Giants of the Deep
How technology has changed the way we look at whales—and ourselves
Book Review
The Weird, Ever-Evolving Story of DNA
Carl Zimmer’s sprawling new book, She Has Her Mother’s Laugh, forces readers to reconsider what they think they know about genetics and heredity.
Mirror, Shoulder, Signal and the Struggle of Changing Gears
Dorthe Nors’s newest novel, about a 40-something woman in Copenhagen learning to drive for the first time, is more profound than its premise suggests.
How Not to Scout for Soccer Talent
Two new books raise interesting questions about the ethics and effectiveness of the sport’s selection system, with its early and intense winnowing process for aspiring players.
Autism’s Dark Roots in Nazi Vienna
A new book from the historian Edith Sheffer investigates the medical pioneer Hans Asperger’s involvement in a Third Reich eugenics program.
The Novel That Asks, ‘What Went Wrong With Mankind?’
Richard Powers’s climate-themed epic, The Overstory, embraces a dark optimism about the fate of humanity.
The Kids’ Guide to the Postwar World
Half a century ago, a Czech illustrator’s vivid travel books helped open young minds to the rest of the planet.
The Girl Who Smiled Beads Defies Easy Uplift
Clemantine Wamariya’s memoir tries to make sense of a life fractured by the Rwandan genocide.
Your Body is a Teeming Battleground
It’s time to rethink the quest to control aging, death, and disease—and the fear of mortality that fuels it.
The Report on Race That Shook America
It came out in 1968—yet little has changed since the Kerner Commission denounced “white racism.”