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The Asama Maru, a Japanese ship that transported Allied civilians to the east coast of Africa, where they were traded for Japanese civilians from North and South America during World War II

After Pearl Harbor, Americans Living in Japan Endured Imprisonment, Torture and a Lengthy Battle to Return Home

A new book chronicles the tense negotiations that secured the return of nearly 3,000 Allied civilians held by the Japanese during World War II

A view of the Action Comics No. 1 cover

The Historic Comic Books That Introduced Superman and Captain America Just Entered the Smithsonian in a Landmark Acquisition

The National Museum of American History adds ‘Action Comics No. 1’ and ‘Captain America Comics No. 1’ to its vast pop culture and entertainment library

Jessie Buckley in The Bride! (left) and Elsa Lanchester in Bride of Frankenstein (right)

In ‘Bride of Frankenstein,’ the Monster’s Wife Never Speaks. Now, Maggie Gyllenhaal’s ‘The Bride!’ Gives the Iconic Character a Voice

Directed by James Whale, the 1935 movie and its prequel, a 1931 adaptation of Mary Shelley’s classic novel, laid the groundwork for the modern horror genre

The illustrations are owned by a family in London.

Rare and Original Watercolor Illustrations of Rudyard Kipling’s ‘The Jungle Book’ Go Up for Auction

The two paintings were copied into a limited-edition book of illustrations published almost a decade after the famous book of wild stories set in India

The Rothschild Vienna Mahzor was created in 1415 by a medieval scribe who identified himself as Moses, son of Menachem.

The Nazis Stole This Rare Jewish Prayer Book Decorated With Dragons, Unicorns and Intricate Floral Patterns. It Just Sold for $6.4 Million at Auction

A scribe created the volume, now known as the Rothschild Vienna Mahzor, in Vienna 600 years ago. It was recently returned to the heirs of its 20th-century owners, who decided to sell the text at a Sotheby’s sale

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Elizabeth Cady Stanton Is Known as the Woman Behind the Suffrage Movement. A New Book Reveals the Story Behind Her Tenacity

Her role as a historic hero or villain depends on the movement in question, but looking at her as a mother and daughter adds depth to her legend

A paperback copy of Wuthering Heights

Five Things to Know About ‘Wuthering Heights,’ Author Emily Brontë’s Only Novel

The famed 1847 book inspired numerous adaptations, including a new version directed by Emerald Fennell in theaters this week

Mass-market paperbacks reached their peak between the 1960s and the 1990s.

Have We Reached the Final Days of the Mass-Market Paperback?

One of the largest paperback distributors has decided to stop supporting the format, which has been making reading accessible to the masses since the 1930s

The bedroom is a reconstruction of the set of Fennell's film.

You Can Stay in Catherine Earnshaw’s Bright Pink Bedroom, Straight Out of the New ‘Wuthering Heights’ Movie

Airbnb is offering free three-night stays in the bedroom to three couples, who will also get lavish meals and a tour of England’s moors on horseback

The original scroll of Jack Kerouac's On the Road, up for auction in March, is 121 feet long.

You Can Buy Jack Kerouac’s Early Draft of ‘On the Road,’ Which He Typed on a 121-Foot-Long Scroll

The author taped pages together so he wouldn’t need to load paper into his typewriter. The original scroll of the Beat Generation classic is expected to fetch up to $4 million at auction

A guest follows along during the 25-hour-long reading of Herman Melville's Moby-Dick; or, the Whale at the New Bedford Whaling Museum in Massachusetts. 

250 Places to Celebrate America

Fervent Fans of ‘Moby-Dick’ Flock to This Massachusetts City to Read the Book Cover to Cover

Once the whaling capital of the world, New Bedford remembers Herman Melville’s literary masterpiece with an annual reading marathon

A painting of the San José, which sank off Cartagena, Colombia, in 1708. Archaeologist Roger Dooley commissioned this illustration based on his research on the galleon.

Archaeologists Discovered the ‘Holy Grail’ of Shipwrecks a Decade Ago. Now, They’re Finally Beginning to Unravel the Secrets of the ‘San José’

A new book by author Julian Sancton explores the lengthy quest to find the Spanish galleon—and the political firestorm that has engulfed the wreck ever since

Dimitris Economou returned this copy of Harry the Dirty Dog 36 years after his parents checked it out.

Cool Finds

A Little Boy’s Library Book Was Due in 1989. Thirty-Six Years Later, He Realized His Parents Had Never Returned It

After finding “Harry the Dirty Dog” at his dad’s home in Greece, Dimitris Economou brought it back to the library in Virginia where his family had checked it out more than three decades earlier

In 1823, 17 enslaved people were sold at an auction in Barbados in the name of Britain's then-king, George IV.

The British Crown Enslaved Thousands at the Height of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. New Research Reveals Their Stories

A leading historian examines how the monarchy not only tolerated slavery but also administered it, profited from it and sanctioned its cruelties

A historic marker at Jackson State University, ca. 1950, from the “At the Vanguard” exhibition at the National Museum of African American History and Culture

How Historically Black Schools Create and Preserve Their Own History Through Amazing Artifacts, From Paintings to Marching Band Hats

For nearly 200 years, HBCUs have educated Black Americans. Now, a new exhibition highlights special objects from five universities

Ada Blackjack was the only survivor of a 1921 expedition to Wrangel Island, a remote landmass above the Arctic Circle.

Meet 13 People Who Survived on Deserted Islands, From a Real-Life Robinson Crusoe to a Noblewoman Marooned With Her Lover

Ahead of the release of Sam Raimi’s “Send Help,” revisit the stories of Alexander Selkirk, Marguerite de la Rocque, the Tongan castaways and others who endured in remote locales

Portraits of Oscar Wilde taken in New York in 1882

Oscar Wilde’s Portraits, Poems, Letters and Manuscripts Head to Auction 125 Years After His Death

Other rare items, available for purchase in February, include illustrations, theater programs, telegrams and newspapers

President Lyndon B. Johnson awards the Medal of Honor to Dwight Hal Johnson on November 19, 1968.

Untold Stories of American History

History Remembered This Black Medal of Honor Recipient for the Two Worst Days of His Life. A New Book Dives Into the Vietnam Vet’s Story

Dwight Hal Johnson received the nation’s highest military honor in 1968. Three years later, he was killed during an attempted robbery at age 23

Inside Idiom, which uses mirrors to provide the illusion of infinite length

Trending Today

You Can See a Swirling Sculpture Made of 8,000 Books at a Library in Prague

Officials are managing an influx of tourists coming to see “Idiom,” a seemingly infinite tunnel of books by the artist Matej Krén, at the Municipal Library

Green, from an illustration published in 1872

Samuel Green Freed Himself and Others From Slavery. Then He Was Imprisoned Over Owning a Book

After buying his own liberty, the Marylander covertly assisted conductors on the Underground Railroad, including Harriet Tubman. But his possession of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” turned him into an abolitionist hero

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