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Books

Kevin Kelly worries devices like Apple's iPad, shown here with Smithsonian's first cover, nurtures action over contemplation.

Reading in a Whole New Way

As digital screens proliferate and people move from print to pixel, how will the act of reading change?

On July 1, 1910, the Library of Congress issued the copyright for the first Tom Swift book, Tom Swift and His Motorcycle.

Tom Swift Turns 100

Tom Swift is turning 100—and he still doesn’t look a day over 18

The success of To Kill a Mockingbird overwhelmed Harper Lee.

Harper Lee’s Novel Achievement

With To Kill a Mockingbird, published 50 years ago, Lee gave America a story for the ages. Just don’t ask her about it

After Mark Twain first glimpsed the girl of his dreams, he never forgot Laura Wright's "frank and simple and winsome" charms.

Mark Twain in Love

A chance encounter on a New Orleans dock in 1858 haunted the writer for the rest of his life

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Sea Pie and Dandy Funk

Biographers disagree over what kind of man Charles Dodgson really was.

Lewis Carroll’s Shifting Reputation

Why has popular opinion of the author of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland undergone such a dramatic reversal?

Using his own capital, Allen Lane started the Penguin publishing house.  His plan was to sell quality books for the price of a pack of cigarettes.

How the Paperback Novel Changed Popular Literature

Classic writers reached the masses when Penguin paperbacks began publishing great novels for the cost of a pack of cigarettes

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How Food Shaped Humanity

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“Fair” Use of our Cells

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Science Books for Kids

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