How she carved a path in comedy and influenced the new generation.

On the pleasures of poetry that deliberately defies our comprehension.

In his near-century of life, Murray confronted race by re-constructing American identity as omni-American—that out of many, we are one.

The troubling history of popular science.

Why was Haiti's revolutionary overlooked by historians for so long?

Why libertarians adore Jane Jacobs.

In his new novel, the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves are flimsy things.

Marc Levinson's new book is the latest to argue that the good times are gone forever.

The bestselling author of "Hillbilly Elegy" has emerged as the liberal media's favorite white trash–splainer. But he is offering all the wrong lessons.

Trevor Noah’s searing memoir ridicules the absurdities of racism.

The backlash against a culture that requires women to be perfect.

In Yoko Tawada's surreal novel, we see displacement and climate change through a polar bear's eyes.

A new biography reveals how the drug-addled essayist legitimized our excitement for murder.

The study of human emotions cautions us to parse our feelings carefully.

Social climbing and self-discovery are entwined in Zadie Smith’s new novel.

Harvard historian James T. Kloppenberg looks to the roots of American democracy. But is that enough?