Non-fiction

Can the History of the Soviet Union Be Told through a Single Building?

Can the History of the Soviet Union Be Told through a Single Building? Can the History of the Soviet Union Be Told through a Single Building?

Yuri Slezkine's new history captures the triumphs and tragedies of everyday life after the Russian Revolution.

Oct 18, 2017 / Books & the Arts / Tony Wood

International Territory

International Territory International Territory

Three new books map the ambiguities of the UN’s extraterritorial status.

Oct 12, 2017 / Books & the Arts / Atossa Araxia Abrahamian

Reading a Newspaper in South Sudan

Fixers Are the Unsung Heroes of Journalism Fixers Are the Unsung Heroes of Journalism

The brave locals who guide foreign reporters deserve recognition for making the story possible.

Oct 5, 2017 / Nick Turse

Barbarian Virtues

Barbarian Virtues Barbarian Virtues

James Scott's search for the origins of the state.

Oct 5, 2017 / Books & the Arts / Samuel Moyn

The Rage of White Folk

The Rage of White Folk The Rage of White Folk

How the silent majority became a loud and angry minority.

Sep 27, 2017 / Books & the Arts / Steven Hahn

Coulter Trump speech

The Messy Business of Free Speech The Messy Business of Free Speech

What’s missing from Floyd Abrams’s book The Soul of the First Amendment.

Sep 5, 2017 / Books & the Arts / Gara LaMarche

The Poetics of Jazz

The Poetics of Jazz The Poetics of Jazz

A new book presents an alternative aesthetic history of jazz—and is also a challenge to all music critics.

Jul 20, 2017 / David B. Hobbs

Socialism’s Past and Future

Socialism’s Past and Future Socialism’s Past and Future

Axel Honneth’s new book seeks to give renewed meaning to the socialist ideal.

Jun 28, 2017 / Books & the Arts / Martin Jay

Mary Gaitskill Remains Open to Opposition

Mary Gaitskill Remains Open to Opposition Mary Gaitskill Remains Open to Opposition

The closest thing we get to a precept in Somebody with a Little Hammer is that we should all try to learn to think for ourselves—and, even then, things can go wrong.

Jun 19, 2017 / Larissa Pham

Al Franken Is Not Running for President

Al Franken Is Not Running for President Al Franken Is Not Running for President

But his new book is the antidote to Trumpism.

Jun 5, 2017 / Q&A / Joan Walsh

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