Books & Literary Life
Literary criticism, author interviews, and book culture from within and beyond Harvard.
These Harvard Mountaineers Braved Denali’s Wall of Ice
John Graham’s Denali Diary documents a dangerous and historic climb.
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.
Excerpt from “Forged in Crisis,” by Nancy Koehn
The Business School’s Nancy Koehn analyzes the personal stakes that propel leaders.
Malka Older’s global sci-fi
Sci-fi meets the political thriller.
Recent books with Harvard connections
John Kenneth Galbraith’s letters, Linda Greenhouse, color in art, and more
Stephen Greenblatt on Adam and Eve
Stephen Greenblatt explores the myths and meanings of Adam and Eve.
Chapter and verse quotation-citation correspondence site
Correspondence on not-so-famous lost words
Embroidered book cover at Houghton Library honors Charles II
Embroidery fit for a prince
Library of Congress names Harvard alumna Tracy K. Smith as new Poet Laureate
The announcement comes at a busy time for the writer, who is at work on two operas and will soon publish her fifth verse collection, Wade in the Water.