Books

Meadows, lakes, snow and granite are the enduring elements of California's John Muir Trail, which leads through 211 miles of some of the world's most beautiful alpine wilderness.

Great Walks of the World

The fact that people opt to walk today tells us there is something virtuous and irresistible in the plodding of one foot forward after the other

That’s Disgusting

While disgust originally protected us from potential poisons, it eventually gave rise to culturally defining flavors and odors, all tied to local microbes

The One: The Life and Music of James Brown by RJ Smith records, corrects and carves out historical significance of James Brown's life.

A James Brown Biography and Other Must-Read Books

This vivid new book charts the dazzling contradictions in the life of the Godfather of Soul

John D. Lee, seated on his coffin, moments before his execution.

The Aftermath of Mountain Meadows

The massacre almost brought the United States to war against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but only one man was brought to trial: John D

The Islamic Empire (top) and Baghdad (bottom), circa 770-910 AD

Arabic Manuscripts: It Used To Snow in Iraq

Baghdad was the bustling capital of the vast Islamic Empire a thousand years ago, when the city's climate was much different than today

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Peeling Open the 1947 Chiquita Banana Cookbook

What do ham banana rolls with cheese sauce and salmon salad tropical have to say about politics?

Asa Butterfield plays Hugo and Chloe Grace Moretz plays Isabelle in Hugo.

“A Precise, Beautiful Machine”: John Logan on Writing the Screenplay for Hugo

The Oscar-nominated writer tells how he adapted Brian Selznick's bestseller for the screen

British musician Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones performs on stage during the band's 'Voodoo Lounge' tour, late 1994.

Five New Books That Will Rock You Like a Hurricane

The '70s music scene is being reexamined in these books by and about the major players of rock 'n' roll

The microwave field around the objects without (left) and with the cloaking material (right).

Scientists Move Closer to Creating an Invisibility Cloak

As far as the microwaves were concerned, the 7-inch-long tube did not exist -- is true invisibility that far away?

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Nothing Out of the Ordinary: Squirrel Stewed, 1878

A collection of old community cookbooks reflects a changing ecology and a cultural shift: the decline of hunting, chitlins and pig's feet

President Ulysses S. Grant with First Lady Julia Dent Grant and son Jesse in 1872.

General Grant in Love and War

The officer who gained glory as a warrior in the Civil War also had a domestic side.

Let's Kiss.

Everything You Wanted to Know About Food and Sex (But Were Afraid to Ask)

What is the term for a "euphoric sensation upon eating amazingly delicious food"

“Commune Gothic” Summer 1970

Brotherhood Spirit in Flesh Soup, or a Recipe Calling For Love

The counterculture has long been characterized by a single word: “love.” For some hippie communards, love was also a recipe ingredient

Charles McIlvaine, Pioneer of American Mycophagy

"I take no man's word for the qualities of a toadstool," said the man who took it upon himself to sample more than 600 species

Bedtime Reading From Beatrix Potter: Amateur Mycologist

Would Flopsy, Mopsy and Peter Cottontail have been conceived had it not been for the biases of Victorian era science?

The Marx Brothers in Horsefeathers

Super Bowl Guide to Football Films

The sport was fodder for slapstick comedy, but as the technology evolved, so did the way in which filmmakers portrayed the gridiron on the big screen

Saving the Whales (And Eating Them Too?)

What does whale meat taste like, and is it anything like jojoba oil, prosciutto or jellied crustaceans?

The 1507 Johann Ruysch map

The Allure of Nonexistent Places

Long-gone destinations have their own special appeal, don't you think?

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History Writers to Watch in 2012

A rundown of historians, authors and bloggers to follow in the coming year

Artist rendition of Charles Guiteau's attack on President Garfield

The Stalking of the President

Charles J. Guiteau said he wanted to kill President James A. Garfield "in an American manner."

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