Books & Literary Life

Literary criticism, author interviews, and book culture from within and beyond Harvard.

Three climbers seated on a snowy summit, surrounded by clouds, appearing contemplative.

These Harvard Mountaineers Braved Denali’s Wall of Ice

John Graham’s Denali Diary documents a dangerous and historic climb.

by Lydialyle Gibson

Photograph of a giant cuttlefish, “Sepia apama,” at Cabbage Tree Bay, Australia: among Peter Godfrey-Smith’s subjects for his research on cognition

Recent books with Harvard connections

Recent books with Harvard connections

Portrait of Harvard Law School dean—and perfectionist—Ezra Thayer circa 1910, who found the school’s dire finances overwhelming.

Review of Kimball and Coquillette, “The Intellectual Sword,” by Lincoln Caplan

The making of the modern Harvard Law School

by Lincoln Caplan

David Roberts seated outdoors on a stone wall by the Charles River

Adventure writer Dave Roberts

David Roberts: A lifetime of adventures, risks, and rewards

by Nell Porter-Brown

Three people in 1950s New York

Robert Frank at the Addison Gallery, Andover, Massachusetts

“Robert Frank: The Americans,” at the Addison Gallery of American Art

by Nell Porter-Brown

Portrait of Rachel Gable, author of new book on first-generation students at elite colleges

Timely guidance for colleges enrolling first-generation and low-income students

Rachel Gable’s research on helping first-generation and low-income students succeed at elite colleges

by John S. Rosenberg

An illustration by James Steinberg shows a heavenly hand extending down to the U.S. Capitol and attempting to influence members of Congress

Benjamin Friedman on faith and American socioeconomic policy

How faith shapes economic and social policy

Archival photograph of John F. Kennedy as an undergraduate, circa 1939, studying papers

Fredrik Logevall, “JFK: Coming of Age…” excerpt

An unusual senior thesis

Collage of Cover of Fevers, Feuds and Diamonds by Paul Farmer and a Headshot of Paul Farmer.

Paul Farmer on the West Africa Ebola Epidemic

The 2014 epidemic was rooted in centuries of exploitation and war, Paul Farmer argues.

by Jonathan Shaw

Photograph of the cover of To Make Their Own Way in the World: The Enduring Legacy of the Zealy Daguerreotypes

See Their Faces

Confronting “some of the most challenging images in the history of photography”

by Marina N. Bolotnikova

Harvard Advocate Spring 2020 issue front cover and back cover

Publishing The Harvard Advocate Despite the Pandemic

The coronavirus delays—but can’t stop—the revered literary magazine.

by Kristina DeMichele