Biography & Autobiography

"I don't think anyone should write their autobiography until after they're dead." — Samuel Goldwyn

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  He’s My Death, Too: Emmett Till and America

  Shehryar Fazli on Timothy B. Tyson's "The Blood of Emmett Till."

  Shehryar FazliFeb 20, 2017

  • Biography & Autobiography

  • History

  • Politics

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  Lesser-Known Kafkas

  Mark Harman on Reiner Stach's "Kafka: The Early Years."

  Mark HarmanFeb 6, 2017

  • Biography & Autobiography

  • Fiction

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  Scenes of Terror, Deluge, and Sudden Death: A Life of Thomas De Quincey

  Henrik Bering appreciates “Guilty Thing: A Life of Thomas De Quincey” by Frances Wilson.

  Henrik BeringJan 18, 2017

  • Biography & Autobiography

  • Literary Criticism

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  When People Wanted Civilisation: Reassessing Kenneth Clark

  Kevin McMahon appreciates the focus of “Kenneth Clark: Life, Art and Civilisation” by James Stourton.

  Kevin McMahonJan 7, 2017

  • Art & Architecture

  • Biography & Autobiography

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  Raiding the Lost Ark: Molly Haskell on Steven Spielberg’s Jewish Life

  When did Steven Spielberg grow up? Dan Erdman looks to Molly Haskell's "Steven Spielberg: A Life in Films" to find out.

  Dan ErdmanJan 4, 2017

  • Biography & Autobiography

  • Film

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  “I Haven’t Talked Much About Her Films”: Edward Sorel’s Mary Astor

  Christina Newland on Edward Sorel's new biography of Mary Astor.

  Christina NewlandDec 31, 2016

  • Biography & Autobiography

  • Comics

  • Film

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  It’s All One Case: A Conversation Between Biographers

  Tom Nolan and Kevin Avery discuss critic Paul Nelson and “The Illustrated Ross Macdonald Archives.”

  Tom NolanDec 12, 2016

  • Biography & Autobiography

  • Noir

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  Richard Posner Is a Monster

  Richard Posner is a monster, or so he says, but so is Wagner, Tolstoy, Proust, Kafka.

  Allen MendenhallDec 1, 2016

  • Biography & Autobiography

  • Law

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  No Easy Answers: Susan Rubin Suleiman on “The Némirovsky Question”

  Robert Zaretsky explains that there are no easy answers in “The Némirovsky Question” by Susan Rubin Suleiman.

  Robert ZaretskyNov 24, 2016

  • Biography & Autobiography

  • History

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  Making a Man of the Mad Monk

  Douglas Smith’s new biography of “Mad Monk” Rasputin brings him into the human realm.

  Boris DralyukNov 23, 2016

  • Around the World

  • Biography & Autobiography

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  All That Bad

  Shehryar Fazli on Deirdre Bair's new biography of Al Capone.

  Shehryar FazliNov 20, 2016

  • Biography & Autobiography

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  Kafka: An End or a Beginning?

  Morten Høi Jensen revisits the life and work of Franz Kafka.

  Morten Høi JensenNov 19, 2016

  • Biography & Autobiography

  • Fiction