Nonfiction: A Foreign Policy Realist Challenges America’s Zeal for Intervention
Stephen M. Walt’s “The Hell of Good Intentions” takes a critical look at how Washington has handled international affairs over the last several years.
Nonfiction: The Disaster That Was the Vietnam War
Max Hastings’s “Vietnam: An Epic Tragedy, 1945-1975” condemns all sides for corruption, cynicism and outright cruelty.
'Che' Graphic Biography Explores The Myths And Truths Of The Legend
While José Hernández and Jon Lee Anderson struggle continually to balance nuanced truth with cartoony distillation, Che remains a remarkable accomplishment.
(Image credit: NPR)
'Little Dancer' Brings Us To See The Person Behind The Famous Degas Sculpture
Degas's sculpture "Little Dancer Aged Fourteen" is known the world over. But who is that young lady he depicts? Camille Laurens aims to find out — and realizes something about herself in the process.
(Image credit: The Washington Post/Getty Images)
New & Noteworthy
A selection of books published this week; plus, a peek at what our colleagues around the newsroom are reading.
Fiction: The Life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, Imagined Through His Collisions With Others
Louisa Hall’s novel “Trinity” tells the story of the father of the atomic bomb by way of the people who were around him and reacted to him.
Nonfiction: John Adams on Debussy, the First Modernist
In “Debussy: A Painter in Sound,” the Stravinsky biographer Stephen Walsh focuses on the music.
Nonfiction: Robert Schumann: A Hopeless, Brilliant Romantic
The pianist Jeremy Denk reviews the biography “Schumann: The Faces and the Masks,” by Judith Chernaik.
Nonfiction: A Brilliant Frédéric Chopin
“Fryderyk Chopin,” a magisterial new biography by Alan Walker, offers fresh insight into the legendary pianist and composer, whose reputation thrived after a life cut short by illness.
Q. & A.: Tell Us 5 Things About Your Book: A Journalist Recalls the Terror (and Boredom) of Being Held Hostage
In “The Desert and the Sea,” Michael Scott Moore recounts his ordeal being held captive by Somali pirates for more than two years.
Book Review: 'Those Who Knew'
NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro speaks with author Idra Novey about her novel "Those Who Knew," which takes a look at the emotional toll of staying silent after an assault.
This 'Ladder To The Sky' Is Grounded In The Dirty Depths
John Boyne's new novel is about a literary schemer, striver and climber so dastardly and downright cruel that it seems impossible to enjoy reading about him — and yet, you definitely will.
(Image credit: Cameron Pollack/NPR)
'Death And Other Holidays' Is A Perfect Literary Break
Marci Vogel's new novella spans a year in the life of April, a young woman blindsided by loss. It's the perfect length for a story, and the perfect balance of humor, anger, sorrow and beauty.
(Image credit: Cameron Pollack/NPR)
Like a Boss: Megan Abbott’s Work Diary: ‘My Psychiatrist Notes How Tired I Look, Which Is Great’
The author of nine acclaimed novels, including “Give Me Your Hand” and “Dare Me,” is adapting four (four!) of them for TV.
Visuals: A ‘Lyricist of the Metal Nib’: Nicholson Baker considers the intricate art of Saul Steinberg
In this excerpt from the introduction to a new edition of Saul Steinberg’s 1960 book, “The Labyrinth,” the novelist celebrates the artist as a “twirler of nonverbal non sequiturs.”
Children’s Books: Beyond Battles, Boogers and Pranks
Now that my son can read, I want him to seek out books about more than just winning things and getting easy laughs. Why does that seem hard?
The Shortlist: What Is America’s Role in the World? Three Authors Offer Very Different Views
In new books, Jeffrey Sachs looks beyond exceptionalism, Michael Beckley describes unrivaled power and Robert Kagan favors pragmatic leadership.
Nonfiction: Two Spies, Two Opposing Sides, One Fast Friendship
In “Best of Enemies,” Gus Russo and Eric Dezenhall tell the story of Jack Platt and Gennady Vasilenko, covert agents who played by their own rules.
The Book Review Podcast: The Past, Present and Future of Jews in America
Gal Beckerman discusses several new books that touch on American Jewish identity, and Kiese Laymon talks about his new memoir, “Heavy.”
Fiction: A Dystopian America Where a Woman Who Can Read and Write Wields Special Power
Alyson Hagy’s new novel, “Scribe,” draws on Appalachian folk tales to fashion a mythic vision of a war-torn country that doubles as an allegory about storytelling.
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