New Yorker contributor Malcolm Gladwell is the author of The Tipping Point and Blink. His newest work is the current best-seller Outliers: The Story of Success.
The Blind Side by Michael Lewis (Norton, $14). Lewis is the finest storyteller of our generation, and this is his best book. Supposedly about football (the title refers to the side of the field a quarterback is blind to), it’s actually an extraordinary story about love and redemption.
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Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner (Morrow, $28). I don’t need to say much here. This book invented an entire genre. Economics was never supposed to be this entertaining.
Traffic by Tom Vanderbilt (Knopf, $25). One of the heirs to the Freakonomics legacy. A very clever young writer tells us all sorts of things about what driving says about us. I kept waiting for the moment when my interest in congestion and roads would run its course. It never did.
Nixon Agonistes by Garry Wills (Mariner, $15). A classic from the early ’70s by one of the great political writers of his time. Written just before Richard Nixon resigned, it’s as devastating a portrait of him as has ever been written.
The Opposable Mind by Roger Martin (Harvard Business School Press, $27). Explores what makes great CEOs stand out from their peers. I realize that there are thousands of business books on the subject, but, trust me, this is the first to really answer the question.
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Political cartoons for November 8Cartoons Saturday’s political cartoons include narco boats, and the new Lincoln monument
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Why Trump pardoned crypto criminal Changpeng ZhaoIn the Spotlight Binance founder’s tactical pardon shows recklessness is rewarded by the Trump White House
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Codeword: November 8, 2025The Week's daily codeword puzzle
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Beth Macy’s 6 favorite books about living in a divided nationFeature The journalist recommends works by Nicholas Buccola, Matthew Desmond, and more
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Gilbert King’s 6 favorite books about the search for justiceFeature The journalist recommends works by Bryan Stevenson, David Grann, and more
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Nathan Harris’ 6 favorite books that turn adventures into revelationsFeature The author recommends works by Kazuo Ishiguro, Ian McGuire, and more
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Marisa Silver’s 6 favorite books that capture a lifetimeFeature The author recommends works by John Williams, Ian McEwan, and more
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Lou Berney’s 6 favorite books with powerful storytellingFeature The award-winning author recommends works by Dorothy B. Hughes, James McBride, and more
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Elizabeth Gilbert’s favorite books about women overcoming difficultiesFeature The author recommends works by Tove Jansson, Lauren Groff, and more
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Fannie Flagg’s 6 favorite books that sparked her imaginationFeature The author recommends works by Johanna Spyri, John Steinbeck, and more
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Jessica Francis Kane's 6 favorite books that prove less is moreFeature The author recommends works by Penelope Fitzgerald, Marie-Helene Bertino, and more
