The Happiness Equation
When it comes to world happiness, the Nordic countries are the gold standard. Here’s what the rest of us can make of our abysmal numbers
Flying Lessons
The author of a new book on Virgin Galactic didn’t have to look far for inspiration—like Virgin’s lead test pilot, his dad was a fighter pilot and Top Gun grad
Fifty Shades of Downing Street
A British aide who worked with Dominic Cummings on the Brexit campaign is writing an erotic novel based on her time in politics
Where the Magic Happens
Beatrice Monti della Corte has been welcoming writers to her villa in Tuscany for what feels like forever. Ralph Fiennes and Edmund White recount the extraordinary experience of being there
Heroes and Villains
What happens when you discover your heroine was a vile anti-Semite?
The Turing Enigma
Nearly 70 years after being prosecuted for homosexuality, Alan Turing is joining the Queen on Britain’s £50 note. His nephew warns that the code breaker wouldn’t have wanted to be seen as a victim
You Heard It Here First
The voice recordings of Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton offer a window into two of 20th-century literature’s fieriest spirits
Malcolm of All Trades
Malcolm Gladwell discusses his new book, Mao Zedong, and why the statues of history’s bad guys should stay up
Heartbreak Hotel
Photographs from a new book pay homage to the Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc, the dazzling seafront retreat that has played host to Ernest Hemingway, Jane Birkin, and Mick Jagger, on its 150th anniversary
Nancy Reagan’s Cross to Bear
The First Lady dedicated herself to achieving a picture-perfect life. A look at her traumatic—and covered-up—childhood helps explain why
The First Lady of the Skies
Between her record as the first woman to cross the Atlantic by air and her disappearance a decade later, Amelia Earhart was the Eleanor Roosevelt of flying, championing women’s careers in aviation
Short List
Books to read this week, from a history of crime and punishment in ancient Rome to a novel of clashing cultures and an account of post–W.W. II recovery
