Short List
What to read this week, including new books from Joan Didion and George Saunders, and a 1500s polar adventure gone wrong
The Talented Mrs. Highsmith
One hundred years after Patricia Highsmith’s birth, the Talented Mr. Ripley author’s life and work remain as appealing as ever. What’s her secret?
The Nanny Diaries
Kiley Reid worked as a babysitter in New York before fictionalizing her experience for the page. The resulting novel explores racism and liberal hypocrisy
Big Little Life
Fans remember him as the boisterous R&B singer. But Little Richard had a complicated personal life—and leaves a profound legacy
Race Against the Clock
The story behind J.F.K.’s 1960 victory is inextricably tied to M.L.K., his imprisonment, and the Kennedy team that helped free him
Short List
Books to read this week, from histories of China and Hitler’s warships to an investigation into U.S. involvement in Afghanistan
Point of View
Don’t judge a book by its cover—unless that cover is one of hundreds of treasures leaping from the pages of this new collection
American Hustle
The essayist’s latest is a reflection on “the emotions of money,” tracing a finance-fueled history of the U.S. from Thomas Jefferson to his own parents
The Parent Trap
As she expanded her viral essay on millennial burnout into a book, the writer reveals the one parenting stat she couldn’t shake
Ed Sorel
The longtime illustrator and satirist recommends his favorite books, spanning three centuries
Crimes and Misdemeanors
A look back at the eight best mystery books of 2020
New York Minute
Ernst Haas’s bright, blurry photographs capture the vibrancy and transience of a city on the move
An Empress in Code
She was known for her three-hour hairstyling sessions, but Elizabeth of Austria also provided key, secret support to her husband, the Habsburg emperor
