Books

Lee receiving the Medal of Freedom in 2007

Unpublished Harper Lee Letters Purchased at Auction Share Intimate Reflections

The letters from the <i>To Kill a Mockingbird</i> scribe include remembrances of Hollywood celebrities, a bit of history and some sass

The British Museum was the first free, public natural history museum in the world—but its creator, Hans Sloane, was intricately connected with the slave trade.

The British Museum Was a Wonder of Its Time—But Also a Product of Slavery

A new book explores the little-known life and career of Hans Sloane, whose collections led to the founding of the British Museum

Anti-Nazi protest outside Deutsches Haus, Aug. 1938

The Nazis' Plan to Infiltrate Los Angeles And the Man Who Kept Them at Bay

A new book explores the deadly and nefarious plots designed by Hitler and his supporters

Members of the chorus sing their parts in a performance of Antigone in Ferguson at Normandy High School in St. Louis.

The Healing Power of Greek Tragedy

Do plays written centuries ago have the power to heal modern day traumas? A new project raises the curtain on a daring new experiment

BBC's "Downton Abbey" is one of the rare aspects of popular culture to show the grim costs of the 1918 flu pandemic.

Why Did So Few Novels Tackle the 1918 Pandemic?

Surprisingly few U.S. writers touched by the 1918 pandemic wrote about it. But flu lit appears more popular today than ever

Songbook From the 16th-Century Spells Out Samurai Customs, Tactics and Baby Names

The newly translated Japanese text offers kernels of advice to warriors who had yet to face battle

"The Rush" lampooned in an 1870 issue of Harper's Magazine

The Minister Who Invented Camping in America

How William H.H. Murray accidental bestseller launched the country's first outdoor craze

"We were joking that we could do some kind of a comedy about organ printing," says Zach Weinersmith. "What if there was this world where every part of your body is disposable? Everyone could act way more dangerously."

Ten Technologies That Will Change Our Lives, Soonish

A scientist and admired cartoonist explore how today’s research is becoming tomorrow’s innovations in a new book

U.S. first lady Eleanor Roosevelt attends a meeting of the women's CWA officials at Warrenton, Virginia. January 26, 1934.

Collection of Eleanor Roosevelt’s Writing Captures the First Lady’s Lasting Relevance

On the 133rd anniversary of her birth, "ER"'s influence lives on

The British Navy was a big deal in the 1700s.

Jane Squire and the Longitude Wars

The sixteenth-century debate over how to determine longitude had a lot of participants—and one woman

Despite the best efforts of many investigators, no one was able to solve the riddle of exactly how Mumler created his apparitions.

Meet Mr. Mumler, the Man Who “Captured” Lincoln’s Ghost on Camera

When America’s first aerial cameraman met an infamous spirit photographer, the chemistry was explosive

British novelist Kazuo Ishiguro during a press conference at his home in London, Thursday Oct. 5, 2017.

What to Know About Literature's Newest Nobel Winner British Novelist Kazuo Ishiguro

The author of <i>The Remains of the Day</i> and seven other books explores themes of memory, time and self-deception

The main branch of the NYPL, located on Fifth Avenue in midtown Manhattan.

The Wondrous Complexity of the New York Public Library

A new documentary captures the sweeping human impact of one of the country's largest library systems

Hemingway's Earliest Piece of Fiction Discovered

The phony travelogue describes a trip from his home in Illinois across the Atlantic to Ireland and Scotland

Portrait of a Civil War soldier group, circa 1861-65.

The Most 'Realistic' Civil War Novel Was Written Three Decades After It Ended

By an author who wasn't even alive when it occurred

Explore the Secret Lives of Animals With These Marvelous Maps

A new book considers how sophisticated tracking technology and the data it collects can improve conservation strategies

Kurt Vonnegut in a 1990 portrait

You Can Now Read Five Newly Discovered Kurt Vonnegut Short Stories

Written early in the author's careers, the works were recently unearthed in his archives

A record-breaking gathering of Waldo (known across the pond as 'Wally') impersonators in Dublin, Ireland, in 2011.

The Science Behind Our Search for Waldo

'Where's Waldo' was first published on this day in 1987

A fan art drawing of Smaug atop his horde.

J.R.R. Tolkien Gave the World His Childhood Fascination With Dragons in 'The Hobbit'

The dragon Smaug--who debuted in <I>The Hobbit</I> in 1937, was inspired by his early reading of mythology

Dave Eggers

Dave Eggers’ Animals Might Be “Ungrateful,” But They Go to a Good Cause

The author discusses a return to art and his forthcoming book <em>Ungrateful Mammals</em>

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