The Ayatollah and the de Kooning
The Argo-like story of the top-secret, high-stakes trade of a priceless illustrated manuscript for a modern masterwork
Down and Dirty On the Waterfront
How the classic film, made in the wake of the McCarthy-era Red-hunting trials, pitted director Elia Kazan against star Marlon Brando
The Pages of Sin
The prolific crime-writing legend David Baldacci discusses his feud with Lee Child, his jaundiced view of American justice, and his latest—his 54th!—thriller
Editor’s Picks
This week, don’t miss an homage to New Yorker cartoonists, a biography of the brash newspaper columnist Jimmy Breslin, and a heartwarming novel set in a small Irish town
Deadly Pleasures to Read and Watch
Distract yourself from real-life nightmares with this month’s best mystery book and TV series
High Noonan
The Pulitzer Prize–winning political columnist Peggy Noonan discusses her note from Trump, the surprising reason why he is not a Neanderthal, and writing in Edmund Burke for president
Teenage Wasteland
A new book of photographs by Beth Garrabrant—the artist behind Taylor Swift’s recent album covers—documents youth in the American suburbs
The Dorothy Parker Tapes
A biographer of the great 20th-century wit goes in search of 12 hours’ worth of lost recordings made by Gloria Vanderbilt’s husband Wyatt Cooper
The Never-Ending Allure of Heeeeathcliff!
For decades, directors have struggled to adapt Emily Brontë’s brooding magnum opus, Wuthering Heights. Saltburn’s Emerald Fennell is the latest to try her hand
Editor’s Picks
This week, don’t miss the tale of Genghis Khan’s grandson, an examination of Queen Victoria’s relationships with her prime ministers, and a biography of the Brothers Grimm
It Takes Two
On what would have been Robert Frank’s 100th birthday, a window into his friendship with fellow photographer—and protégé—Edward Keating
Weird Barbie Writes a Book
Saturday Night Live alumna Kate McKinnon is the latest actor to try her hand at writing a children’s book. Not surprisingly, it’s great!
The Year of Magical Eating
In an interview, Stanley Tucci lays bare his relationship with grief, his battle with oral cancer, and his new memoir chronicling a year of meals
Editor’s Picks
This week, don’t miss a biography of artist LeRoy Neiman, a tour of New York’s hidden landmarks, a novel set in a Manhattan women’s hotel, and a new translation of Aesop’s fables
A Place in the Sun
A new book tells the story of Ballroom Marfa, the West Texas arts center that has brought together creatives such as Takashi Murakami and Agnes Denes for the last 20 years
Varieties of Humbug
My enduring fascination with The Wizard of Oz
