How Much Faith Is Left?: On Warren Zanes’s “Deliver Me from Nowhere”Tim Riley reviews Warren Zanes’s “Deliver Me from Nowhere: The Making of Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Nebraska.’”...TIM RILEYMUSICHISTORYBIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Relevés and Revolutions: On Jennifer Homans’s “Mr. B”Martha Anne Toll reviews Jennifer Homans’s “Mr. B: George Balanchine’s 20th Century.”...MARTHA ANNE TOLLART & ARCHITECTUREHISTORYBIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY
I Was Determined to Remember: Harriet Jacobs and the Corporeality of Slavery’s LegaciesKoritha Mitchell discusses her research for a scholarly edition of Harriet Jacobs’s “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl.”...KORITHA MITCHELLMEMOIR & ESSAYHISTORYBIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY
The Escape Artist: On John le Carré’s “A Private Spy” and Suleika Dawson’s “The Secret Heart”John Phipps reviews two highly revealing new books about the late John Le Carré....JOHN PHIPPSBIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Transcendent Truths: On Reza Aslan’s “An American Martyr in Persia”Matthew Mullins reviews Reza Aslan’s “An American Martyr in Persia: The Epic Life and Tragic Death of Howard Baskerville.”...MATTHEW MULLINSBIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY
In a Life I Never Had I Was a Brave Cosmonaut: On Nona Fernández’s “Voyager”Claire Calderón reviews Nona Fernández’s “Voyager: Constellations of Memory,” translated by Natasha Wimmer....CLAIRE CALDERÓNBIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY
A Giant Peak Called “The Doors”: A Conversation with John DensmoreJames Penner interviews John Densmore, drummer for the Doors....JAMES PENNERNONFICTIONMUSICBIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY
The Afterlife of Slavery: On Carole Emberton’s “To Walk About in Freedom”Jim Downs reviews Carole Emberton’s “To Walk About in Freedom: The Long Emancipation of Priscilla Joyner.”...JIM DOWNSPOLITICSHISTORYBIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Transpacific Connections and Competitions: On Ying Zhu’s “Hollywood in China” and Daryl Joji Maeda’s “Like Water”Aynne Kokas reviews two recent books about the intersection of China and Hollywood: Ying Zhu’s “Hollywood in China: Behind the Scenes of the World’s Largest Movie Market” and Daryl Joji Maeda’s “Like Water: A Cultural History of Bruce Lee.”...AYNNE KOKASAROUND THE WORLDFILMBIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Hurray for Inventing New Genres or Whatever: On Dr. Moiya McTier’s “The Milky Way”Joani Etskovitz explores the genres at play — from astronomy and mythology to self-help and romance — in Dr. Moiya McTier’s “The Milky Way: An Autobiography of Our Galaxy.”...JOANI ETSKOVITZSCIENCE & TECHNOLOGYHISTORYBIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHYSF
Mankind Is a Piece of Shit: On Keiron Pim’s “Endless Flight”Luke Warde reviews Keiron Pim’s new biography “Endless Flight: The Life of Joseph Roth.”...LUKE WARDEFICTIONBIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Examining Phillis WheatleyHollis Robbins examines the legend of Phillis Wheatley, the first African American published poet....HOLLIS ROBBINSBIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHYPOETRY
The Many Faces of Felix Frankfurter: On Brad Snyder’s “Democratic Justice”Paul Finkelman reviews Brad Snyder's "Democratic Justice: Felix Frankfurter, the Supreme Court, and the Making of the Liberal Establishment."...PAUL FINKELMANLAWPOLITICSBIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Hurt Just the Right Way: A Conversation with Emi NietfeldNatasia Pelowski speaks with Emi Nietfeld about her new memoir, “Acceptance.”...NATASIA PELOWSKIMEMOIR & ESSAYBIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Beyond Liberalism?: On Raymond Geuss’s “Not Thinking Like a Liberal”Richard Eldridge reviews Raymond Geuss’s “Not Thinking Like a Liberal.”...RICHARD ELDRIDGEPOLITICSPHILOSOPHY & RELIGIONBIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY
A Communion of Pathless Solitudes: On Adam Nicolson’s “The Making of Poetry”Joshua Hren reviews Adam Nicolson’s “The Making of Poetry: Coleridge, the Wordsworths, and Their Year of Marvels.”...JOSHUA HRENLITERARY CRITICISMBIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHYPOETRY
A Down-and-Out but Amusing Character: On Alex Harvey’s “Song Noir”Dec Ryan reviews Alex Harvey’s “Song Noir: Tom Waits and the Spirit of Los Angeles.”...DECLAN RYANNONFICTIONMUSICBIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY
All of the Monsters (In Which I Accuse James Purdy of Throwing My Four-Year-Old Child Down Two Flights of Stairs Using His Powers of Telekinesis): On Michael Snyder’s “James Purdy”Matthew Stadler recalls his friend James Purdy via Michael Snyder’s new biography of the novelist, playwright, and poet, “James Purdy: Life of a Contrarian Writer.”...MATTHEW STADLERMEMOIR & ESSAYBIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHYLITERARY FICTION
The Masks of Xi Jinping: On Alfred L. Chan’s “Xi Jinping” and Joseph Torigian’s “Prestige, Manipulation, and Coercion”Who is Xi Jinping and what comes after? Martin Laflamme reviews Alfred L. Chan’s biography of Xi Jinping and Joseph Torigian’s study of power struggles in the Soviet Union and the PRC....MARTIN LAFLAMMEAROUND THE WORLDNONFICTIONPOLITICSBIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY
California, Coming Home: On Julia Scheeres and Allison Gilbert’s “Listen, World!”Lauren Arrington considers a biography of influential newspaper columnist Elsie Robinson, “Listen, World! How the Intrepid Elsie Robinson Became America’s Most-Read Woman” by Julia Scheeres and Allison Gilbert....LAUREN ARRINGTONNONFICTIONPOLITICSHISTORYBIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY
The Truth Was Out There: On the Legacy of Art BellJesse Robertson considers the legacy of insomnia-prone radio host Art Bell....JESSE ROBERTSONMEMOIR & ESSAYHISTORYBIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Private Domain: On Ada Calhoun’s “Also a Poet”Alec Pollak reviews Ada Calhoun’s ”Also a Poet: Frank O'Hara, My Father, and Me.”...ALEC POLLAKMEMOIR & ESSAYBIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHYPOETRY
The Avenging Goddess of Screenwriters: Remembering Mary C. McCall Jr.J. E. Smyth commemorates a landmark anniversary of forgotten screenwriter and guild president, the sharp-tongued, blacklisted Mary McCall....J. E. SMYTHFILMMEMOIR & ESSAYBIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHYGENDER & SEXUALITY
The Legacy of a Caged Bird: On Gene Andrew Jarrett’s “Paul Laurence Dunbar”Vesper North considers Gene Andrew Jarrett’s updated biography, “Paul Laurence Dunbar: The Life and Times of a Caged Bird.”...VESPER NORTHNONFICTIONHISTORYBIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHYPOETRY