Books
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Mark Kurlansky on the Cultural Importance of Salt
Salt, it may be useful to know, cures a zombie
May 17, 2012 |
By Jesse Rhodes
The Great Books and Movies to Read and Watch Before Visiting India
A list of some of the best books and films about the subcontinent to take in before you go.
May 16, 2012 |
By Susan Spano
Clarence Birdseye, the Man Behind Modern Frozen Food
I spoke with author Mark Kurlansky about the quirky inventor who changed the way we eat
May 16, 2012 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Danger and Romance from HBO’s “Hemingway & Gellhorn”
A new made-for-television movie airing May 28 recounts the stormy love affair between the writer and the war correspondent
May 09, 2012 |
By Susan Spano
The Banana King, Surviving K2, the Allure of America and More Recent Books
The man who helped make the banana an American favorite also mercilessly used his company’s power to topple foreign governments
May 2012 |
By Chloë Schama
From the Joshua Tree to The Slaughtered Lamb: Destinations of Story and Song
Should you go to Cephalonia, bring a copy of the Odyssey—perhaps the truest guidebook to this Greek island
April 27, 2012 |
By Alastair Bland
The Secret Lives of Medieval Books
A new method reveals which pages of ancient religious texts were most frequently used—and which prayers perpetually put readers to sleep
April 26, 2012 |
By Joseph Stromberg
Dinosaurs vs. Aliens
You know it had to happen eventually: Dinosaurs chomp aliens in forthcoming graphic novel
April 20, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
Colonel Curmudgeon and KFC’s Mascot Problem
Colonel Sanders thought the quality of his chicken had "slipped mightily" and the whole culture of fast food appeared to disgust him
April 18, 2012 |
By Peter Smith
Fiddlehead Ferns: How Dangerous is the First Taste of Spring?
The French botanist named 6,700 species in a manic quest for fame. But did his taste for wild foods do him in?
April 09, 2012 |
By Peter Smith
Exotic Fruits to Eat Locally When Traveling Globally
The crimson fruits occur by the millions, and fishermen, tequila-sipping cowboys, families from the city and even a few tourists take to the desert to pursue the pitahaya
April 06, 2012 |
By Alastair Bland
Books: Teddy Roosevelt: Top Cop, Jonah Lehrer and Other Must-Read Books
TR’s rough ride as New York’s police chief shaped the man who became president just six years later
April 2012 |
By Chloë Schama
The Portrait of Sensitivity: A Photographer in Storyville, New Orleans’ Forgotten Burlesque Quarter
The Big Easy's red light district had plenty of tawdriness going on—except when Ernest J. Bellocq was taking photographs of prostitutes
March 28, 2012 |
By Gilbert King
An American Library in Paris
Founded after World War I, the City of Light's English-language library has long been a haven for expats, including Hemingway
March 25, 2012 |
By Susan Spano
When Humans Are the Prey: 5 Movies That Came Before The Hunger Games
The blockbuster book adaptation isn't the first story to feature televised death matches
March 23, 2012 |
By Daniel Eagan
Edward Curtis’ Epic Project to Photograph Native Americans
His 20-volume masterwork was hailed as "the most ambitious enterprise in publishing since the production of the King James Bible"—and he paid dearly for his ambition
March 21, 2012 |
By Gilbert King
What Shredded Wheat Did for the Navy
The inventor of one of the first ready-to-eat breakfast cereals was also an accidental historian
March 14, 2012 |
By Peter Smith
The Films That Led to Game Change
The HBO film has roots in two acclaimed documentaries that covered the 1992 and 1960 presidential elections
March 09, 2012 |
By Daniel Eagan
Why We Have Sliced Bread
"Here is a refinement that will receive a hearty and permanent welcome," a reporter wrote of the best thing to hit grocery store shelves
March 07, 2012 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Great Walks of the World
The fact that people opt to walk today, in the age of the wheel and the combustion engine, tells us there is something virtuous and irresistible in the plodding of one foot forward after the other
March 06, 2012 |
By Alastair Bland

