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.
Books
Introducing The Atlantic’s expanded books coverage: essays, criticism, fiction, poetry, and recommendations from our writers and editors
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 Does Lena Dunham Want to Tell Us?
Her new memoir captures the cost of being an impossibly popular target.
The Eighth Deadly Sin
Humankind has devised a new form of debasement.
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.
Six Books You Can Get Lost In
These novels highlight the power—both good and bad—of unchecked fantasizing.
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
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 Man Who Owned 181 Renoirs
Albert Barnes believed in the liberating power of art—but you had to look at it his way.
The Novel I’m Searching For
Five years after the pandemic, I’m holding out for a story that doesn’t just describe our experience, but transforms it.
The World Can’t Keep Up With Its Garbage
Trash dumping is taking a devastating environmental toll—especially on poorer countries.
The Place of Politics in Fiction
Should novelists write the world as it is or as it should be?
Chimamanda Adichie Is a Hopeless Romantic
Discussing Dream Count, her first novel in 12 years, the Nigerian author shares her thoughts on masculinity, political chaos, and the future of fiction.
Why the Trump Administration Canceled Me
I was supposed to give a book talk about civil rights at the Jimmy Carter Library. I think I know why the invitation was rescinded.
Chimamanda Adichie’s Fiction Has Shed Its Optimism
The Nigerian American author’s first novel in 12 years depicts troubled relations between men and women—but no tidy resolutions.
Amphigory
A poem
A Delightfully Frenetic Cult Classic
Chloe Caldwell’s Women revolves around a life-altering yet toxic affair.