At long last, Mary Beard addresses in one brave book the misogynists and trolls who mercilessly attack and demean women the world over, including, very often, Mary herself. In Women & Power, she trace
So essential is Crime and Punishment (1866) to global literature and even to our understanding of roiling Russia today that Edward Snowden, while confined to the Moscow airport, was given only three b
Ferdowsi’s classic poem Shahnameh is part myth, part history?beginning with the legend of the birth of the Persian nation and its tumultuous history, it contains magical birds and superhuman heroes an
You’ve met the extra woman: she’s sophisticated, she lives comfortably alone, she pursues her passions unabashedly, and—contrary to society’s suspicions—she really is happy. Despite multiple waves of
The battleship Yamato, of the Imperial Japanese Navy, was the most powerful warship of World War II and represented the climax, as it were, of the Japanese warrior traditions of the samurai—the ideals
Drawing from the great folklorists of the past while expanding African American lore with dozens of tales rarely seen before, The Annotated African American Folktales revolutionizes the canon like no
Heartbreaking and unforgettable, Mark Ribowsky’s Hank has been hailed as the “greatest biography yet” (Library Journal, starred review) of the beloved icon. Hank Williams, a frail, flawed man who had
In this “sumptuous” (Publishers Weekly) portrait of the man who birthed an undying cultural icon, David J. Skal “pulls back the curtain to reveal the author who dreamed up this vampire” (Time). “A fas
Long relegated to the sidelines of history as the hyperintellectual son of John and Abigail Adams, John Quincy Adams (1767–1848), has never basked in the historical spotlight. Remembered, if at all, a
A critical triumph, Simon Morrison’s “sweeping and authoritative” (Guardian) work, Bolshoi Confidential, details the Bolshoi Ballet’s magnificent history from its earliest tumults to recent scandals.
Boasting 4 to 6 million members, the reassembled KuKlux Klan of the 1920s dramatically challenged ourpreconceptions of hooded Klansmen, who through violenceand lynching had established a Jim Crow raci
The gruesome murder of hopeful starlet Elizabeth Short, in the noir-tinged Los Angeles of 1947, has a permanent place in American lore as one of the most inscrutable of true-crime mysteries. Now, Piu
Instantly heralded for its “masterful” and “thrilling” portrayal (Boston Globe), Shirley Jackson reveals the tumultuous life and inner darkness of the literary genius behind such classics as “The Lott
So convinced is Francis Ford Coppola that “live cinema”will become a powerful medium within the larger filmindustry that he has crafted this instructional book,filled with lively anecdotes and invalua
In an absorbing work peopled with world leaders, generals, and ordinary citizens who fought on both sides of World War II, Alone brings to resounding life perhaps the most critical year of twentieth-c
Long fascinated with the Mexican Revolution and the vicious border wars of the early twentieth century, Winston Groom brings to life a much-forgotten period of history in this sprawling saga of herois
Larry McMurtry burst onto the American literary scene with a force that would forever redefine how we perceive the American West. His first three novels— Horseman, Pass By (1961),* Leaving Cheyenne (1
Mankind has a distinct advantage over all terrestrial species: we talk to one another. But how did we acquire the most advanced form of communication on Earth? In this sweeping history, How Language B
The American sports stadium, in all its raucous glory, is a shockingly overlooked centerpiece of our national culture. In this game-changing romp, intrepid sportswriter Rafi Kohan finagles access to o
Western philosophy is now two and a half millennia old, but much of it came in just two staccato bursts, each lasting only about 150 years. In his landmark survey of Western philosophy from the Greeks
At just forty-seven years old, William Giraldi’s father was killed in a horrific motorcycle crash while racing on a country road. This tragedy, which forever altered the young Giraldi and devastated h
Since 2010, The Stone—the immensely popular, award-winning philosophy column in the New York Times—has revived and reinterpreted age-old inquiries to speak to our contemporary condition. Now, doing fo
“Remarkably, a nineteen-year-old, writing her first novel, penned a tale that combines tragedy, morality, social commentary, and a thoughtful examination of the very nature of knowledge,” writes best-
Shocked by a five-month arson spree that left a rural Virginia county reeling, Washington Post reporter Monica Hesse drove down to the desolate county of Accomack to cover the trial of Charlie Smith,
Independence Day, 1861. The schooner S. J. Waring sets sail from New York on a routine voyage to South America. Seventeen days later, it limps back into New York’s frenzied harbor with the ship's blac
Lauded as a “compelling” (The New Yorker) and “eye-opening tour of a process that many Americans never see” (Washington Post), David Daley’s Ratf**ked documents the effort of Republican legislators an
In the early nineteenth century, the United States turned its idealistic gaze southward,imagining a legacy of revolution and republicanism it hoped would dominatethe American hemisphere. From pulsing
Worshipped by Tea Party politicians but loathedby sane economists, gold has influenced Americanmonetary policy and has exerted an irrationalinfluence on the national psyche for centuries. It is an exi
Capturing the distinct rhythms of Jamaican life and dialect, Nicole Dennis- Benn pens a tender hymn to a world hidden among pristine beaches and the wide expanse of turquoise seas. At an opulent resor
In the scorching summer of 1878, with the Gilded Age in its infancy, three ruthless and brilliant scientists raced to Wyoming and Colorado to observe a rare total solar eclipse. One sought to discover
Maine's rugged, picturesque Monhegan Island is home to weathered lobster fishermen and curious tourists…a genial if sleepy group. But when Spark Monahan—rakish prodigal son—returns unannounced to the
Doing for Syria what Imperial Life in the Emerald City did for the war in Iraq, The Morning They Came for Us bears witness to one of the most brutal, internecine conflicts in recent history. Drawing f
Widely hailed as a “powerfully written” history about America’s beginnings (Annette Gordon-Reed), New England Bound fundamentally changes the story of America’s seventeenth-century origins. Building o
Lauded by Ta-Nehisi Coates for his “brilliant” and “fine understanding of the machinery of government policy” (The Atlantic), Richard Rothstein has painstakingly documented how American cities, from S
Caliph Washington’s life was never supposed to matter. As a black teenager from the vice-ridden city of Bessemer, Alabama, Washington was wrongfully convicted of killing an Alabama policeman in 1957.
In a work rich in maritime lore and brimming with original historical detail, Eric Jay Dolin, the best-selling author of Leviathan, presents the definitive history of American lighthouses. Brilliant B
Already established as a pioneering work of modern philosophy, The Internet of Us has helped revolutionize our understanding of what it means to be human in the digital age. Indeed, demonstrating that
Through his celebrated Western biographies, Michael Wallis has become renowned for his portraits of the real, largely unforgotten legends of Americana. Now, with The Way West, Wallis continues his lif
During the late fall of 2015, the world powers cametogether in Paris with the hope of reaching an agreementon the most urgent issue of our time: climatechange. While it was an historic moment that fin
Even as major figures like Sheryl Sandberg and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie embrace the word “feminism,” the word “ambition” remains loaded with ambivalence. Few women describe themselves as ambitious, se
