Whimsical children’s books signed El Pintor were a success in the Netherlands during World War II. Behind the pseudonym was a Jewish couple who used the proceeds to help the resistance.
In “The Ugly History of Beautiful Things,” Katy Kelleher considers her desire for rare or pretty objects, as both life-affirming and morally problematic.
Christina Sharpe is expanding the vocabulary of life in slavery’s long shadow — peeling back the meaning of familiar words and resurrecting neglected history.
In a largely closeted era, he was a founder of a magazine devoted to gay and lesbian writing and an imprint devoted to L.G.B.T. fiction and nonfiction.
Tony Hsieh, the longtime chief of Zappos, descended into addiction and psychosis — and finally died — in the midst of a large entourage. “Wonder Boy” asks why.
In “Affinities,” his latest book of essays, the critic Brian Dillon meditates on images by photographers, filmmakers, dancers and other artists, exploring their attractions and affiliations.
Éric Vuillard writes short historical narratives known for their irony. His latest, “An Honorable Exit,” delves into France’s defeat in the First Indochina War.
A new account by the Yale historian Ned Blackhawk argues that Native peoples shaped the development of American democracy while being dispossessed of their land.
Claire Dederer’s deft and searching book surfaces a “fan’s dilemma” over such figures as Vladimir Nabokov, Woody Allen, Willa Cather and Roman Polanski.
