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.
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The Books Briefing
Our culture editors’ weekly guide to the best in books.
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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
The Useful Idiots of AI Doomsaying
Those who predict that superintelligence will destroy humanity serve the same interests as those who believe that it will solve all of our problems.
Is This the End of the Dictionary?
Obsolete (adj.): no longer in use or no longer useful
A Raw Depiction of What Panic Feels Like
Lee Lai’s Cannon builds up to an earthshaking moment when its protagonist’s anxiety can no longer be contained.
A Novel That Helps Explain the Manosphere
An alienated professor takes up weight lifting and ranting in Jordan Castro’s perceptive new novel, Muscle Man.
John Cheever’s Secrets
In a new memoir, Susan Cheever searches for the wellspring of her father’s genius.
Panic Attacks and the Meaning of Life
A new novel keenly describes the symptoms—and more important, the existential stakes—of extreme anxiety.
Why Arundhati Roy Fled Literary Fame
The Indian writer’s new memoir explores the formidable figure who set her on a course of constant motion.
Summertime
A poem
The ‘Remarkable Ability’ Many Dissidents Share
The novelist Lauren Grodstein visited Tbilisi, Georgia, in 2023, and the protests she witnessed made her think differently about perseverance.