The biography genre is an art form in itself. The author must balance hefty research with the storyline. It’s easy for the book to founder. Too heavy on the facts and... Read More

For nearly 400 years, the possibility of an open shipping route above North America drew sailors to the top of the globe as surely the North Pole attracted their compass... Read More

“I do not believe that one becomes a writer to reinforce common values or common perspectives on reality,” writes Québécois poet, novelist, and essayist Nicole Brossard in... Read More

Storytelling and medical research collide in the psychiatric emergency room, and Dr. Paul Linde uses both to show readers the full range of day-to-day life in the ER. Linde’s... Read More

In 1989, the Berlin Wall fell, marking the end of the Cold War-as well as the end of history itself, according to the writer and philosopher Francis Fukuyama. In his new book... Read More

The word "Christmas" conjures up all sorts of associations: the holiness of the birth of Jesus, the beauty of the lights and evergreen decorations, and the frantic shopping for... Read More

It is estimated that, in 1958, 25 million hula-hoops were sold in the United States. This overpriced plastic hoop is a classic example of a fad—an event, idea, or object that... Read More

A tranquil and protected life in the ivory tower is rarely enjoyed by faculty and never experienced by university presidents. Wachman, in his engaging memoir, mentions that... Read More

The traditional explanation that America was drawn inevitably into the Vietnam quagmire because it was a critical front in the cold war between the United States and the Soviet... Read More

The traditional explanation that America was drawn inevitably into the Vietnam quagmire because it was a critical front in the cold war between the United States and the Soviet... Read More

Consider the fateful paradoxes of exile that haunted this poet’s fragile yet tenacious lifework. Born Paul Antschel in 1920 to a prosperous Jewish family in Bukovina (grimly... Read More

Pat Brown was the right man to serve as California governor (1959—1965) during the state’s period of both booming population and economic growth. His record of liberal... Read More