A Manageable Way Forward in the Arctic
In Edward Struzik's new book Future Arctic: Field Notes From a World on the Edge, he avoids the apocalyptic and offers a vision of how pragmatists could tackle some of the region's many environmental problems.
We Read It
Plus-Sized Fashion and the Sociologist's Gaze
In a new book, Amanda M. Czerniawski details how the fashion industry objectifies plus-sized models. But can sociologists avoid doing the same?
The Puzzle of the Written Word
In his new book, A Muse & A Maze: Writing as Puzzle, Mystery, and Magic, Peter Turchi explains the riddling experience of literature.
The Neuroscience of Altruism
In The Altruistic Brain, neurobiologist Donald Pfaff makes the case that humans are hard-wired for good. But, Noah Berlatsky argues, that good is frequently defined and distorted by culture.
The Rise of the Literary Espionage Novel
In the surveillance-ridden contemporary world, the traditional domestic plot has become a bit less exciting. So espionage has crept in.
Understanding Money
In How to Speak Money, John Lanchester explains how the monied people talk about their mountains of cash.
A Murder Remembered: Alexis Coe's Alice + Freda Forever
In her new book, Alice + Freda Forever: A Murder in Memphis, Alexis Coe takes a humanistic look at a forgotten 1892 crime.
The Book of Mormon, Without the Mormon Part
The Lost Book of Mormon makes a compelling case for including the religious text in the larger American literary canon, but somehow dances around a discussion of what the book actually means to Mormons.
What's the Difference Between Film and Reality?
Your brain isn't so sure, according to Jeffrey M. Zacks' new book Flicker.
Would Science Exist Without Religion?
Though religious thought was key to early scientific breakthroughs, purists tend to erase this part of history. In his new book, What Galileo Saw: Imagining the Scientific Revolution, Lawrence Lipking reminds us of the real story.
Lord Byron and the Birth of Vampires
Sexual politics meet literary monsters in a new book by Andrew McConnell Stott.
Why Did Excellent Sheep Alienate So Many Readers?
William Deresiewicz’s new book appears to have touched a nerve.
A Letter Becomes a Book Becomes a Play
Sarah Ruhl's Dear Elizabeth: A Play in Letters From Elizabeth Bishop to Robert Lowell and Back Again takes 900 pages of correspondence between the two poets and turns them into an on-stage performance.
The Inevitable Singularity Could Destroy Us All
In his new book, Nick Bostrom charts the near-inevitable rise of superintelligence. The future does not look bright.
Beyoncé Isn’t an Anti-Feminist Terrorist
A new book called Staging the Blues shows she's embracing a tradition of multi-dimensional stardom, rather than one racist trope.
Long Live Short Novels
Christopher Beha's Arts & Entertainments comes in at less than 300 pages long, which—along with a plot centered on a sex-tape scandal—makes it a uniquely efficient pleasure.
The Problems With William Deresiewicz's New Manifesto
Excellent Sheep: a facile approach to an urgent critique.
How I Became a Knausgaard Truther
Did companies in Norway institute Knausgaard-free days in response to the popularity of Karl Ove Knausgaard's autobiographical novel My Struggle? It's a question that led to a search for proof that something never happened.
Why Do Men Dislike Erotica for Women So Much?
William Giraldi’s attempt to pan Fifty Shades of Grey is just the latest in a long line of hollow critiques dating back to Elinor Glyn and the genre’s origins.
Working, 40 Years After 'Working'
Four decades later, Studs Terkel's characterization of the American worker still applies.
Advice From Great Writers About Kicking Writer's Block
A catalog of cures for writers in crisis.
Darkness Laughable: The Comic Genius of Cormac McCarthy
As one of our greatest living writers has his work lifted into the ivory tower, let’s reflect on how it’s the light, not the darkness, that keeps us going back for more.
The Journalism of Religious Experience
An interview with Jeff Sharlet, editor of Radiant Truths.