Books
Untold Stories of American History
Frederick Douglass Thought This Abolitionist Was a 'Vastly Superior' Orator and Thinker
A new book offers the first full-length biography of newspaper editor, labor leader and minister Samuel Ringgold Ward
Why French Authorities Placed a Young Pablo Picasso Under Surveillance
Police suspected the 19-year-old Spanish expatriate of harboring anarchist views
Postal Service Unveils Forever Stamp Honoring Toni Morrison
A ceremony at Princeton celebrated the Nobel laureate whose words transformed American literature
The Sideshow Magician Who Inspired Ray Bradbury—Then Vanished
Experts have been unable to verify the existence of Mr. Electrico, whose 1932 electric chair act supposedly affirmed the young author's interest in writing
The Most Enigmatic Works in Art History
A new book highlights 100 artistic curiosities, from the nude "Mona Lisa" to portraits of a dog-headed saint
How Edith Wilson Kept Herself—and Her Husband—in the White House
A new book about the first lady reveals how she and the ailing President Woodrow Wilson silenced their critics
Parisian Opera House That Inspired 'Phantom of the Opera' Becomes an Airbnb
For just one night, two travelers will spend the night in the Palais Garnier’s Box of Honor
Untold Stories of American History
The Forgotten 1980s Battle to Preserve Africatown
A new book tells the definitive history of an Alabama community founded by survivors of the slave trade
How California Took Over the World
A sweeping book offers a provocative new history arguing that today's inequality can be traced back to the state's founding
The Making of Emily Brontë
A new film imagines the events that inspired the notoriously private author to write "Wuthering Heights"
Author Jan Brett Pans for Creative Gold in Alaska
Trips to the 49th state inspired the characters in the writer-illustrator's latest children’s book "Cozy in Love"
Gregory Peck's 'To Kill a Mockingbird' Script Goes to Auction
Also for sale are gifts from Harper Lee, who remained close with the Peck family for years
The Seesawing History of Fad Diets
Since dieting began in the 1830s, the ever-changing nutritional advice has skimped on science
In 1946, a Black Pilot Returned to the Cockpit After a Double Amputation
Neal V. Loving, whose memoir will soon be released by Smithsonian Books, built his own planes, ran a flight school and conducted research for the Air Force
S.E. Hinton Is Tired of Talking About 'The Outsiders.' No One Else Is
The author reflects on her classic 1967 novel, its 1983 film adaptation and its legacy today
New York Public Library Acquires Joan Didion's Letters, Drafts and Notes
The archive includes 240 linear feet of papers from Didion and her husband, John Gregory Dunne
Colette Revolutionized French Literature With Her Depictions of Female Desire
Born 150 years ago this week, the author was known for her incisive portrayals of women's everyday lives
In Salman Rushdie's New Book, Stories Outlive Tyrants
'Victory City' comes just six months after the author survived a violent attack at a speaking event
The Indigenous Americans Who Visited Europe
A new book reverses the narrative of the Age of Discovery, which has long evoked the ambitions of Europeans looking to the Americas rather than vice versa
Why the Union Army Had So Many Boy Soldiers
A new book unearths the startling numbers behind underage enlistment during the Civil War
