Dominic Pettman and Eugene Thacker’s expansive book "Sad Planets" contemplates humanity’s troubled perception of climate change and perhaps diminishing cosmic presence. The... Read More

The climate crisis is a global problem, with every individual playing a role: Nikolaj Schultz confronts this conundrum in his lovely, essay-length book "Land Sickness". In... Read More

Karl Schlögel’s cultural history "The Scent of Empires" tells the story of two perfumes that permeated portions of the twentieth century. In 1913, French perfumers were... Read More

"Smells" is part scholarly treatise, part fascinating popular history, dashed through with a soupçon of wit. Historian Robert Muchembled’s abundant research led him to scour... Read More

Expansive and thought provoking, "Down to Earth" intertwines ecological concerns with contemporary political realities. Leading sociologist/anthropologist Bruno Latour... Read More

Genius is as genius does. With fortuitous circumstances, genius can do more. Take Leonardo: The illegitimate son of a notary in the 1450s, he was blessed with paper and ink for... Read More

This rare theological gift tugs at the curtain fixed between Islam and Christianity. Navid Kermani’s "Wonder Beyond Belief" is a work of artistic inquiry that is rife with... Read More

Organized into roughly contiguous “lectures,” "Facing Gaia" is an unusual and academic examination of climate change and humanity’s place in nature. In contrast to many... Read More

Lilti’s project illustrates commonalities in human fixations, even across gaps of centuries. The concept of celebrity is not a recent phenomenon, as Antoine Lilti shows in... Read More

Juan Martin Guevara wants Che to be remembered as a human being, not as a myth. Fifty years after his death, Ernesto “Che” Guevara remains one of the most charismatic and... Read More