Recent Reviews
A back story that comes with great expectations
Ronald Frame’s “Havisham” details the origin of a famed Dickens’ character, then retells the tale.
Fiction: ‘Bellman & Black,’ by Diane Setterfield
The author of “The Thirteenth Tale” is back with a dark story of retribution.
A balloon-eyed view of the world from the first to dare it
Richard Holmes profiles the quirky pioneers of hot-air ballooning in “Falling Upwards.”
Got a strategy? Well, good luck with that.
Lawrence Freedman asks if humans are architects of their own fate or flotsam in a sea of circumstance
Two visions for the newly minted United States
The intellectual clash between Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton shaped a newborn nation
A revolution in knowledge from Columbus to Darwin
Joyce Appleby looks at how the Age of Discovery brought Europe from medieval serfdom to the modern age
The women of Nazi Germany
In Hitler’s Germany thousands of women were transformed into mass murderers
Unsung pleasure of advancing age
“The Nostalgia Factory” is a tribute to reminiscence, one of old age’s great glories.
A daughter of empire
Lady Pamela Hicks reflects on her aristocratic life as the youngest daughter of Lord Louis Mountbatten
‘The Leonard Bernstein Letters’
No book has so delightfully captured the man’s energy and intellect.
‘Autobiography’ by Morrissey book review
The English pop icon with an often petulant attitude writes about his life with unbridled, poetic excess.
Romance writers feel the heat from “Fifty Shades of Grey”
The euphemisms fall away as the language grows coarser.
‘Ten Thousand Stories’
“An Ever-Changing Tale of Tragic Happenings,” by Matthew Swanson and Robbi Behr.
A book as big as the cosmos
This gigantic photo book of the planets and stars comes with a collection of related video clips.
Fiction: ‘Personae,’ by Sergio De La Pava
The author of ‘The Naked Singularity’ shows how devilishly entertaining experimental literature can be.
Fiction: ‘The Transylvanian Trilogy,’ by Miklós Bánffy
This rediscovered masterpiece exhibits a 19th-century confidence in layer-cake storytelling.
Fiction by T.C. Boyle, Russell Banks and Tom Perrotta
New story collections by three of the most successful practitioners of the literary narrative.
Stephen King is on Twitter ... and at a loss for words
The prolific author has written millions of words in his lifetime, but managed fewer than 100 on his much-hyped new account
Fiction: ‘S.,’ by J.J. Abrams and Doug Dorst
A book, a mystery, an experience — from the co-creator of ‘Lost.’
A great new “Great Gatsby“
A new edition from the Folio Society, with an introduction by Michael Dirda, reminds us of a pleasures of a well-made book.
Thriller: ‘The Dinosaur Feather,’ by S.J. Gazan
Maureen Corrigan calls this Danish novel the weirdest and most ingenious new mystery in years.
T.R. Fehrenbach, Texas historian, dies at 88
Best known for his epic history of Texas, Mr. Fehrenbach also wrote about Mexico and warfare.
Biography: ‘The Rise and Times of Charlie Parker’
In “Kansas City Lightning,” Stanley Crouch brings the great jazz musician alive.
‘The Lincoln Deception’: A creaky but satisfying whodunit
David O. Stewart’s novel reveals a plot behind Lincoln’s killing that is even more sinister than was known.
Short and strange: The Post’s list of best books for 2013
Our book critic’s favorite reads for 2013 skews in favor of British and Irish writers
Edmund Burke vs. Thomas Paine
Yuval Levin examines the debate between Edmund Burke and Thomas Paine and how it created right and left
Inside the race to invent life
Geneticist J. Craig Venter takes us inside the pursuit of creating synthetic life forms, biology’s great frontier
A family negotiates a frontier truce in ‘Red and the White’
‘The Red and the White’ is a Montana family’s story of conflict between white settlers and Native Americans
The aggressive American role in Latin America
“Story of a Death Foretold” examines the coup against Salvador Allende.
Watch: A chat with Anthony Marra, author of ‘A Constellation of Vital Phenomena’
His heartbreaking, gorgeously written novel is one of The Post’s Top 10 books for 2013, and it was long-listed for the National Book Award.
Music critic tells of the dark days of the Man in Black
Robert Hillburn talked to Johnny Cash many times over the years, and offers insight in a new biography.
Michael Kammen, Pulitzer-winning historian, dies at 77
In his many books, the Cornell historian examined the Constitution and concepts of American identity.
Biography: ‘Breakfast with Lucian Freud’
Geordie Greig focuses more on the legendary painter’s epic sexual adventures than his art.
Maryland mathematician Manil Suri wins Bad Sex Award
“City of Devi” impresses judges with a m nage trois during a nuclear crisis.
André Schiffrin, key figure in N.Y. publishing, dies at 78
Mr. Schiffrin, the longtime head of Pantheon Books, was forced out in a celebrated culture clash in 1990.
Fiction: ‘Rustication,’ by Charles Palliser
When a young drug addict gets expelled from college, he discovers his home town terrorized by threats.
‘Seiobo There Below,’ by László Krasznahorkai
The Hungarian master pays homage to the self-perpetuating and timeless quality of great art.
Washington Post Bestsellers Dec. 15
The books Washington has been reading.
Washington: From cover to cover
From novels to history to cooking and ghost stories, Post editors and critics offer introduction to capital.
More erratic than erotic: Suri takes bad sex prize in stride
The Maryland novelist says the provocative scene judges mocked isn’t so absurd in context.
Fiction: ‘Rustication,’ by Charles Palliser
When a young drug addict gets expelled from college, he discovers his home town terrorized by threats.
Fiction: ‘Want Not,’ by Jonathan Miles
A complex, often hilarious, ultimately moving novel about who we are — and what we discard.
‘Ten Thousand Stories’
“An Ever-Changing Tale of Tragic Happenings,” by Matthew Swanson and Robbi Behr.
Biography: ‘Breakfast with Lucian Freud’
Geordie Greig focuses more on the legendary painter’s epic sexual adventures than his art.
Fiction: Frank Baker’s ‘The Birds’
Before Daphne du Maurier’s story, before Hitchcock’s movie, there was Baker’s terrifying novel.
Short and strange: The Post’s list of best books for 2013
Our book critic’s favorite reads for 2013 skews in favor of British and Irish writers
London and Paris: Through the best and worst of times
“Tales of Two Cities” is a provocative examination of the relationship between London and Paris.
Nora Ephron reflects
“The Most of Nora Ephron” collects essays by the late, great American writer.
Literary Calendar
Going Out Guide: Upcoming events
Get the latest on readings, signings and author appearances in the D.C. area.
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