AIR MAIL’s 10 Best Books of 2022
Michael K. Williams’s memoir, a history of G.E., a biography of F.D.R., Elena Ferrante’s essay collection: holiday reading for every type
The Surreal World of Elsa Schiaparelli
A new book, accompanying an exhibition in Paris, explores the sensational creations of the Italian designer
A Man of Parts
John le Carré was always obsessed with controlling his narrative. Following the publication of a tell-all by one of his mistresses, the spy novelist is once again seeking to set the record straight—this time, from the grave
A Night Celebrating Jim McMullan
Louise Grunwald, Ed Sorel, and André Bishop gathered at the Waverly Inn to celebrate the illustrator’s new book
Le Coucou Confidential
From a New York City maître d’, an inside look into what critics mean for restaurants—and how owners steel themselves for the dreaded reviews
Staff Picks
Don’t miss profiles of 31 little-known New Yorkers; the story of how Sesame Street was adapted for Russian TV; and a cookbook from the Via Carota chefs
Hot Topic
Ever since Edward VIII abdicated the British throne to marry the American divorcée Wallis Simpson, there has been speculation about their relationship. A new book attempts to set the record straight
Leave the Gun, Take the Cocktail
In an excerpt from his upcoming memoir, a maître d’hôtel for Brooklyn’s River Café recalls getting on the wrong side of a mobster from the Gotti crime family—and how he lived to tell the tale
Murder, They Wrote
As the holiday season approaches, gifts for mystery book–lovers of every type
Neighborhood Watch
Michael Kimmelman, the New York Times architecture critic and lifelong New Yorker, discusses the old Village and new downtowns
“Why Can’t You Write Normal?”
Kathy Acker’s journey from daughter of Sutton Place to genre- and gender-bending cult novelist
Acquired Taste
The granddaughter of the River Cafe’s Ruthie Rogers discovers the thrill of cooking, one page at a time
Broken Images
T. S. Eliot’s “The Waste Land” is the rare modernist masterpiece that still feels modern
Dreams in Progress
A new book celebrates Hollywood’s greatest behind-the-scenes photographer
The Power and the Glory
In 1985, G.E. purchased RCA for $6.3 billion in cash, then the largest M&A deal of all time. That G.E. was actually buying back a business it had started 65 years earlier was largely forgotten
Crime Pays
He’s written 37 books and sold more than 80 million copies—yet The New York Times still won’t give Michael Connelly’s well-crafted and timely whodunits a proper review
Not Your Father’s Ghostwriter
Unfortunately for the royal family, J. R. Moehringer, Prince Harry’s ghostwriter, specializes in damaged father-son relationships
