All Books
Poet W.S. Merwin followed where the words ledOnce called 鈥榯he Thoreau of our era,鈥� W.S. Merwin was an environmentalist who transformed concrete language into evanescent poetry that reflected on war, spirituality, and the natural and metaphysical worlds.
Audio books that entertain and illuminateFrom Toni Morrison to Wild Bill Hickok, from animal rescuers to cultural travelers, March audio releases offer a stimulating listening experience.聽
First LookJailed Saudi women activists receive PEN Freedom to Write AwardThe activists have聽openly opposed the Saudi government's ban on women driving and the restriction of women's rights to travel and education without approval from a male guardian. PEN hopes the attention generated by the award may eventually lead to their release.
Young adult novel merges Chinese history with 'Snow White' fairy tale'Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix' brims with sorcerers and poisoned apples.
'Say Nothing' casts light on the bloody warfare in Northern IrelandPatrick Radden Keefe's history is packed with true crime, terrorism, grinding poverty, and rampant police and military corruption.
Eccentricity charms in 'Bowlaway'Elizabeth McCracken's first novel in almost two decades is a quirky delight.聽
Whom to save, whom to let perish?The rescuers of refugees washing up on the Italian island of Lampedusa face an impossible choice, as memoirist and playwright Davide Enia describes in 'Notes on a Shipwreck: A Story of Refugees, Borders, and Hope.'聽
A perfect marriage of sculptor and subjectThe biography 'Monument Man' shows how Daniel Chester French聽 stepped away from classical sculpture to create a more realistic portrait in marble of Abraham Lincoln for the Lincoln Memorial in Washington.
The Origins of 'Zippy the Pinhead' comic stripIn 'Nobody's Fool,' graphic artist and cartoonist Bill Griffith pays tribute to Schlitzie, a gentle soul and sideshow attraction in the early 20th century.
James Baldwin finds new generation of fansSome three decades after his passing,聽Baldwin鈥檚 books endure as part of the literary canon. He channeled a love of language into his writing, choosing prose instead of sermons, following a writer's instead of a preacher's life.聽
Lonesome highwayFor decades, leaders in the United States sought to make it easier 鈥� not harder 鈥� to travel from the US to Latin America.聽But the idea of a united hemisphere faded and was eventually lost.聽
'The Story of Britain' is an eminently readable history of the islesThe book made fine, invigorating reading two decades ago, and it still does (making room, of course, for the addition of the Brexit referendum). Author Roy Strong leads readers smoothly through rulers and epochs, with a narrative style that's happily free of a metahistorical agenda.
Glittering currents of the Ganges RiverLike all great rivers, the Ganges carries important cultural and spiritual meaning. Author Sudipta Sen illuminates the background of this sacred river, connecting it to thousands of years of Indian history.聽
'The Darkest Year' explores how Americans adapted to World War IIThe appeal of William K. Klingaman鈥檚 'The Darkest Year,'聽which uses contemporary sources to survey the national psyche in the tense months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, is in enabling readers to feel the immediacy of well-known historical events as they unfolded.
February's 10 books to break the winter doldrums
For 'Underground' author Will Hunt, darkness offers spiritual transcendenceHunt chronicles his travels in one of the quirkiest and most captivating books of the year
'From Gutenberg to Google,' how human inquiry became a networked activityAuthor Tom Wheeler chronicles how聽knowledge in the Western world was largely localized, artisanal, and intensely exclusionary until Johannes聽Gutenberg combined a suite of technological innovations to revolutionize the way books were made.
In 'On the Come Up,' an aspiring teen rapper grapples with lifeA street-smart poet-geek navigates challenges pulled from the headlines.聽
To shelve a 鈥楳ockingbird鈥�: Is it time for Scout and Atticus to retire?As society evolves, should classic novels with outdated racial and cultural references be retired 鈥� or adapted? A resurgence of interest in聽鈥楾o Kill a Mockingbird鈥櫬爄n North America brings arguments for both to the fore.
