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Walter Benjamin was one of the most original cultural critics of the twentieth century. Illuminations includes his views on Kafka, with whom he felt a close personal affinity; his studies on Baud

“It’s the poet’s job to figure out what’s happening within oneself, to figure out the connection between the self and the world, and to get it down in words that have a certain

A collection of essays on life and literature, from one of the most iconic authors and astute critics in contemporary letters.Words Are My Matter is essential reading: a collection of talks, essays, and criticism by Ursula K. Le Guin, a literary legend and unparalleled voice of our social conscience. Here she investigates the depth and breadth of contemporary fiction--and, through the lens of literature, gives us a way of exploring the world around us.In "Freedom," Le Guin notes: "Hard times are coming, when we'll be wanting the voices of writers who can see alternatives to how we live now ... to other ways of being, and even imagine real grounds for hope. We'll need writers who can remember freedom--poets, visionaries--realists of a larger reality."Le Guin was one of those authors and in Words Are My Matter she gives us just that: a vision of a better reality, fueled by the power and might and hope of language and literature.

A NATIONAL BESTSELLERSy Montgomery, New York Times best-selling author and recipient of numerous awards, edits this year’s volume of the finest science and nature writing.“Science is important because

In 1955, with this short story collection, Flannery O’Connor firmly laid claim to her place as one of the most original and provocative writers of her generation. Steeped in a Southern Gothic traditio

Now in paperback, a “piercing and beautiful” (Domenica Ruta) memoir about one woman’s road to hope following the death of her troubled brother, told through the series of cars that a

Physician and popular New York Times contributor Aaron Carroll mines the latest evidence to show that many “bad” ingredients actually aren’t unhealthy, and in some cas

A delectable collection of Theroux’s recent writing on great places, people, and prose In the spirit of his much-loved Sunrise with Seamonsters and Fresh Air Fiend, Paul Theroux’s la

Diary of a Murderer: And Other Stories is master short story writer Young-ha Kim’s first collection ever to be published in English. His work has been compared to the novels of Haruki Murakami,

The untold story of five women who fought to compete against men in the high-stakes national air races of the 1920s and 1930s — and won Between the world wars, no sport was more popular,

As a deadly cancer spread inside her brain, leading neuroscientist Barbara Lipska was plunged into madness—only to miraculously survive with her memories intact. In the tradition of My Stroke of

The inside story of the new race to conquer space, as Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos spend billions of their own money to explore the final frontier. For the outsize personalities staking their fortunes on spaceships, the new race to explore space could be a dead end, a lucrative opportunity—or the key to humanity’s survival. Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos take center stage in this fast-paced narrative as they attempt to disrupt the space economy and feed their own egos. We meet a supporting cast of equally fascinating entrepreneurs, from the irrepressible British mogul Richard Branson to the satellite internet visionary Greg Wyler. Tim Fernholz’s fly-on-the-wall reporting captures an industry in the midst of disruption. NASA seeks to preserve its ambitious space program, traditional aerospace firms like Boeing and Lockheed Martin scramble to adapt to new competitors, lobbyists tussle over public funds, and lawmakers try to prevent this new space race from sparking globa

Featured on NPR and PBS’s SciTech Now, and in Fast Company, Forbes, and the Wall Street JournalThe inside story of the new race to conquer spaceFor the outsize personalities staking their fortunes on

“Break out the prosecco! There’s a new detective in town” (People Magazine). Now available in paperback, the delightfully sexy and bighearted novel starring Auntie Poldi, Sicily

A healthy credit score is essential for a healthy financial life. But the precise mechanisms used to determine our credit scores are shrouded in mystery. Consumers aren’t usually told how their

A string of bestsellers have alerted us to the importance of grit—an ability to persevere that is so necessary for success. But no book yet has charted the most accessible and powerful path

Ariel Schrag, a critically-acclaimed memoirist and screenwriter, takes us on a painfully funny tour of her formative years, from her childhood in Berkeley to her mid-twenties in Brooklyn, explori

The problem by most lights is overwhelming: at least 5,000 children live on the streets of Uganda’s capital city of Kampala. Some forget the names of their villages. The youngest may not know th

Set in "Britain’s land beyond the seas" during the Age of Chivalry, The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun tells of a childless Breton lord and lady (the "Aotrou" and "Itroun"

In the early days of photography, in the death-strewn wake of the Civil War, one man seized America’s imagination. A “spirit photographer,” William Mumler, took portrait photographs

Today’s readers of science fiction and fantasy have an appetite for stories that address a wide variety of voices, perspectives, and styles. There is an openness to experiment and pushing bounda

Chosen as FDR’s fourth-term vice president for his well-praised work ethic, good judgment, and lack of enemies, Harry S. Truman was the prototypical ordinary man until FDR’s sudden de

Best-selling author of The Disappearing Spoon, The Violinist’s Thumb, and more, Sam Kean, selects the year’s top science and nature writing, looking for writers who balance research with h

A new sexual revolution is sweeping the country, and college students are on the front lines. Vanessa Grigoriadis dispels the confusion around the topic of sex on campus by embedding at schools large

“An exciting and engrossing book with stories that are worth telling. This work will engage fans of Charlie O. Finley and the Oakland Athletics, along with anyone captivated by baseball history.

“Urgent, riveting, and endlessly fascinating...This book is destined to become an instant classic. Read it and understand its implications if you want to understand our biological future.”

“The good news is that attention is finally turning to the psychic and emotional qualities our students bring to the classroom. No one is better at chronicling this shift than Paul Tough.”

“Superb . . . One of the most insightful and thought-provoking books I have ever read on the most important relationship in the world.”—General (Ret.) David Petraeus “Allison i

“An absorbing and vividly written study of a gallant and tragic man.”—Boston Globe Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., chronicles the short life of the Kennedy family’s second p

“Scott Hartley artfully explains why it is time for us to get over the false division between the human and the technical in business.”—Tim Brown, CEO of IDEO and best-selling author

“A straightforward presentation that promotes values of conduct most of us would be proud to share.” —Kirkus Reviews “A myth-destroying book that will make you rethink b

Why President Trump has left us with no choice but to remove him from office, as explained by celebrated Supreme Court lawyer and former Acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal.No one is above the law. T

Named a Best Book of the YearBy Amazon and Foreign Affairs MagazineThrough the weaponization of social media, the internet is changing war and politics, just as war and politics are changing the inter

From the New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of Wool and the Molly Fyde saga comes a story of teenage colonists marooned on a distant planetWE WOKE IN FIREFive hundred colonists have been

An eclectic collection of fiction, essays, poetry, and graphic work selected by high school students with the help of New York Times best-selling author Edan Lepucki.Over the past year, a group of hig

A collection of the year’s best essays selected by Robert Atwan and guest editor Rebecca Solnit.“Essays are restless literature, trying to find out how things fit together, how we can think about two

A new thriller from a writer who’s been compared to Michael Crichton, Alfred Hitchcock, Raymond Chandler, Blake Crouch, and David Cronenberg takes us to the most menacing core of California&rsqu

"A big-hearted and clear-eyed story of life’s biggest choices: who to love and how best to love them…Compulsively readable and oh so worth the read." —Heather Harpham, aut