“Area Loser Wants Job”
The longest-serving editor of The Onion on how a group of “unemployable” twentysomethings created America’s foremost satirical publication
Architecture’s Black Sheep
With more than 200 archival works, an exhibition in Chicago honors Bruce Goff, the Frank Lloyd Wright protégé whose eccentric midcentury houses broke free of modernist restraint
The Dickens of Detroit
On the centenary of Elmore Leonard’s birth, a look back at how the American novelist redefined the crime genre with his colorful characters and unvarnished prose
Harold Koda’s Guide to Honolulu
The former curator of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute shares his go-to spots in his hometown
AIR MAIL’s Mystery Christmas Grab Bag
A John Banville thriller set in Venice! A murder at the opera! A con man gets his comeuppance! And more mysteries to curl up with this holiday season …
Raiders of the Lost Arcade
Dick and Jeannette Seaver befriended Samuel Beckett in Paris, marched with Allen Ginsberg in Chicago, and introduced readers to radical books of all stripes
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
Gerald Finley’s Long Game
At 65, Canada’s star bass-baritone is cruising through another annus mirabilis
Ben Radcliffe
From Masters of the Air to a John Travolta–led film set in 1957, the 27-year-old has shown a taste for the old-school. His latest role, in the Downton Abbey–meets–Monty Python spoof Fackham Hall, is no exception
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
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
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
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
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