He fostered the careers of more than a dozen Nobel laureates, including Gabriel García Márquez, Nadine Gordimer and Doris Lessing.
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Tag Archives: Books and Literature
The Cautionary Tale of Adam Neumann and WeWork
In “Billion Dollar Loser,” Reeves Wiedeman places the once exalted Silicon Valley founder in the context of contemporary capitalism.
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Michelle Obama’s ‘Becoming’ Editor Starts Her Own Publishing Firm
Molly Stern, the former publisher of Crown, is starting Zando, an independent publishing company with an unusual marketing strategy.
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Pete Buttigieg Dropped Out of the Presidential Race and Wrote a Best Seller
In “Trust,” the wunderkind politician underscores the importance of what he calls “overlapping circles of belonging.”
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Surprising Census Results in N.Y.C.
The self-response rate was higher than predicted, equaling the 2010 count despite what the mayor called “so many more challenges in the way.”
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‘I Came From Nothing’: An Undocumented Writer Defies the Odds
Karla Cornejo Villavicencio, a National Book Award finalist for “The Undocumented Americans,” talks immigration, her unconventional approach to nonfiction and why impostor syndrome doesn’t faze her.
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Martin Amis Offers the ‘Inside Story’ of His Relationships With Three Famous Writers
Amis’s new book is a “novelized autobiography” in which he writes warmly and familiarly about Philip Larkin, Saul Bellow and Christopher Hitchens.
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The Pious French Poet Who Palled Around With Picasso and Apollinaire
In “Max Jacob: A Life in Art and Letters,” Rosanna Warren retraces the colorful history of a now largely forgotten figure of French modernism who was surrounded by famous friends.
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The Organization System That Changed the World? It’s Thousands of Years Old
In “A Place for Everything,” Judith Flanders, a British social historian, traces the revolutionary history of alphabetical order.
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Yes, Books Were Bound in Human Skin. An Intrepid Librarian Finds the Proof.
“Dark Archives,” by Megan Rosenbloom, a librarian at U.C.L.A., traces the history of the controversial practice and considers what we should do with such books today.
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Book Review: ‘The Dead Are Arising,’ by Les Payne and Tamara Payne
Thirty years in the making, “The Dead Are Arising,” by Les Payne and Tamara Payne, sharpens our understanding of the Black activist and thinker whose influence continues to reverberate.
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Richard Avedon, a Photographer Who Wanted to Outrun the Glitz Factor
Philip Gefter’s new biography, “What Becomes a Legend Most,” argues for Avedon’s place as one of the 20th century’s most consequential artists.
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What Bryan Washington Is Cooking
His literary interests include Houston, Osaka, food and the transitory periods in personal relationships. In his debut novel, “Memorial,” he documents all four.
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Trick or Treat: It’s Mom and Dad!
The world’s worst parents come back to haunt us, in Lois Lowry’s “The Willoughbys Return.”
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Overlooked No More: Eleanor Flexner, Pioneering Feminist in an Anti-Feminist Age
“Century of Struggle,” her 1959 history of the women’s rights movement, uncovered previously ignored narratives, like the contributions of African-American women.
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The Ottoman Empire’s Influence on the Present Day
Alan Mikhail talks about “God’s Shadow,” and Benjamin Lorr discusses “The Secret Life of Groceries.”
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The Mysteries of the American-Saudi Alliance
Two new books, David H. Rundell’s “Vision or Mirage” and Bradley Hope and Justin Scheck’s “Blood and Oil,” offer insights into an enigmatic country.
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A Mother Takes Readers on a Journey With Her Autistic Son
Amy S.F. Lutz asks difficult questions in “We Walk.”
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‘The Queen’s Gambit’ Tries a Risky Play: Betting Chess Can Be Good TV
The new Netflix series, starring Anya Taylor-Joy, puts a self-destructive female player at the center of a male-dominated sport. But how to glean high drama from all that staring?
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Your Local Bookstore Wants You to Know That It’s Struggling
Independent booksellers are desperate for customers to return, and not just for an online reading.
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An Undercover Trip Into the Rageful Worlds of Incels and White Supremacists
To research and write “Culture Warlords,” Talia Lavin created fake identities and interacted with far-right communities online.
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Matthew McConaughey Wrote the Book on Matthew McConaughey
In his memoir, “Greenlights,” the star of “Dazed and Confused” and “Dallas Buyers Club” shares lessons from a life in which he turned out all right, all right, all right.
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Justice Dept. Sues Ex-Aide Over Book About Melania Trump
The lawsuit was the third in recent months where the government has taken on a perceived foes of the White House.
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The Brexit Romance: Finding Love in Irreconcilable Times
In “A Lover’s Discourse,” by Xiaolu Guo, and “Just Like You,” by Nick Hornby, characters couple up as Britain makes a break.
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The Problem of Wartime Guilt and Its Long Life Span
In “The Wind Traveler,” by Alonso Cueto, a man haunted by a terrible act he committed as a soldier faces the fallout years later.
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Claire Messud Looks Back on Life, and the Art That Shaped Her
In “Kant’s Little Prussian Head and Other Reasons Why I Write,” the longtime novelist explores her development as a writer.
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The D.I.Y. Way to Heal the Social Fabric: Don’t Do It Yourself
Robert Putnam’s “The Upswing” looks at how America has shifted from common purpose to individualism, to the greater detriment.
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Book Review: ’150 Glimpses of the Beatles,’ by Craig Brown
Craig Brown follows up the best-selling “Ninety-Nine Glimpses of Princess Margaret” with a book about John, Paul, George and Ringo.
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The Plight of the Aggrieved, Rich Manhattan Liberal
David Leavitt’s novel “Shelter in Place” dissects the complaints of pampered New Yorkers wringing their hands at a country they no longer recognize.
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The Secret Code That Threatened Nazi Fantasies of Racial Purity
Martin Puchner’s “The Language of Thieves” recounts the history of Rotwelsch — a secret code used by vagabonds across Europe for centuries — and the efforts to stamp it out.
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Was Churchill a Great Man?
Two new books, Richard Toye’s “Winston Churchill: A Life in the News” and “The Churchill Myths,” by Steven Fielding, Bill Schwarz and Toye, examine Churchill’s career and legacy.
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John Grisham Brings Back His Hero Jake Brigance for a Third Case
In “A Time for Mercy,” the small-town Mississippi lawyer defends a teenager who killed his mother’s abusive boyfriend.
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Don DeLillo, an Old Hand at Paranoia and Dread, Meets Us Where We Are
In “The Silence,” two wealthy couples watch the Super Bowl together as power grids mysteriously go down all over the world.
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A Life of James Beard Stocked With Tasty Morsels
“The Man Who Ate Too Much,” by John Birdsall, a food critic and former cook, offers a thoroughly researched, sensitive portrait of the man known as the “dean of American cookery.”
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The Fate of Refugees After World War II
David Nasaw talks about “The Last Million,” and Carlos Lozada discusses “What Were We Thinking.”
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Reading All the Books on Nike, Déjà Vu Sets In
“Win at All Costs” is the latest effort, following books like “Swoosh,” “Bowerman and the Men of Oregon” and “No Logo,” to better understand the company.
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The Poet Louise Glück Talks About Winning the Nobel Prize in Literature
“It seemed to be extremely unlikely that I would ever have this particular event to deal with in my life.”
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Louise Glück, a Nobel Winner Whose Poems Have Abundant Intellect and Deep Feeling
Our critic says it’s relatively easy to understand Glück’s poems, but also impossible to utterly get to the bottom of them.
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‘The Good Lord Bird’ Is Good TV. But Mix Art and Slavery at Your Peril.
James McBride’s novel offers a complicated perspective on America’s greatest sin. The new Showtime adaptation faces the daunting task of not being flattened by Hollywood.
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Louise Glück Is Awarded Nobel Prize in Literature
The American writer was lauded “for her unmistakable poetic voice.”
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How to Use Your Heart and Head to Hack Your Personal Finance
Yes, you need to do some math if you want to handle your finances well. But don’t forget your heart. Two new books show you how to use both.
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A ‘Great Gatsby’ Quote Takes On New Resonance
People critical of the president’s and other Republicans’ behavior have been sharing a line from the Fitzgerald novel about the wealthy characters whose “carelessness” harms everyone around them.
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Book Review: ‘Editing Humanity,’ by Kevin Davies
In “Editing Humanity,” Kevin Davies offers an account of Crispr at a moment when its leading American researcher has just won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
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Inside the C.I.A.
John O. Brennan’s memoir, “Undaunted,” describes his career at the C.I.A., including his years as head of the agency.
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Modern Science Didn’t Appear Until the 17th Century. What Took So Long?
In “The Knowledge Machine,” the philosopher Michael Strevens says that there is something fundamentally irrational and even “inhuman” about the scientific method.
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The Hidden Wonders of a City, Made Visible
In “The 99% Invisible City,” Roman Mars and Kurt Kohlstedt delve into the everyday features of urban life that we take for granted.
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In ‘Fauci,’ a Doctor Whose Work and Mission Have Been Shaped by Politics
Michael Specter’s audiobook biography shapes the story of Anthony Fauci into a stirring, and very American, morality play.
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A Woman Escapes Her Kidnapper. Will She Live Happily Ever After?
In “Dear Child,” Romy Hausmann explores the aftermath of an abduction. Her debut is equal parts mystery, thriller and family story.
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Book Review: ‘Mad at the World,’ by William Souder
In a new biography, “Mad at the World,” William Souder claims the “Of Mice and Men” author was motivated by anger toward injustice.
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Book Review: ‘Ten Lessons for a Post-Pandemic World,’ by Fareed Zakaria
Zakaria’s “Ten Lessons for a Post-Pandemic World” analyzes the social and political impact of Covid-19.
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