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
See All
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
See All
Scars
A short story
Fortunes
A short story
The Honor of the Layward Brothers
A short story
We Are Not One
A short story
The Ghost of Johnnie Taylor Reflects
A poem for Wednesday
When the Culture Wars Came for the Theater
A new book sees the reactionary response to a New Deal–era arts initiative as a precursor to today’s cultural divisions.
Stop Trying to Understand Kafka
His parables aren’t supposed to make sense.
Nine Books About Aging, Growing, and Changing
Moments of great physical upheaval can be accompanied by great revelations.
No Miracle
A poem for Sunday
The Women Who Caused a Revolution in Cooking
Joan Nathan reflects on Judith Jones and the cookbooks she edited.
To Have or Not Have Children
A new book earnestly wrestles with what it means to bring a person into the world.
You’ll Become a Fan of These Fierce, Strange Girls
Headshot upends the classic story of the underdog by turning each of its characters into one.
The Real ‘Deep State’
Lobbying firms have disguised their influence so well that it’s often barely visible even to savvy Washington insiders.
The Woman Who Made America Take Cookbooks Seriously
Judith Jones edited culinary greats such as Julia Child and Edna Lewis—and identified the pleasure at the core of traditional “women’s work.”