Books

Gambel oak branchlet

This Massive New Guidebook Will Forever Change the Way You Look at Trees

Written by Smithsonian botanist W. John Kress, the book details more than 300 North American tree species in words, maps and photographs—and why we shouldn't take them for granted

Clarke and his team created forces that could be found nowhere except in the meticulous files of A Force and, crucially, in German intelligence reports.

To Trick the Nazis, This Master of Deception Invented Fake Fleets and Armies

During World War II, British officer Dudley Clarke led A Force, a Cairo-based military unit that fed false information to the Germans

Bridge Over the Water Lily Pond, 1905. In earlier works, Monet painted the footbridge in a crisp, distinct arc. Here, its faint, shadowy curves blend into greenery of the natural surroundings.

Later in Life, Claude Monet Obsessed Over Water Lilies. His Paintings of Them Were Some of His Greatest Masterpieces

Completed more than a century ago, these artworks reveal the Impressionist's triumphs—and struggles

The 700-year-old text is in “exceptionally fine condition,” according to Sotheby’s.

Hebrew Bible From Medieval Spain Could Sell for $7 Million

After years of painstaking work, Rabbi Shem Tov Ibn Gaon finished the illustrated manuscript in 1312

Artist Tyrus Wong, with kites of his own design, at California's Santa Monica Beach

How Tyrus Wong Spent 106 Years Making the World More Beautiful

The Chinese American artist left a breathtaking legacy that ranged from fine art to Disney movies to Christmas cards

William E. Leuchtenburg's new book spotlights (from left to right) George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe and John Quincy Adams.

What the American Revolution Taught the United States' First Presidents

A new book by historian William E. Leuchtenburg examines how the first six commanders in chief embodied the revolutionary spirit and set precedents that shaped their successors' tenures

A few weeks after Harriet Beecher Stowe crossed paths with John Andrew Jackson, she began drafting Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

The Black Fugitive Who Inspired 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' and Helped End Slavery in the U.S.

New research sheds light on John Andrew Jackson, who sought help from Harriet Beecher Stowe during his escape from bondage

In the first century B.C.E., Fulvia, Octavia and Cleopatra competed for Mark Antony's heart.

Who Were Cleopatra’s Rivals for Mark Antony's Love?

The Roman general’s third and fourth wives, Fulvia and Octavia, adopted varying strategies for luring their husband away from the queen of Egypt

The Dolphin Hotel is a historic structure dating in Southampton, England.

Inside the Controversial Plan to Turn a Hotel Where Jane Austen Attended Balls Into Student Dorms

Devoted readers are worried about the fate of the historic Dolphin Hotel in southern England

The Wentworth brothers campaigned ceaselessly for the liberty of free speech in the House of Commons. They were driven by the ongoing succession crisis, which they felt Elizabeth was ignoring, placing England in danger of civil war or foreign invasion.

The Brothers Who Asserted Their Right to Free Speech in Tudor England

Peter and Paul Wentworth called on Elizabeth I to name an heir to the throne, wielding Parliament's free speech privileges to urge the queen to take action

In "Lady in the Lake," Natalie Portman plays a fictional journalist who investigates a pair of mysterious deaths. The cases are inspired by the real-life disappearances of Esther Lebowitz and Shirley Lee Parker.

The Real Story Behind the Baltimore Deaths That Inspired 'Lady in the Lake'

A new mini-series offers a fictionalized take on two unrelated 1969 cases: the mysterious disappearance of bartender Shirley Lee Parker and the murder of 11-year-old Esther Lebowitz

Aphra Behn's The Amorous Prince, or, The Curious Husband was staged this month for the first time in 350 years.

Aphra Behn, the First Englishwoman to Earn a Living With Her Writing, Is Finally Getting Her Due

A year-long event series aims to champion the pioneering 17th-century writer's legacy

Tiana's Bayou Adventure is now open to the public.

What the Changes to Splash Mountain, Now Tiana's Bayou Adventure, Reveal About How Americans See Themselves

Originally based on themes from the 1946 film "Song of the South," the Disney World attraction debuted in Florida in June. The Disneyland version will be unveiled in California later this year

York, the enslaved man who accompanied Lewis and Clark on their history-making expedition, appears in the rightmost canoe in this 1905 painting by Charles Marion Russell.

The Forgotten Black Explorers Who Transformed Americans' Understanding of the Wilderness

Esteban, York and James Beckwourth charted the American frontier between the 16th and 19th centuries

This still from The Bikeriders is a recreation of Danny Lyon's photo Crossing the Ohio River.

The Real Story Behind 'The Bikeriders' and the Danny Lyon Photography Book That Inspired It

A new film dramatizes the story of a motorcycle club chronicled by Lyon in the 1960s, offering a tribute to the outlaw spirit

The Phrygian cap derives its name from the ancient region of Phrygia, in what is now Turkey. Also known as a liberty cap, it inspired revolutionaries in both the Colonies and France.

The Paris Games' Mascot, the Olympic Phryge, Boasts a Little-Known Revolutionary Past

The Phrygian cap, also known as the liberty cap, emerged as a potent symbol in 18th-century America and France

The correspondence is undated, but experts think Kafka wrote it in the spring of 1920.

An Ailing Franz Kafka Curses Writer's Block in This Handwritten Letter to a Friend

"I haven't written anything for three years," he admitted in the note, which will go to auction this summer

Edmond O'Brien and Jan Sterling during the filming of a 1956 adaptation of George Orwell's 1984

What Does George Orwell's '1984' Mean in 2024?

Now 75 years old, the dystopian novel still rings alarm bells about totalitarian rule

"Top Chef" contestant Eric Adjepong's scallop yassa

These Chefs Are Elevating African and Caribbean Cuisines From Carryouts to Fine Dining

More Americans are eating and learning about dishes such as fufu and curried goat in establishments recognized by the highest echelon of the culinary world

One of the lost works discovered in AMU's University Library with annotations from the Brothers Grimm

The Brothers Grimm Did Much More Than Tell Fairy Tales

A recent discovery in a Polish library of 27 books that were thought to have been lost sheds light on the breadth of the German scholars' work

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