The Time is Right for a ‘Great Books’ Revival
To build a better world in the age of AI, students need grounding in indispensable ideas.
Books
Introducing The Atlantic’s expanded books coverage: essays, criticism, fiction, poetry, and recommendations from our writers and editors
He Was Hugely Influential. He Also Had a Foolish Streak.
A recent biography of the writer John Berger reminds us about his hefty influence—and how he could be blinkered by his convictions.
Forget Grit
Even the luminaries of the self-help genre have begun to recognize how little in life we can actually control.
How American Girl Doll Lost Its Way
At 40, the brand faces a midlife crisis.
Democrats Are Sounding More Like Republicans
Why politicians are betting on ever more moralizing language
What To Read
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50 Unforgettable Love Stories
Centuries of joyous, tragic, tantalizing, enduring fiction
Six Hard-to-Find Books Worth Reading
These titles are no longer fashionable, if they ever were—but should you manage to read one, you might love it.
What to Read to Wake Up Your Brain
These books can ease readers into a season of work and hard thinking.
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Six Books That Take You to Space
You won’t even have to leave your couch.
Newsletter
The Books Briefing
Our culture editors’ weekly guide to the best in books.
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Fiction
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The Guardians
A short story
Disunion
A short story
I Heard You Singing
A short story
The Wisdom of Holden Caulfield
Beneath all the alienation, The Catcher in the Rye, which turns 75 this year, has a surprisingly hopeful—and ethical—outlook.
Atlantic Reads: The Housewives Underground With Kaitlyn Tiffany
The Atlantic staff writer Kaitlyn Tiffany and Jeffrey Goldberg, The Atlantic’s editor in chief, discuss Tiffany’s new book, The Housewives Underground: The Untold Story of the Women Who Made the JFK Assassination Our Most Enduring Mystery.
A Close-Up Look at the Waste of Modern Life
A new memoir by a Montreal garbageman shows the actual work of cleaning up the world’s junk.
The Theory That Explains Trump’s UFC Fight
By staging a “spectacle of excess” on the White House lawn, the president expressed the violent essence of his worldview.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s American Horror Story
The author wrote a tale that challenged the nation’s founding myths. Then it disappeared.
What Are Frederic Church’s Stunning Landscapes Trying to Tell Us?
America’s first art star remains a mystery.
The Encounter
A short story
A Surprisingly Human Story About Aliens
This novel is nominally about an interstellar voyage. It’s actually about sex, love, God, and the problem of evil.
Six Books That Take You to Space
You won’t even have to leave your couch.
The Work That Goes Into ‘Effortless’ Style
Andrew Sean Greer’s new novel is deeper than it looks.