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
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
-
Beth Macy’s 6 favorite books about living in a divided nationFeature The journalist recommends works by Nicholas Buccola, Matthew Desmond, and more
-
Gilbert King’s 6 favorite books about the search for justiceFeature The journalist recommends works by Bryan Stevenson, David Grann, and more
-
Nathan Harris’ 6 favorite books that turn adventures into revelationsFeature The author recommends works by Kazuo Ishiguro, Ian McGuire, and more
-
Marisa Silver’s 6 favorite books that capture a lifetimeFeature 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
