The First Slam Dunk
How the powerful—and at times illegal—basketball shot made its way from the streetball games of New York City and the plains of West Texas to the N.B.A.
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Pope
How John Paul II revealed himself as a master of espionage in the Vatican’s secret fight against Communism
Signed, Sealed, Delivered
A new book of Edward Gorey’s letters offers a rare and intimate glimpse into the mind of one of America’s greatest illustrators
A Real-Life Mrs. Maisel
A meticulously kept scrapbook sheds light on the little-remembered life of Jean Carroll, America’s first Jewish woman stand-up comedian
The Grand Illusionist
From debutantes to lumberjacks, pop artists to stockbrokers, matinee idols to praying mantises, a new coffee-table book surveys Larry Fink’s wide-ranging, unconventional black-and-white photographs
Doctor Who?
Meet the Boston brain doctor who lives a double life writing incredibly successful thrillers under the pen name Freida McFadden
Cinema Inferno
Marlon Brando, Sophia Loren, and Anita Ekberg all feature in a newly translated memoir of Italian cinema that’s oozing with sex, sleaze, and scandal
Leave the Cannoli, Take the Oval Office
From F.D.R. to J.F.K., Trump to Biden, a look behind the mythology of the Mob and the presidency
The “Preppy Killer” She Knew
A new novel revisits 1980s Manhattan—and the murder that defined an era
Here’s Stanley!
A new, two-volume compendium offers a behind-the-scenes look at the making of The Shining
Deadly Pleasures to Read and Listen To
Courtroom dramas in the form of Scott Turow’s latest novel and a true-crime podcast are this month’s best mysteries
The Two Donalds
A coffee-table book on Mickey Mouse’s Disney rival and his place in the culture reveals an uncanny similarity to the duck’s 21st-century namesake: our future president
Hidden Figures
Historically overlooked, the works of Japanese female photographers from the 1950s to today are celebrated in a new coffee-table book
On a Wing and a Prayer
The Pope’s cheery, conciliatory memoir won’t quell the battle between the Catholic Church’s factions, but it could eclipse recent offensive remarks made by Francis sotto voce
Welcome to Trumpomuskovia!
Timothy Snyder, the author of the best-selling On Tyranny, discusses the new era of American oligarchs and explains why Trump is little, while Musk is big
