Nonfiction
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Lucy Jones Tracing the Internal Queer Revolution
Riots and parades have made LGBTQ people visible. But a new anthology of writings from before, during, and after Stonewall shows the inward changes as more essential.
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Annie Otzen / Getty The End of the Age of Paternity Secrets
A historian of fatherhood wonders whether the rapid embrace of consumer DNA testing will be seen as a positive development in the future.
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Hokyoung Kim What Lies Beneath
Burrow far below the planet’s surface, and even there, humanity has left its imprint.
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Matt Marton / AP R. Kelly Wants Power, Not ‘Help’
Soulless, a new book from the journalist Jim DeRogatis about the singer’s alleged sex crimes, further challenges the facade of Kelly’s despondence.
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Lottie Davies / Getty The Case Against Grit
David Epstein’s new book, Range, argues that starting a specialized path early and doggedly sticking to it may not be as rewarding as trying a variety of things and quitting the unfulfilling ones.
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Library of Congress The Philosophy Behind the First American Dictionary
In 1789, Noah Webster called on the newly independent United States to claim its own national version of the English language.
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Owen Freeman Female Spies and Their Secrets
An old-boy operation was transformed by women during World War II, and at last the unsung upstarts are getting their due.
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Daan Brand / Bransch Eat Food. All the Time. Mostly Junk.
How the “food revolution” turned us into snackers, guaranteeing the demise of healthy home cooking
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Robert Youngson / Sony Pictures Classics In Shakespeare’s Life Story, Not All Is True. In Fact, Much Is Invented.
A new film by Kenneth Branagh is a textbook case of how portraitists of the bard spin a paucity of fact into fairy tale.
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Benoit Tessier / Reuters Neon Is the Ultimate Symbol of the 20th Century
The once-ubiquitous form of lighting was novel when it first emerged in the early 1900s, though it has since come to represent decline.
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Jon Savage Deciphering the Mystery of Joy Division
A new book explores how the group turned itself into a portal for some of the most alien and beautiful information ever to be broadcast through the medium of a rock-and-roll band.
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Felipe Dana / AP How Domestic Workers Enable Well-Off Women to Prosper
In her new book, Women’s Work, the journalist Megan Stack grapples with how she’s been able to advance in her career at the expense of other women’s labor.
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Adam Gault / Getty The Art of Navigating a Family Political Discussion, Peacefully
It works best when both sides really try.
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Julien Pacaud Psychiatry’s Incurable Hubris
The biology of mental illness is still a mystery, but practitioners don’t want to admit it.
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Simon & Schuster Brain Surgery, Up Close
Watching a neurosurgeon at work is awe- and cringe-inducing.
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Fine Art Images / Heritage Images / Getty ... The Curious Power of Giving Book Characters the Same Name
Leo Tolstoy did it. So did Gabriel García Márquez and the Tintin comics. Sometimes, the unusual literary device can amplify a story’s meaning tremendously.
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Arsh Raziuddin The ‘Female Byron’
The celebrity poet Letitia Elizabeth Landon mesmerized a 19th-century public with hints of dark secrets.
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Doubleday How Conflicts End—And Who Can End Them
A new book about the Troubles in Northern Ireland is a detective story about an unsolved murder. It’s also an examination of the cost of achieving peace.
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Christoph Hetzmannseder / Getty The Invisibility of Older Women
As they age, women experience less public scrutiny—and entertain a wider set of choices about when and how they are seen.
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Kevin Coombs / Reuters The ‘Hidden Mechanisms’ That Help Those Born Rich to Excel in Elite Jobs
When two sociologists interviewed highly paid architects, TV producers, actors, and accountants, they encountered work cultures that favor the already affluent.
