Essays by George Orwell (Everyman’s Library, $35). His fiction I can do without, even Animal Farm and 1984. But I consider Orwell the greatest essayist ever, his thinking as clear and powerful as his prose. The strongest argument ever made against the death penalty comes in two paragraphs in “A Hanging.”
Underworld by Don DeLillo (Scribner, $18). My favorite opening chapter in modern fiction, a riot of baseball, Jackie Gleason, J. Edgar Hoover, Frank Sinatra, Andy Pafko, the most famous home run in history, and some of the best writing ever. The rest of the book cannot match it, but I don’t care, I keep reading this chapter over and over for inspiration.
Common Ground by J. Anthony Lukas (Vintage, $19). The gold standard for nonfiction narrative writing, a combination of deep reporting, profound thinking, and fluid writing that captures a specific time and place—Boston during the busing controversy—in a universal fashion. Robert Caro’s LBJ books, Taylor Branch’s on MLK, and Rick Atkinson’s on WWII meet the same standard.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Five Seasons: A Baseball Companion by Roger Angell (Bison, $20). Angell has to be on any list I make for the simple reason that no writer has given me more happiness for more of my life. He was the first writer for whom I would count the pages ahead to see how much joy remained.
Lincoln at Gettysburg by Garry Wills (Simon & Schuster, $14). The smartest man in America examines the greatest 256 words in American history. Wills reads at dinner; he reads walking down the streets of Evanston, Ill.; he reads when the rest of us sleep or watch ESPN. I always learn from his writing.
Don Quixote by Cervantes. The first and the best, timeless in humor and pathos. And my brother Jim is translating it one more time. We are each other’s Sancho.
-
Marisa Silver’s 6 favorite books that capture a lifetimeFeature The author recommends works by John Williams, Ian McEwan, and more
-
Book reviews: ‘We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution’ and ‘Will There Ever Be Another You’Feature The many attempts to amend the U.S. Constitution and Patricia Lockwood’s struggle with long Covid
-
Philadelphia’s Calder GardensFeature A permanent new museum
-
Marisa Silver’s 6 favorite books that capture a lifetime
Feature The author recommends works by John Williams, Ian McEwan, and more
-
Lou Berney’s 6 favorite books with powerful storytellingFeature The award-winning author recommends works by Dorothy B. Hughes, James McBride, and more
-
Elizabeth Gilbert’s favorite books about women overcoming difficultiesFeature The author recommends works by Tove Jansson, Lauren Groff, and more
-
Fannie Flagg’s 6 favorite books that sparked her imaginationFeature The author recommends works by Johanna Spyri, John Steinbeck, and more
-
Jessica Francis Kane's 6 favorite books that prove less is moreFeature The author recommends works by Penelope Fitzgerald, Marie-Helene Bertino, and more
-
Keith McNally's 6 favorite books that have ambitious charactersFeature The London-born restaurateur recommends works by Leo Tolstoy, John le Carré, and more
-
Garrett Graff's 6 favorite books that shine new light on World War IIFeature The author recommends works by James D. Hornfischer, Craig L. Symonds, and more
-
Helen Schulman's 6 favorite collections of short storiesFeature The award-winning author recommends works by Raymond Carver, James Baldwin, and more
