Books

Aphrodite rescuing her son Aeneas, wounded in fight, scene from The Iliad. Work on display in the Staatliche Antikensammlungen.

Geneticists Try to Figure Out When the Illiad Was Published

When was The Iliad actually written? To answer that question, you might turn to a historian or a literary scholar. But geneticists wanted a crack at it

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Snakes in a Frame: Mark Laita’s Stunning Photographs of Slithering Beasts

In his new book, Serpentine, Mark Laita captures the colors, textures and sinuous forms of a variety of snake species

Meals in a Jar: From Pancakes to Baby Back Ribs, Just Add Water

Ready-made meals, good for months on a pantry shelf, work for busy nights, camping trips and power outages

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With Biodesign, Life is Not Only the Subject of Art, But the Medium Too

Artists are borrowing from biology to create dazzling "biodesigns" that challenge our aesthetics—and our place in nature

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The World’s Greatest Angling Authors Went by Names Like ‘Badger Hackle’ and ‘Old Log’

If you're an angler and an author, there's a good chance you're using a pen name

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Interview: Jane Goodall on the Future of Plants and Chimps

The renowned chimp expert discusses her new book, her efforts to protect the rainforest and why she misses living with chimps

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New York Is Running Out of Ways to Separate Gifted Pre-Schoolers From Well-Prepared Ones

Actually figuring out which four-years-old are naturally smart and which have simply prepared, is harder than you might think

Fifty Years After Sylvia Plath’s Death, Critics Are Just Starting to Understand Her Life

Cultural fascination with the author and poet continues to burn brightly despite - or perhaps because of - Plath's premature departure from this world

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This Artist Uses Meat As His Medium

Dominic Episcopo's red and raw images capture the spirit of Americana.

Constitution of the United States

Should the Constitution Be Scrapped?

In a new book, Louis Michael Seidman claims that arguing about the constitutionality of laws and reforms is the cause of our harsh political discourse

Going back to the roots of English grammar to uncover its many myths

Most of What You Think You Know About Grammar Is Wrong

And ending sentences with a preposition is nothing worth worrying about

“No. 2256. Copyist: Musa b. Muhammad b. al-Hasan al-Kansusi from the area of Takrakar. Copied in 1144 H / 1731 G in Takrakar (Gao, Mali).”

Library Full of Precious Manuscripts Burned in Timbuktu

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How to Tour Jane Austen’s English Countryside

Follow in the footsteps of Mr. Darcy and the Bennet sisters and take in the manors and gardens of rural England

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There’s No Such Thing as Reading Silently to Yourself

Sitting in a corner reading silently - as you might be doing right now, for example - turns out to impossible

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Readers Who Bought Lance Armstrong’s Book Want Their Money Back

Lance Armstrong's doping confession has cost him his Tour de France medals, sponsors and his charity. But now, readers who bought his books, want their money back too

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We’re Better at Remembering Facebook Statuses Than Book Lines

Turns out, the average person is far more likely to remember a Facebook status than they are a painstakingly edited sentence from a book

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The Gory Details of Artist Katrina van Grouw’s Unfeathered Birds

A British artist, with experience in ornithology, explains how she created anatomical drawings of 200 different species of birds for a new book

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War and Peace of Mind for Ulysses S. Grant

With the help of his friend Mark Twain, Grant finished his memoirs—and saved his wife from an impoverished widowhood—just days before he died

Red Acorn, 40 years old

Covered in Ink, Cross-sections of Trees Make Gorgeous Prints

Connecticut-based artist Bryan Nash Gill uses ink to draw out the growth rings of a variety of tree species

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Texas’ New Library Won’t Have Any Books

In San Antonio, an entirely bookless library system

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