A Different Sort of Café Society
A Parisian waiter details the less glamorous side of French dining
Murder, They Wrote
This month, trade your beach reads for something more challenging—and satisfying—in the way of mystery novels
Ego Trip
Within weeks of becoming the American ambassador to the U.K., Joseph P. Kennedy proved that his confidence far surpassed his talent
Balancing the Books
Millennial authors and TikTokers are reviving forgotten literary gems written by women
The Draper Touch
The 20th-century decorator Dorothy Draper transformed the interiors of Manhattan’s Carlyle hotel, West Virginia’s Greenbrier, and more with her signature Hollywood Regency style
Heat Wave
Michael Mann’s new book, which serves as both a prequel and a sequel to his classic 1995 film, brings back the heat
The “It” Factor
A new book revisits the life of Elinor Glyn, one of Hollywood’s early influencers
A History of Cool
Slick Rick, Public Enemy, Queen Latifah, LL Cool J … Janette Beckman photographed them all, chronicling New York’s creative set from the 80s to today
Putin Confidential
Eight questions with Philip Short, the author of a new Putin biography, on the Russian president’s early years—and what Bill Browder got wrong
French Exit
Five titans of the Parisian literati have left one of the city’s most distinguished publishing houses, amid accusations that Sarkozy is now pulling the strings
Staff Picks
This week, don’t miss the tale of one hospital’s pandemic triumphs and screwups; a searing account of Kabul’s fall; and a history of the Getty dynasty
Unforgotten
Since 2006, the site Neglected Books has championed wrongly overlooked novels. Now it’s republishing them
After the Flood
Decades before climate change became irrefutable, the English novelist J. G. Ballard envisioned a much warmer world with vastly higher sea levels
Making Banksy
A new book compiles graffiti by the elusive street artist, from the 1990s to today
Flash Back
Three decades on, Harry Flashman, the philandering protagonist of George MacDonald Fraser’s Flashman series, is still sympathetic
