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 Writer Fueled by Life’s Randomness
Rabih Alameddine, who won the National Book Award last month, has described his idiosyncratic approach as “childish rebelliousness.”
America’s Schools Are Less Divided Than You Think
Teachers are generally much more concerned about doing right by their students than they are about angering parents and community members.
Everything We Know About Rape Is Wrong
Girls Play Dead is a transformative analysis of what sexual assault does to women.
There Were Two Charlie Kirks
A new book by the right-wing activist, who was murdered in September, has moments of seriousness, beauty, and cross-partisan appeal.
Theft
A poem
The Honor of the Layward Brothers
A short story
A Peek at an Alternate Venice
Anne Applebaum went searching for the city the novelist Henry James got to know.
The Riot That Foretold an Unstable Future
In his newest book, Joe Sacco worries about what political violence might lead to.
Henry James’s Venice Is Still Here
In James’s The Aspern Papers, an American uses “duplicity” to access a palazzo. Fortunately, there are easier ways to discover the writer’s beloved Venice.