The Best Coffee-Table Books of 2025
Dazzling volumes on the Beatles, Blondie, the French New Wave, panoramic tennis courts, and palazzos, plus photography collections by Weegee and Larry Fink—and a cookbook or two
When Ulysses Came to New York
How Bennett Cerf, the co-founder of Random House and famed publisher of Eugene O’Neill and Truman Capote, brought James Joyce’s controversial novel to the U.S.
AIR MAIL’s 10 Best Mystery Books of 2025
A pub trivia night gone wrong! A post-Brexit government conspiracy! A drug-kingpin granny! And much more …
Nick Cave’s Guide to Chicago
The American sculptor shares his go-to spots in the city he calls home
All That Jazz
Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday … a new coffee-table book captures the American music scene of the 1950s with never-before-seen photographs by Lisette Model and text by Langston Hughes
Spain’s Unsung Hero
An exhibition in Madrid showcases more than 100 works by Anton Raphael Mengs, the long-forgotten 18th-century painter who, in his time, outshone his rival Tiepolo and taught Goya
In Defense of the Em Dash
Sofia Coppola, Michael Lewis, Monica Lewinsky, and others make their case for the humble punctuation mark amid the great A.I.-chatbot appropriation
AIR MAIL’s 10 Best Books of 2025
The story of the man who created Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; a bio of William F. Buckley Jr.; a revealing look inside Facebook; a slice of New York history that laid the groundwork for Zohran Mamdani; and more holiday nonfiction reading for every taste!
Editor’s Picks
This week, don’t miss the true story of a family wilderness trip gone wrong, a re-examination of one of Britain’s most misunderstood monarchs, and an illustrated guide to Broadway
Dolly Parton’s Guide to Nashville
The country singer shares her go-to spots in the city where it all began
Buried Alive with Peter Sellers
When the great comedic actor agreed to star in The Blockhouse, a grim World War II drama, it seemed like his chance to be taken seriously—but the production turned into a comedy of errors
The Princess Deception Program
Thirty years on, the journalist who first broke the story of Diana’s betrayal by the BBC’s Martin Bashir reveals the true extent of the cover-up—and why her brother believes its consequences were lethal
Ballet’s North Star
Holiday tradition! Cash cow! George Balanchine’s production of The Nutcracker has involved audiences in the magic of dance every year since its premiere, in 1954
David Duchovny Can’t Say No …
… to new projects, self-revelation, and showing up nude on camera
The Art of the New Deal
Long before East Wing demolitions and Trumpian Arc de Triomphes, Franklin D. Roosevelt commissioned a series of murals to employ artists amid the Great Depression. A social-media account pays tribute
An American in Paris
After crash-landing in occupied France during World War II, a bombardier from Jacksonville, Florida, refused rescue and joined up with the French Resistance instead
Deadly Pleasures to Read and Watch
This month in mysteries: a detective novel that foresaw Trump’s spat with his neighbor up north, and a scintillating new season of The Diplomat
“Always Be a Yes”
How the wellness cult OneTaste turned consciousness-raising into alleged sex slavery