end up learning a lot more about the director than about his subject.
May 24, 2019 / Elena Goukassian
The Politics of Going to the Bathroom The Politics of Going to the Bathroom
Access to adequate restrooms is a fundamental necessity for everyone, but it’s harder to come by the less structural power you have.
May 23, 2019 / Natalie Shure
Saidiya Hartman’s Astounding History of the Forgotten Sexual Modernists in 20th-Century Black Life Saidiya Hartman’s Astounding History of the Forgotten Sexual Modernists in 20th-Century Black Life
In her new book, Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments, she looks at everyday life for urban black women and in the process pioneers a stirring new way to write history.
May 1, 2019 / Sam Huber
Chronicling the Age of Hobsbawm: A Q&A With Historian Richard Evans Chronicling the Age of Hobsbawm: A Q&A With Historian Richard Evans
“The more I have read his writings, the more I have come to admire and respect him not just as an historian but as a person.”
Apr 26, 2019 / Sebastiaan Faber
Democracy’s Midlife Crisis Democracy’s Midlife Crisis
Democracies do not necessarily go out with a bang; they can also end with a whimper.
Apr 22, 2019 / Books & the Arts / Jan-Werner Müller