A new book that names a Jewish notary as a suspect made headlines. Now that World War II and Holocaust experts have had time to review its claims, many doubt the methods and conclusion.
Tag Archives: Books and Literature
Steve Jenkins, 69, Dies; His Children’s Books Brought Science to Life
In plain language, he answered many burning questions: How do you catch a fly? What do animals do the day they’re born? How loud is a lion’s roar?
A Strong New Lead in ‘The Betrayal of Anne Frank’
Rosemary Sullivan’s new book chronicles the emergence of a new suspect who might have informed the authorities of Frank’s whereabouts.
The Too-Short Evolution of Mac Miller
“Most Dope,” a biography by Paul Cantor, offers a tender remembrance of a precocious talent.
A Fascinating Page-Turner Made From an Unlikely Subject: Federal Reserve Policy
Christoper Leonard’s “The Lords of Easy Money” takes aim at the Fed’s decision to inject new money into the banking system.
Spiders, Archaeology and Brain Confetti
Our critic recommends old and new books.
A Library the Internet Can’t Get Enough Of
Why does this image keep resurfacing on social media?
Terry Teachout, Arts Critic With a Wide Range, Is Dead at 65
He called himself a “well-informed amateur,” and he wrote about everything from bluegrass to ballet.
Into the Belly of the Whale With Sjón
The Icelandic novelist, poet and Björk collaborator is a surrealist for our time.
Leading Bookseller’s Private Collection Goes Up for Sale
Christie’s will auction the personal Americana collection of William Reese, which carries an estimate of $12 million to $18 million.
Robert Gottlieb on ‘Garbo’ and ‘Babbitt’
Gottlieb talks about his own new biography and the work of Sinclair Lewis, and Carl Bernstein discusses “Chasing History.”
Mommy Is Going Away for Awhile
The antiheroine of the moment, in movies like “The Lost Daughter” and novels like “I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness,” commits the mother’s ultimate sin: abandoning her children.
Two High-Powered Black Attorneys Confront a Justice System’s Flaws
“Just Pursuit,” by Laura Coates, a former federal prosecutor, and “The Rage of Innocence,” by Kristin Henning, a longtime juvenile defense lawyer, detail the moral quandaries and bias they encountered in their work.
Some Antiracist Books Aren’t Very Good. Do I Still Have to Read Them to My Child?
I’m all for undoing racist impulses, but I wonder how useful it is to sit with my daughter and scold myself with clunky prose.
The Book That Turned Annie Leibovitz Into a Photographer
“I became a photographer because of ‘The World of Henri Cartier-Bresson,’ which was published when I was a student at the San Francisco Art Institute. I was studying painting. Maybe it was something about the word ‘world,’ as well as the pictures, that seduced me.”
Finding Joy Through Art at the End of the World in ‘Station Eleven’
Emily St. John Mandel talks about the pandemic novel she wrote years before Covid-19 and the HBO Max adaptation that some viewers have found oddly life-affirming.
‘American Urbanist,’ a Well-Timed Biography of a Man Who Reshaped City Life
Richard K. Rein’s book tells the story of William H. Whyte, a sociologist who wrote “The Organization Man” and helped to rethink how cities look and feel.
Does Art Have to Be Relevant? One Prominent Critic Says No.
The composer John Adams reviews a new book by Jed Perl, “Authority and Freedom: A Defense of the Arts.”
A Memoir of a Young Girl’s Survival Amid Mounting Horrors
In “Mala’s Cat,” Mala Kacenberg describes her time hiding out in the forest during World War II after losing her family.
A Chilling Debut Novel Puts Mothers Under Surveillance and Into Parenting Rehab
Jessamine Chan’s “The School for Good Mothers” takes up themes of autonomy and technology in imagining an experimental facility where parents go through mandatory retraining.
What Unites Buddhism and Psychotherapy? One Therapist Has the Answer.
In “The Zen of Therapy,” Mark Epstein weaves together two ways of understanding how humans can feel more settled in their lives.
Jami Attenberg’s Memoir Is a Portrait of the Artist as a Born Writer
In “I Came All This Way to Meet You,” the novelist reveals how far she’s traveled — and how many obstacles she’s cleared — to get where she is now.
In Zora Neale Hurston’s Essays, the Nonfiction of a Nonconformist
“You Don’t Know Us Negroes,” edited by Genevieve West and Henry Louis Gates Jr., is a collection of nonfiction by the author of “Their Eyes Were Watching God.”
The Sunday Read: ‘What if There’s No Such Thing as Closure?’
Many of us are taught that if we work hard enough we’ll be able to get over our losses. The social scientist Pauline Boss sees it differently.
Rubble and Repression: An Intimate Look at Germany in the Decade After Hitler
“Aftermath,” by Harald Jähner, recounts Germans rebuilding their country while avoiding any reckoning with what the Nazi regime had done in their name.
Book Review: ‘To Paradise,’ by Hanya Yanagihara
“To Paradise” spans centuries and continents with a dizzying array of themes, situations and motifs.
Carl Bernstein’s Eulogy for the Newspaper Business
Bernstein’s memoir “Chasing History” is a personal and affectionate look at the past, when journalism was thriving.
F. Sionil Jose, 97, Novelist Who Saw Heroism in Ordinary Filipinos, Dies
Mr. Jose’s writing, rich in themes drawn from his rural upbringing, amounted to a continuing morality play about poverty and class divisions in the Philippines.
A Sherlock Holmes Mystery at the Grolier Club
A collector’s passion for Holmes and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is on display in “Sherlock Holmes in 221 Objects.” But can he solve the case of the pirate signature?
Listeners’ Questions
Critics, reporters and editors answer your questions about all things literary.
Overlooked No More: Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, Artist and Author Who Explored Identity
She was murdered after the publication of her first novel, “Dictee,” a challenging exploration of Korean history and immigrant life that inspires Asian American writers today.
Will America Descend Into Another Civil War?
It’s hard to imagine. But so is democracy’s salvation.
‘The School for Good Mothers’ Is Our January Group Text Pick
In her debut novel, “The School for Good Mothers,” Jessamine Chan imagines a future where parents (mostly women) get sent to government-run reform school.
Why the Nobel-Winning Economist Amartya Sen Recommends ‘King Lear’
“Sympathy and solidarity are qualities that people do need.”
F.B.I. Arrests Man Accused of Stealing Unpublished Book Manuscripts
Filippo Bernardini, an Italian citizen who worked in publishing, was charged with wire fraud and identity theft for a scheme that prosecutors said affected hundreds of people over five or more years.
Carl Bernstein, Looking Back at His Start, Conjures the Newsrooms of the Early 1960s
“Chasing History” tells the story of his journalistic apprenticeship at The Evening Star in Washington, D.C., when he was in his teens and early 20s.
Joan Didion, Conservative
Why I am drawn to Didion’s earlier work and its ambiguities.
What Role Do Emotions Play in the Way Our Brains Work?
In “Emotional,” Leonard Mlodinow examines the effect of feelings on our thought processes and mental lives.
Norman Mailer Book to Be Released by Skyhorse
The independent press acquired the title after Random House, the writer’s longtime publisher, declined to make an offer.
‘Lost & Found’ Ponders Profound Grief Alongside Newfound Love
Kathryn Schulz’s memoir places the totalizing experience of loss on a continuum with the summons of romantic and even religious love.
A Gothic Novel Haunted by Nine Lives Over Nine Decades
In “Luckenbooth,” Jenni Fagan traces the strange, fantastical stories of artists, vagabonds, dreamers and mystics in a single tenement.
Book Review: ‘Anthem,’ by Noah Hawley
In “Anthem,” Noah Hawley ushers readers into a nightmarish fantasy world.
Noah Hawley Keeps Changing Lanes
The show runner behind “Fargo” and “Legion” is also a novelist. His latest, “Anthem,” is set in a divided America with a touch of magical realism.
The Unsung Heroes of the 2020 Presidential Election
“The Steal,” by Mark Bowden and Matthew Teague, memorializes those brave Republicans who defied their party and refused to overturn the 2020 election.
Craving Books, Sex and Revolution
Gina Apostol’s novel “Bibliolepsy” revisits the final years of the Marcos dictatorship in the Philippines.
Tackling the Enduring Mysteries of Dante’s Life
“Dante: A Life,” an impressively researched new portrait by the Italian novelist and historian Alessandro Barbero, plumbs some of the perennial riddles in Dante studies and arrives at unconventional conclusions.
‘Three Minutes: A Lengthening’ Looks at Jewish Life Before Nazi Invasion
A documentary based on a home movie shot by an American in 1938 provides a look at the vibrancy of a Jewish community in Europe just before the Holocaust.
‘How Civil Wars Start,’ a Warning About the State of the Union
In her new book, Barbara F. Walter makes the case that the United States is firmly within the “danger zone” for more political violence.
Taiwanese-Born Best Friends Endure a California Adolescence, Side by Side
Jean Chen Ho’s debut story collection, “Fiona and Jane,” follows all the milestones of growing up for immigrants in America.