An electric essay collection about Blackness, art, and dreaming of new possibilities in a time of constrictionThis collection of innovative, penetrating, and lively essays features swimming pools and poets, road trips and museums, family dinners and...

An incisive and intimate account of the life and work of the great poet Rilke, exploring the rich interior world he created in his poetryWhen Rilke died in 1926, his reputation as a great poet seemed secure. But as the tide of the critical avant-garde...

From a bold new historian comes a vibrant history of Rome as seen through its most influential persona throughout the centuries: the pope.Rome is a city of echoes, where the voice of the people has chimed and clashed with the words of princes, emperors,...

A riveting and illuminating exploration of the transatlantic slave trade by an intrepid team of divers seeking to reclaim the stories of their ancestors. “For me, Enslaved is an attempt to give a voice to the millions whose voices were silenced.”—Samuel...

Without Beethoven, music as we know it wouldn’t exist. By examining one hundred of his compositions, a portrait emerges of the man behind the music.Lebrecht has immersed himself in the rich catalogue of Beethoven recordings and presents a unique picture...

"Breathtakingly successful." —Michael Dirda, Washington Post A bold and dynamic retelling of five great male-female pairings from the Greek myths: Prometheus and Pandora, Jason and Medea, Oedipus and Antigone, Achilles and Thetis, and Odysseus and...

Named a Times Literary Supplement Best Book of the Year A Pulitzer Prize–winning historian revisits Marcel Proust’s masterpiece in this essay on literature and memory, exploring the question of identity—that of the novel’s narrator and Proust’s own.  ...

New perspectives on the role of collective responsibility in modern politicsStates are commonly blamed for wars, called on to apologize, held liable for debts and reparations, bound by treaties, and punished with sanctions. But what does it mean to hold...

A harrowing history of the conflicts that swept Asia during the decade following World War II—and determined the fate of the continent.The end of World War II led to the United States’ emergence as a global superpower. For war-ravaged Western Europe it...

How scientists saved humanity from the deadliest infectious diseases—and what we can do to prepare ourselves for future epidemics.After the unprecedented events of the COVID-19 pandemic, it may be hard to imagine a time not so long ago when deadly...

How did modernist poetry respond—both thematically and technically—to communism?In Red Modernism, Mark Steven asserts that modernism was highly attuned—and aesthetically responsive—to the overall spirit of communism. He considers the maturation of...

How the history of a word sheds new light on capitalism and modern politicsWhat exactly is capitalism? How has the meaning of capitalism changed over time? And what’s at stake in our understanding or misunderstanding of it? In Capitalism, Michael...

An epic excursion into one of the last great frontiers on EarthThe deep ocean comprises more than 90 percent of our planet’s biosphere and is home to some of the world’s most dazzling creatures, which thrive amid extreme pressures, scarce food supplies,...

How Tocqueville’s ideas can help us build resilient liberal democracies in a divided worldHow can today’s liberal democracies withstand the illiberal wave sweeping the globe? What can revive our waning faith in constitutional democracy? Tocqueville’s...

The controversial Jewish thinker whose tortured path led him into the heart of twentieth-century intellectual lifeScion of a distinguished line of Talmudic scholars, Jacob Taubes (1923–1987) was an intellectual impresario whose inner restlessness led him...

"In the midst of civil unrest in the summer of 2020 following the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, one of the great literary voices of our time, Elizabeth Alexander, wrote a moving reflection on the psyche of young Black...

Jonathan Franzen’s gift for wedding depth and vividness of character with breadth of social vision has never been more dazzlingly evident than in Crossroads.It’s December 23, 1971, and heavy weather is forecast for Chicago. Russ Hildebrandt, the...

**Nominated for the 2022 BookTube Prize in Nonfiction** Anthony Bourdain's long time director and producer takes readers behind the scenes to reveal the insanity of filming television in some of the most volatile places in the world and what it was...

"Purnell details how multi-racial social movements rooted in rebellion, risk-taking, and revolutionary love pushed her and a generation of activists toward abolition. The book travels across geography and time, and offers lessons that activists have...

"Moretti's thoughts on teaching literature in American universities, with excursions not just on novels and plays but also film, painting, and intellectual life in general"--