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The Swimsuit Series, Part 4: A Competitive Swimmer’s Musings
In Leanne Shapton's Swimming Studies "Bathing" chapter, there's a story behind every suit
July 17, 2012 |
By Emily Spivack
Round 1 of the Dinosaurs vs Aliens Throwdown
Does the first issue of Dinosaurs vs Aliens live up to the hype?
July 12, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
Packing List Series, Part 1: Joan Didion
In 1979, "The White Album" gave smart women a straightforward guide to what to bring on a trip
July 11, 2012 |
By Emily Spivack
Daughters of Wealth, Sisters in Revolt
The Gore-Booth sisters, Constance and Eva, forsook their places amid Ireland's Protestant gentry to fight for the rights of the disenfranchised and the poor
July 10, 2012 |
By Gilbert King
Meet Edith and Fanny, Thomas Jefferson’s Enslaved Master Chefs
Monticello research historian Leni Sorensen offers an impression of what life was like for these early White House chefs
July 09, 2012 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Flower Children on the North Shore of Kauai
In the late 1960s, a gorgeous stretch of beach in Ha’ena State Park was the site of a hippy haven called Taylor Camp.
July 09, 2012 |
By Susan Spano
What if Newton’s Principia Mathematica, Published Today, Had Been in Comic Sans?
The seething rage over CERN's font choice drives the question: How would the world have reacted to Newton's world-changing tome had Comic Sans existed at the time?
July 05, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
Germans un-Kampf-ortable With Reissue of Hitler’s Tome
Starting in 2015, Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf will once again be available to German readers.
July 05, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
‘Little House on the Prairie’ Author’s Autobiography Published for First Time Ever
Fangirls and boys of Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House on the Prairie series know that the "fictional" account of the frontier life of a little girl named "Laura" is at least somewhat based on reality. But next summer, they will be able to find out if truth is better than fiction: for the first time, the author's autobiography "Pioneer Girl" will be published.
July 03, 2012 |
By Sarah Laskow
Have You Ever Wondered How the Internet Works?
Andrew Blum, author of the new book "Tubes," spent two years exploring the physical constructions around the world that enable the Internet to exist
July 03, 2012 |
By Joseph Stromberg
Wearing Wool, All Summer Long
Layered, corseted summer garments kept women proper and fashionable, if not cool
July 03, 2012 |
By Emily Spivack
A Lincoln Novel, Native Poetry, Marie Curie and More New Recent Books
In a new alternative history, The Great Emancipator lives to fight a second civil war
July 2012 |
By Chloë Schama
America’s Other (Lady) Audubon
Genevieve Jones got an early start as a birder. Born in the 1850s, the 6-year old would accompany her father on egg collecting trips to fill the family’s curiosities shelf. She wanted to create a book illustrating different nests and eggs of bird species, but her family discouraged her since producing such a book would [...]
June 27, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Movie Mash-ups That Beat Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter
Mixing movie genres, from Abbott and Costello to SCTV
June 20, 2012 |
By Daniel Eagan
A Serious Look at Funny Faces
A history of caricatures exposes the inside jokes
June 08, 2012 |
By Henry Adams
A Taste of Edible Feces
Ambergris, the subject of a new book, "is aromatic—both woody and floral. The smell reminds me of leaf litter on a forest floor."
June 04, 2012 |
By Peter Smith
The Peas that Smelled the Leaky Pipe
In 1901, a 17-year-old Russian discovered the gas that tells fruits to ripen
June 01, 2012 |
By Peter Smith
Passion in the Poconos
Home of the heart-shaped tub, the Pennsylvania mountains once rivaled Niagara Falls as a honeymoon destination
June 01, 2012 |
By Susan Spano
Loving Elephants, the Meaning of Life, a London History and More Recent Books
A pioneering elephant rescuer looks back on the loves of her life and a collection of essays investigates the history of happiness
June 2012 |
By Chloë Schama
Books on How To Get Pickled
Curious about the middle ground between fresh and rotten? These four books tell you how to preserve the fleeting tastes of spring
May 18, 2012 |
By Peter Smith
