Short List
What to read this week, from a history of British musical theater to an account of the World Trade Center’s rebuilding and an inside look at the deep sea
The Wonderful Wizard of Dyson
Eight questions with the inventor James Dyson, who has a new memoir, on electric cars and the thinking behind the $399 hair dryer
The Way of the Jackal
Before Edward Fox made the Jackal a household character, Frederick Forsyth wrote the book. Fifty years on, The Day of the Jackal still thrills
Paging Picasso!
A new book traces the painter’s life—Paris, women, wars, and all
Isaac Benigson
The British artist’s colorful work made it to London’s Royal Academy of Arts before he graduated from high school
White Man for the Job
Jeremy Clarkson gets out the Farrow & Ball. Sort of …
Opera Pick of the Week
The certain something in this pandemic Don Giovanni from Prague is the unique aura of the theater in which it was filmed
The Art of Subtlety
To attract readers but stump libel lawyers, 20th-century magazine writers alluded to sordid gossip instead of printing it
Family Feuds
The story of famed U.K. department store John Lewis rivals that of the Murdoch clan in its similarities with Succession
Inside Afghanistan
At the core of the current Afghanistan disaster is the West’s misunderstanding of a country and its people. These books offer a good place to start
Great Marketing Minds of 2021
Lest you think the cinema is intellectually bankrupt, Hollywood welcomes you to the Year of the Intense Middle-Aged Bearded White Guy in a Baseball Cap!
So Long, Summer
Whether you’re over the season or clinging on for dear life, tracks from the likes of Willie Nelson, the Kinks, and Rosemary Clooney will serve you well
Family Business
To write his second novel, Atticus Lish asked himself, “What hurts?”
Lost in Translation
The moment Japan opened its doors to the West, in the late 1800s, was the moment many of its traditions disappeared. A new volume brings them back
Kate Moennig
The actress’s pandemic podcast with The L Word co-star Leisha Hailey has become the new gay go-to
