Forget Grit
Even the luminaries of the self-help genre have begun to recognize how little in life we can actually control.
Books
Introducing The Atlantic’s expanded books coverage: essays, criticism, fiction, poetry, and recommendations from our writers and editors
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
Celebrity Has Become a Jobs Program
A new book by the hosts of Who? Weekly scrutinizes how social media democratized fame.
A Forgotten Fix for American Racial Strife
Harold Cruse had a prescient understanding of why social movements stumble—and how they might find more success.
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.
Tallying
A poem
Wilderness Years
A poem
A Bleak, Violent Novel’s Unexpected Delights
For the characters in The Disappearers, seeing and being seen are matters of life and death.
A Deeply Layered Novel About Masculinity
Chang-rae Lee’s new novel examines a young man’s attempt to be tough—and its far-reaching consequences.
Disunion
A short story
Marlon James Returns to Realism, and to Jamaica
In his new novel, gay men struggle to escape violence in Kingston.
Stance
A poem
Hard-Luck Men in Hardscrabble Towns
In Richard Russo’s novels, the American dream feels like a cruel joke.
The Genre That’s a Shortcut to Wisdom
As a busy adult, I approach foundational, complicated ideas with the help of the intellectual biography.
Icarus in the Faculty Lounge
The Cambridge professor Jason Arday’s unlikely ascent has come to a tragic end.