Is Cohabitation the Feminist Future?
Stories about women living together are proliferating—and offering alternative visions to the nuclear family.
Books
Introducing The Atlantic’s expanded books coverage: essays, criticism, fiction, poetry, and recommendations from our writers and editors
Peter Hujar’s Photos Are All the Rage. He’d Be Shocked.
A new biography brings the late photographer’s relationship with the artist Paul Thek to vivid life.
If You Want a Better World, Act Like You Live in It
We’ve had Henry David Thoreau the environmentalist, the libertarian, the life coach. To understand his influence, think of him first as a dissident.
The Publishing Mystery That No One Wants to Talk About
A minimally speaking autistic man just wrote a best-selling book. Or did he?
The Paradox of Modern Medicine
Testing has become so advanced that doctors now miss important elements of diagnosis.
What To Read
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Eight of the Most Fascinating Biographies to Read
Each is animated by the author’s love—for their subject, for language, and for pushing the boundaries of what the genre can do.
Six Books That Simply Must Be Talked About
These six books demand discussion—with a pal, a date, or a book club.
Nine Books to Reset Your View of the World
Each of these titles will widen your perspective, offering you original insight and vision.
Seven Books to Read When You Have No Time to Read
These titles are worth picking up, even if you have only a moment to spare.
Newsletter
The Books Briefing
Our culture editors’ weekly guide to the best in books.
Subject to The Atlantic's Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions
Fiction
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Scars
A short story
Fortunes
A short story
The Honor of the Layward Brothers
A short story
We Are Not One
A short story
Six Books That Explore What’s Out There
These titles reflect on what drives our species to seek out the uncharted and unknown.
Hypochondria Never Dies
The diagnosis is officially gone, but health anxiety is everywhere.
No Subject
A poem for Sunday
Poetry Is an Act of Hope
Through verse, we can perhaps come closest to capturing events that exist beyond our capacity to describe.
The Complicated Ethics of Rare-Book Collecting
Literary treasures are too often hidden away from the public—but the world of private collecting isn’t all bad.
When Poetry Could Define a Life
The close passing of the poetry critics Marjorie Perloff and Helen Vendler is a moment to recognize the end of an era.
When Your Every Decision Feels Torturous
Neel Mukherjee’s new novel explores the reality that no choice—particularly as a parent—is perfect.
Noon
A poem for Sunday
A Prominent Free-Speech Group Is Fighting for Its Life
PEN America has now canceled its annual World Voices festival, after calling off its literary-awards ceremony last week. Can it survive?
Bringing a Social Movement to Life
The author Adam Hochschild recommends books that vividly illustrate moments of great change.