The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris (Modern Library, $18). A masterful portrait of the first half of Roosevelt’s life, when TR was rising like a rocket through personal tragedy, with determination and an invigorating idealism that still stands out in the American landscape. This is bracing history; it reminds us that politics is history in the present tense.
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Lenin’s Tomb by David Remnick (Vintage, $16). Remnick was a Moscow reporter for The Washington Post when he produced this series of vignettes capturing the collapse of the totalitarian Soviet regime. With its Pulitzer Prize–winning profiles of heroic dissidents, dissolute generals, and Stalinist apologists, this is a real War & Peace.
Legends of the Fall by Jim Harrison (Delta, $14). Forget the movie; this collection of three novellas covers far broader ground, and with sharper focus. A cross between John Updike and All the Pretty Horses–era Cormac McCarthy, it is funny and unsentimental, epic without pretension. Check out the often overlooked second story, “The Man Who Gave Up His Name.”
The Moronic Inferno by Martin Amis (Penguin, $14). Amis’ humor and humanity co-exist intact in this collection of journalistic essays written in the 1980s during a series of visits the British novelist made to an America that was straining under its own excesses. The book reads particularly well alongside its more Eurocentric companion volume, Visiting Mrs. Nabokov.
Nine Stories
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Political cartoons for November 16Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include presidential pardons, the Lincoln penny, and more
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The vast horizons of the Puna de AtacamaThe Week Recommends The ‘dramatic and surreal’ landscape features volcanoes, fumaroles and salt flats
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Asylum hotels: everything you need to knowThe Explainer Using hotels to house asylum seekers has proved extremely unpopular. Why, and what can the government do about it?
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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
