AIR MAIL’s Best Coffee-Table Books of 2023
Dazzling volumes on Karl Lagerfeld’s homes, vintage cars, and an artists’ amusement park, plus photography collections from Mary Ellen Mark, Lee Miller, and Nick Waplington, and a cookbook or two
Confessions of a Yakuza Boss
The Tokyo Vice author, whose new book, The Last Yakuza, is out now, details how he won—and kept—the trust of Japan’s Mafia
Murder, They Wrote
A pair of rollicking mystery books to get you in the holiday spirit. Plus, the best Christmas episodes of ITV’s beloved Midsomer Murders
Phases of the Moon
Under the Cherry Moon, Prince’s directorial debut—a black-and-white passion project set on the glistening Côte d’Azur and starring Kristin Scott Thomas—bombed when it premiered in 1986. Did the critics miss the point?
Popcorn Presidents
The movies watched in the White House provide fascinating insights into the mindset—angry, affable, aggrieved—of its inhabitants
AIR MAIL’s 12 Best Mystery Books of 2023
Richard Osman, John Banville, Janice Hallett, Val McDermid, and more …
AIR MAIL’s 12 Best Books of 2023
David Grann’s shipwreck tale, Sam Wasson’s Hollywood history, Mona Simpson’s latest novel, Tim Alberta’s foray inside the Evangelical Right: holiday reading for every type
His Last Bow
Much to his annoyance, Basil Rathbone became inseparable from his on-screen Sherlock Holmes. Now he’s back, reimagined as the debonair protagonist of a new novel
The Best Renaissance Artist You’ve Never Heard Of
At London’s National Gallery, the first-ever exhibition devoted to Francesco Pesellino’s work goes on view
Where the Wild Things Are
A new book of images by more than 90 wildlife photographers raises awareness of the dangers faced by leopards right now
Life Lessons from an Italian Countess
On this week’s podcast, Bob Colacello shares what he learned from Marina Cicogna
A Feminist Frankenstein
Director Yorgos Lanthimos and screenwriter Tony McNamara discuss their new film, Poor Things, starring Emma Stone as a child-woman like no other
Guess What Melania Trump Is Up To
Bet-makers weigh in on how the elusive former First Lady has been whiling away the hours since leaving the White House
Get Out of Your Head!
Novelist Laura Zigman is using lessons learned from her own struggles in publishing to provide talk therapy to other writers
Valhalla Karaoke
Das Rheingold according to Romeo Castellucci
Yesterday Once More
Forty years after Karen Carpenter’s death, a biography of the 1970s superstar explores the singer’s grit and tenacity
