Short List
Books to read this week, from Robert Kanigel’s biography of Milman Parry, the man who reanimated Homer, to novels by Edmund de Waal and Bina Bernard
The New Williamsburg
Hasidim brought “the Jerusalem of America” to South Williamsburg after the Holocaust. All these years later, they’re on the move again
The Write Stuff
Eight questions with Michael Lewis, author of a new book on the pandemic, about writing, luck, and why George W. Bush isn’t all bad
Paris When It Sizzles
What’s more dazzling than Paris? Seeing it from above …
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
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
Heroes and Villains
What happens when you discover your heroine was a vile anti-Semite?
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
