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.
What Tech Titans Don’t Understand About Sci-Fi
The genre frequently exposes the rot within supposedly perfect futures.
The Sexual Politics of the ‘Bed Trick’
A new book about an infamous trial asks how the stories we tell can define our relationships.
What Howard Zinn Got Wrong
The historian believed that empowering the people would improve society. History hasn’t always proved him right.
We Are Living in the Fantasy World of 13-Year-Old Boys
Many of the tech billionaires who built our world have taken the wrong lessons from their favorite science fiction.
Red Death
A poem
What to Read to Wake Up Your Brain
These books can ease readers into a season of work and hard thinking.
Roy Cohn Did It First
The debasement of American politics didn’t start with Donald Trump.
What Dolly Parton Knew About Reading
She wanted to be remembered, most of all, as the “book lady.”
Is the Wake for Wokeness Premature?
Claudia Rankine’s new book overflows with grief for the backlash to racial progress, but history isn’t finished.
Portrait of the Artist as a Movie Star
Rachel Cusk’s latest novel is about the life of a famous actress—or is it?