Books & Literary Life
Literary criticism, author interviews, and book culture from within and beyond Harvard.
Open Book: A New Nuclear Age
Harvard historian Serhii Plokhy’s latest book looks at the rising danger of a new arms race.
Recent books with Harvard connections
Recent books with Harvard connections
Harvard professor Stephanie Burt on becoming co-poetry editor at “The Nation”
Stephanie Burt ’94 is the kind of poetry critic who provokes anger in other poetry critics.
"Bunk" review: Kevin Young surveys American culture, from circuses to con men
From the Missouri Compromise to the 2016 election, Kevin Young's Bunk takes stock of American hoaxes, con men, and race fantasies.
by Niela Orr
Chapter and verse quotation-citation correspondence site
Correspondence on not-so-famous lost words
2017 Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair
Rare books and ephemera at the Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair
In “Little Fires Everywhere,” a Custody Battle Ignites the Comfortable Suburbs
Celeste Ng’s nimble second novel traces a cross-cultural drama in her Midwestern hometown.
In Danielle Allen’s “Cuz,” Caught Between Two Justice Systems
Allen’s new book excoriates both the justice system and a parallel universe of gang rule.
A Life of Adventure and Delight
Akhil Sharma is less interested in ideology in itself than in politics as a backdrop to emotional conflict.
Derek Bok on reforming higher ed
Derek Bok and other scholars weigh in on improving universities and colleges—and why that’s hard to do.
Seeing the the Invisible World of Microbes
On Earth, microbes run the show.