Little House on the Prairie—With Meth
In his new book, Ted Conover moves to a remote valley in southern Colorado to experience 21st-century life off the grid.
T. S. Eliot Saw All This Coming
One hundred years after the publication of The Waste Land, its vision has never been more terrifying.
The Companies That Are Killing Creativity
Amazon and Spotify offer a raw deal for artists.
Great Sex in the Time of War
A new entrant into the literature of conflict attends to gossipy intimacy as much as to beatings and bombings.
The Incandescent Wisdom of Cormac McCarthy
His two final novels are the pinnacle of a controversial career.
Mayakovsky in New York: A Found Poem
Published in The Atlantic in 1994
A Novel That Will Make You Laugh and Then Punch You in the Gut
Kevin Wilson’s Now Is Not the Time to Panic features narrators haunted, yet not bound, by troubled pasts.
The Wrong Way to Look at the Past
Americans are taught history through the stories of great men, but no one changes the world alone: Your weekly guide to the best in books
A Provincial Roman Town
A poem for Wednesday
What Kind of Man Was Anthony Bourdain?
He was so damaged, and yet he showed us so much of the world.
Seven Books That Will Make You Smarter
These titles do more than answer questions: They explain how the world moves and what moves it.
Father of Clarity
A poem for Sunday
The Generation
A short story
Hernan Diaz on Erasing Subjectivity
“Although the scope of ‘The Generation’ may seem, literally, cosmic, it is in fact intimate and highly personal.”
How J. Edgar Hoover Went From Hero to Villain
Before his abuses of power were exposed, he was celebrated as a scourge of Nazis, Communists, and subversives.
Why Maus Was Banned
What makes the book controversial is exactly what makes it valuable.
The Science Writer Every Science Nerd Wants You to Read
A visit with David Quammen, who confronted in COVID a story that refused to stay at a safe distance
A New Theory of American Power
The United States can—and must—wield its power for good.
I Was Wrong About So Much
A poem for Sunday
What Do Children Owe Their Parents?
Conflict with the people who raised us can alter the course of our lives: Your weekly guide to the best in books