An impressive examination of the conjoined fates of Iraq and the United States
Steve Coll’s title alludes to Homer, and his subject matter has the arc of Greek tragedy
Books
Sunday
An unvarnished insight into the mind of Sonny Rollins
Even if jazz has developed stylistically in ways the jazz saxophonist might not have foreseen, its founding attitudes are enduring
A look into Billie Holiday’s final year
Paul Alexander is on a mission to correct what he sees as misrepresentations of the singer’s life and personality
Who’s afraid of Judith Butler?
The gender theorist’s first mainstream publication is unconvincing
Thursday
Who’s really behind the Biden administration’s foreign policy?
Alexander Ward’s carefully researched new account argues Biden is POTUS in name only
Coleman Hughes’s case for a colorblind future
The End of Race Politics expands on the arguments the writer has made for several years
War hero, bon viveur, Japanese spy: Frederick Rutland wore many masks
Beverly Hills Spy is the story of the espionage war with Japan, and the damaging rivalry between intelligence services that prevented them from working together
The frustrating rise of celebrities ‘writing’ children’s books
When you give a child a book by a celebrity, you are feeding their minds with advertising
The wit and wisdom of Margaret Cavendish
As a portrait of the thrilling, rackety milieu of the seventeenth-century literary world, Francesca Peacock’s Pure Wit is truly delightful
Edward Zwick on his hits — and his misses
Hits, Flops and Other Illusions is a fascinating book, both for what it includes and what it either omits or deals with in parentheses
Saturday
Dune, an enduring monument to cultural appropriation
How Frank Herbert borrowed from the Chechens and elsewhere
Friday
What Really Happens in Vegas doesn’t tell you what really happens in Vegas
James Patterson and Mark Seal attempt to reveal the ‘magic’ of Vegas
Sunday
Pat Yale follows her hero across Turkey
Following Miss Bell has a homely tone one doesn’t associate with the majestic Gertrude Bell
Wednesday
Woody Allen pens new short story for the New Criterion
‘Breakfast Special’ is a tale of a meet-cute gone wrong
Tuesday
The notorious feud between John Ruskin and James Whistler
The trial at Falling Rocket ’s center stands for something larger than a critic’s dislike of a painting
Relive Lou Reed’s wild, contradictory life
In Lou Reed: The King of New York , Will Hermes seems unusually well attuned to his subject, while resisting any temptation to soft-pedal
In praise of George Gissing, the born exile
The writer was one of the great underrated chroniclers of ’the valley of the shadow of books’
Cahokia Jazz is enormous fun
Francis Spufford’s latest is a gorgeously rich and multilayered story, packed with gunfire, music and superstition
The peculiar American attitude toward death
Taking our mortality too seriously has been an increasing problem in our country. Thank heavens for the satirists who refuse to do so
Wednesday
Books to look forward to in 2024
There are a couple of examples of major authors returning this year, even from beyond the grave
