All Books
- Rewriting the historical epic: African women writers go big
Petina Gappah’s “Out of Darkness, Shining Light” is the latest example of a new generation of African novelists reinventing historical fiction.
- Out of Africa: David Livingstone’s servants preserve his legacy
Petina Gappah’s novel “Out of Darkness, Shining Light” imagines what the 19th-century explorer’s African servants thought of his quest.
- Of moles and men: A memoir about the virtue of letting nature alone
Marc Hamer probes the essence of nature, solitude, and the accommodations we make between deeply held beliefs and our everyday behavior.
- Susan Sontag’s razor-sharp intellect is captured in new biography
Benjamin Moser strikes a balance between the immersive details that fans expect and the storytelling that will appeal to more general readers.
- A son probes his stepfather’s ties to Jimmy Hoffa
Jack Goldsmith untangles a family relationship that involved links to the mob and the 1975 disappearance of Teamsters Union president Jimmy Hoffa.
- Listen to women take on the world in September’s best audiobooks
From a spooky thriller to a collection of experiences of displacement, women lead the stories featured in this month’s roundup of top audiobooks.
- Interview: Who gets ahead in higher education?
Author Paul Tough spent six years shadowing college students. In his new book, he explains why higher education struggles to promote social mobility.
- When an idealistic Obama adviser bumped against real-world politics
Samantha Power’s candid memoir, “The Education of an Idealist,” details her experiences in President Barack Obama’s White House.
- ‘How to Be an Antiracist’ opens a vital dialogue on race
Ibram X. Kendi spares no one from critique – not even himself – in this takedown of racism and the attitudes and policies that perpetuate it.
- A nuanced critique of ‘soft power’ in ‘A Door in the Earth’
Journalist Amy Waldman’s novel explores the idealism of a young Afghan American woman and the downside of American intervention in Afghanistan.
- When the art world became the art market
Michael Shnayerson traces the shift toward big business in “Boom: Mad Money, Mega Dealers, and the Rise of Contemporary Art.”
- Take your mind back to school with the 10 best books of September
From thought-provoking fiction by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Petina Gappah to biographies of Susan Sontag and Condé Nast, your reading list starts here.
- Malcolm Gladwell’s ‘Talking to Strangers’ is a swing and a miss
The bestselling author says that we need more trust. But the monstrous crimes in his case studies don't help his argument.
- Q&A with Ryan Jacobs, author of ‘The Truffle Underground’
What exactly is a truffle crime? Author Ryan Jacobs discusses his investigation of the alluring fungus and his new book ‘The Truffle Underground.’
- ‘A Good Provider Is One Who Leaves’ is extraordinary, moving
Journalist Jason DeParle chronicles the lives and labor of three far-flung generations of a Filipino family as they forge a way out of poverty.
- ‘A Better Man’ shows Louise Penny at her compelling best
Her Three Pines mystery series, with Inspector Gamache, is a rare one that becomes more interesting the longer it goes on.
- ‘See Jane Win’: A riveting political deconstruction of 2018
Caitlin Moscatello’s “See Jane Win” dives deep into the triumphs and pitfalls encountered by novice women politicians in the 2018 elections.
- ‘Quichotte’ retells ‘Don Quixote’ for chaotic modern times
Salman Rushdie’s messy novel pulls in everything from the opioid crisis and white supremacist violence to “Pinocchio” and reality TV.
- Q&A with Julia Flynn Siler, author of ‘The White Devil’s Daughters’
The journalist writes on early activists who fought sex trafficking in San Francisco’s Chinatown.
- ‘In the Country of Women’ is a powerful American memoir
Acclaimed writer Susan Straight shares a poignant and vivid reflection on her family’s journeys.