The Shock of the Old
An exhibition of 28 nearly 400-year-old paintings was the global cultural event of 2023. Why?
A Closed Book
With its opaque criteria and global purview, judging literature’s prestigious Nobel Prize is often a thankless task
Kids These Days
A delightful new picture book explores one of children’s favorite pastimes: speculating about the future
The Final Debrief
Who was John le Carré? A new documentary and book uncover fresh clues
Arnold’s Fourth Act
“Calves are the biceps of the legs!”—and other pearls of wisdom from Arnold Schwarzenegger’s new self-help book
Hip-Hop and Happening
Three new coffee-table books celebrate hip-hop—which originated in New York’s South Bronx 50 years ago—as a musical genre and cultural movement
Facing the Music
An homage to Summer Stock, an overlooked 1950s musical starring Judy Garland and Gene Kelly
Terminal Hilarity
How three guys from the Milwaukee suburbs re-invented American comedy
Twentieth-Century Woman
A new book collects 100 images taken by Lee Miller, the intrepid photographer, war correspondent, and Surrealist muse, played by Kate Winslet in an upcoming film
Editor’s Picks
This week, don’t miss an audiobook murder mystery involving cellist prodigies, an intimate history of Manhattan’s Public Theater, and a globe-maker’s exploration of his craft
Murder, They Wrote
This month’s best mysteries feature aging sleuths, from the latest in Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club series to a new Agatha Christie Poirot book. Plus: the best TV shows to go with them
Heaven on Wheels
A new book offers a dazzling survey of the most exceptional cars ever designed, from a Corvette Sting Ray to an Aston Martin Valkyrie, to a BMW Isetta micro-car
A Piece of Paradise
A lost short story handwritten by the acclaimed author Truman Capote is published for the first time
Editor’s Picks
This week, don’t miss an account of Times Square’s evolution, a memoir from a viral comedian, and the harrowing story of a woman kidnapped by a drug cartel
Behind Enemy Lines
A look at the mysterious story of journalist Ernie Pyle’s death during the U.S. Army’s invasion of a Japanese island
Tolkien-esque Elfin Queen
The best-selling children’s author and John Donne biographer Katherine Rundell rivals J. K. Rowling and enjoys the thrill of a flying trapeze
Unusual Suspects
The behind-the-scenes story of the making of Casablanca, which hit theaters 80 years ago