Books
How One Amateur Historian Brought Us the Stories of African-Americans Who Knew Abraham Lincoln
Once John E. Washington started to dig, he found an incredible wealth of untapped knowledge about the 16th president
Unfinished Volume of Foucault’s ‘History of Sexuality’ Released in France
Foucault did not want the work to be published posthumously, but his family and heirs decided that the time had come for the book to be released
Women Were Better Represented in Victorian Novels Than Modern Ones
Big data shows that women used to be omnipresent in fiction. Then men got in the way
The Book That Spooked the South
David Walker’s “Appeal” laid bare the ethical bankruptcy of slavery moreso than any other book of its time
Why Thomas Jefferson Owned a Qur’an
Islam in America dates to the founding fathers, says Smithsonian’s religion curator Peter Manseau
This Book Is Bound in Lab-Grown Jellyfish Leather
<i>Clean Meat</i>, a history of cellular agriculture, is the first book with a lab-grown leather cover
British Author Takes Fresh Look at the Black Dahlia Murder
Piu Eatwell's recent true crime book on the case suggests that one-time suspect Leslie Dillon was the killer of Elizabeth Short in the unsolved 1947 murder
The Science of Swearing
A new book explains the neuroscience of why we swear—and how it can sway our listeners
When Mass Murder Is an Intimate Affair
A new book reveals how neighbors turned on neighbors in an Eastern European border town
Trove of Rare Stephen King Books Destroyed in Flood
The author said he was ‘horrified’ to hear about the loss
From Helping Shut-Ins to Sisterly Advice, Mail-Order Magazines Did More Than Just Sell Things
The cheap monthly publications that flooded rural homes offered more than just advertising—they also provided companionship
Possible Remains of ‘Lost’ Monastery Discovered in Scotland
The elusive monastery is associated with the Book of Deer, which contains the oldest-surviving examples of Scottish Gaelic writing
What America's First Cookbook Says About Our Country and Its Cuisine
An 18th-century kitchen guide taught Americans how to eat simply but sumptuously
The True History of Luke Skywalker's Monastic Retreat
A Smithsonian Librarian delves into centuries of maps and manuscripts to discover ancient stories of this sacred place and sanctuary
New York Directive Restricts Inmates’ Literature Options
A pilot directive affecting three New York State prisons stipulates that inmates can only receive packages from six approved vendors
Rare Scraps of Paper Unearthed in the Sludge of Famed Pirate Ship
The 300-year-old fragments found in Blackbeard's flagship show someone on board was likely literate and interested in sea stories
The Remarkable Influence of 'A Wrinkle in Time'
How the Madeleine L'Engle novel liberated young adult literature
Thomas Edison’s Forgotten Sci-Fi Novel
By feeding his visions for the future to a well-regarded contemporary, the prolific inventor offered a peek into his brilliant mind
The Book That Incited a Worldwide Fear of Overpopulation
'The Population Bomb' made dire predictions—and triggered a wave of repression around the world
Learn to Speak the Language of the Universe With This Mindblowing New Book
<i>Magnitude</i> helps you imagine the outer limits of time, speed and distance—without breaking your brain
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