Sex and Smashed Steel
A look back at J.G. Ballard's ‘Crash’—one of the the 20th century’s greatest and most disturbingly prophetic novels.
Benjamin Kerstein
· 25 min read
Books
A collection of 203 posts
The Amityville Horror—A 50-Year Old Lie That Won’t Die
Jay Anson’s haunted-house yarn was a highly lucrative hoax, but it struck a popular chord amid the financial precarity of 1970s America.
Kevin Mims
· 26 min read
Motorpsycho Nightmare
Robert Pirsig’s insufferable cult novel about philosophy and bike maintenance turns 50.
Kevin Mims
· 18 min read
In the Country of Last Things
A look back at the work and impressively productive life of Brooklyn’s most famous resident, Paul Auster.
David Cohen
· 14 min read
Here Comes the Bite
Peter Benchley’s ‘Jaws’ turns 50.
Kevin Mims
· 24 min read
Bestseller Reparations
In ‘American Fiction,’ director Cord Jefferson brings a devil-may-care effrontery to bear on the culture of self-censorship, progressive pieties, and artistic hypocrisy.
Thomas Larson
· 7 min read
Huck Finn or Uncle Tom?
These great books should be read together, for each illuminates a different part of the American character.
Tim DeRoche
· 8 min read
A Dense Thicket of Contending Visions
In his latest novel, Tom Piazza imagines the finest meeting of American minds never to have happened.
Matt Hanson
· 6 min read
In Memoriam, 2023
A tribute to three pop-fiction authors who passed away this year.
Kevin Mims
· 14 min read
Mutual Friends: The Adventures of Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins
A charming exhibition at London’s Charles Dickens Museum provides a fascinating glimpse into the private lives of two great English writers.
Hannah Gal
· 7 min read
The Greatest American Western Novel of All
Elmer Kelton’s ‘The Time It Never Rained’ is an overlooked classic.
Kevin Mims
· 13 min read
Man Out of Time
A look back at the career of Avery Corman, who found popular success with ‘Kramer versus Kramer’ before running afoul of feminism.
Kevin Mims
· 19 min read
The Communication Revolution
Like the first iPhone, Gutenberg’s Bible opened up avenues of development that entrepreneurs have been exploiting ever since.
James Hannam
· 10 min read
Remembering ‘Exodus’
A perennially controversial bestseller turns 65.
Kevin Mims
· 18 min read
On Marriage and Happiness
It is easy for a successful writer to advise that career success isn’t that important. Would a failed writer agree?
Kevin Mims
· 9 min read