Marie Antoinette by Antonia Fraser (Anchor, $17). I had to rush out and buy this book after I saw the movie with Kirsten Dunst. Fraser has a gift for making history narratively juicy. A gossipfest from another era, with plenty of lessons about hubris and repression that are timely today.
Buy Marie Antoinette at Amazon
Subscribe to 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.
Reds by Ted Morgan (Random House, $17). This is a stunning and very balanced account of the Red Scare in the U.S. in the 1950s. It is amazing to see how little it takes to close down an open society once people feel they are personally threatened for having engaged in dissent.
All Governments Lie! by Myra MacPherson (Scribner, $35). This biography of the great muckraking journalist I.F. Stone is another riveting reminder of how the U.S. periodically engages in efforts to close down dissent.
Guantánamo by Michael Ratner with Ellen Ray (Chelsea Green, $15). I can’t say this book makes pleasant reading, but it is definitely one of the most important books on my list. Written by a leading human-rights lawyer who represents Guantánamo detainees, Guantánamo will trouble your conscience. What we are doing there to innocent people as well as to people who are guilty—both of whom should face a fair trial—is far beyond what even educated people are likely to have read about.
To Begin the World Anew
-
How China is battling the chikungunya virusUnder The Radar Thousands of cases of the debilitating disease have been found in the country
-
Deep thoughts: AI shows its math chopsFeature Google's Gemini is the first AI system to win gold at the International Mathematical Olympiad
-
Book reviews: 'Face With Tears of Joy: A Natural History of Emoji' and 'Blood Harmony: The Everly Brothers Story'Feature The surprising history of emojis and the brother duo who changed pop music
-
Helen Schulman's 6 favorite collections of short storiesFeature The award-winning author recommends works by Raymond Carver, James Baldwin, and more
-
Beatriz Williams' 6 timeless books about history and human relationshipsFeature The best-selling author recommends works by Jane Austen, Zora Neale Hurston, and more
-
Aysegul Savas' 6 favorite books for readers who love immersive settingsFeature The Paris-based Turkish author recommends works by Hiromi Kawakami, Virginia Woolf, and more
-
Geoff Dyer's 6 favorite books about the realities of warFeature The award-winning author recommends works by Ernie Pyle, Michael Herr, and more
-
Laura Lippman's 6 favorite books for those who crave a high-stakes adventureFeature The Grand Master recommends works by E.L. Konigsburg, Charles Portis, and more
-
Thomas Mallon's 6 favorite books from the 80's and early 90'sFeature The author recommends works by James Merrill, Calvin Trillin, and more
-
Anne Hillerman's 6 favorite books with Native charactersFeature The author recommends works by Ramona Emerson, Craig Johnson, and more
-
John Kenney's 6 favorite books that will break your heart softlyFeature The novelist recommends works by John le Carré, John Kennedy Toole, and more
