Books – Detail

An incisive collection about motherhood and creative life through the lens of mothers―in history, literature, and pop culture―who have abandoned their children.

One of NPR's "Books We Love" in 2024

What is the purpose of art in a world on fire? In this exhilarating and deeply inspiring work, Amber Massie-Blomfield considers the work of artists, writers, musicians, and filmmakers―such as Gran Fury, Billie Holiday, Alexis Wright, Claude Cahun, Rick Lowe, and Joseph Beuys―alongside collectives, communities, and organizations that have used protest sites as their canvas and spearheaded political movements.

A must-read for all parents: the generation-defining investigation into the collapse of youth mental health in the era of smartphones, social media, and big tech—and a plan for a healthier, freer childhood.

Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller; A New York Times and Washington Post Notable Book; One of Barack Obama's Favorite Books of 2024; A TIME 100 Must-Read Book of 2024

A bold, urgent appeal from the acclaimed columnist and political commentator, addressing one of the most important issues of our time.

New York Times Bestseller

A surprising and beautiful meditation on the color blue—and its fascinating role in Black history and culture.

Superstorms, hurricanes, typhoons, and spiraling freak weather: the fallout of global warming is a real-life natural thriller, as captured in Porter Fox’s urgent and stunning story of chasing the world’s most devastating storms.

A vivid look at 10 astonishing people who are maintaining some of the world's oldest and rarest cultural traditions.

Deftly blending reportage, cultural criticism, and memoir, Sirisena pieces together facets of her own sometimes-fractured self to find wider resonances with the human universals of love, sex, family, and art―and with language’s ability to both fail and save us.

Finalist for the 2022 LAMBDA Literary Award in Bisexual Nonfiction; Winner of the 2021 Gournay Prize

In this prescient essay collection, the acclaimed author of Foucault’s Pendulum examines the cultural trends and perils at the dawn of the 21st century.

An anthology filled with honest stories-emotional and joyous, sorrowful and humorous-from a diverse array of powerful women. Many of the essays dig into difficult truths about what it is to be a young woman in a world of overbearing cultural expectation. Others uncover relationships between parents and daughters that are open and supportive while also being exacting. Together, these narratives expose struggles that are too often hidden from the public eye, while reminding those going through similar experiences that they are heard, and they are not alone.

Philadelphia boasts some of the most delicious original sandwiches and passionate sandwich aficionados. From the classic cheesesteak to the delectable roast pork, the city's cultural and ethnic diversity has resulted in many of America's most established meals between bread. Join author and bona fide sandwich obsessive Mike Madaio journeys through the history and eateries behind Philadelphia's most iconic sandwiches and discovers some unsung heroes along the way.

From rare book dealer and guest star of the hit show Pawn Stars, a page-turning literary adventure that introduces readers to the women writers who inspired Jane Austen—and investigates why their books have disappeared from our shelves.

From the bestselling author of The Bottom Billion, the fate of the poorest regions of the world–some of which exist in the richest nations–is examined.

A momentous, raucous collection of essays drawn from twenty years of Maggie Nelson’s brilliant work. These profiles, reviews, remembrances, tributes, and critical essays, as well as several conversations with friends and idols, bring to life Nelson’s passion for dialogue and dissent.

This illuminating book reveals how cultures and communities around the world grieve their loved ones - with lessons we can all learn from to help us all live (and die) well.

In the tradition of Stephanie Land and Matthew Desmond, a powerful and deeply reported narrative of homelessness, despair, and hope.

A singular and brilliant elucidation of literary strategies that also brings high spirits and wit to its original conclusions. It is a liberating manifesto that says, Let’s leave the outdated modes behind and, in thinking of new modes, bring feeling back to experimentation. It will appeal to serious readers and writers alike.

Incredible true stories reveal strange new magic in American history in this wondrous first book from the creator of the award-winning podcast The Memory Palace.

A gripping account of how the automobile has failed NYC and how mass transit and a revitalized streetscape are vital to its post-pandemic recovery.

The Philadelphia Magazines by Albert Henry Smyth is a historical and literary study of the magazines published in Philadelphia during the 18th and 19th centuries. Smyth explores the role these periodicals played in shaping American culture, politics, and literature.

A deep dive into the nature of translation from one of its most acclaimed practitioners.

In the spirit of Evicted, a property law scholar uses the stories of two grandfathers—one white, one Black—who arrived in Detroit at the turn of the twentieth century to reveal how racist policies weaken Black families, widen the racial wealth gap, and derive profit from pain. 

This book profiles some of the handful of people who rescued significant cultural treasures that would or may have been otherwise lost to humankind. Some, like Dr. Assad, were on a noble mission, but that is not always the case. Some are motivated by profit, fame, gratitude, or personal advancement.

Twenty-five years after the publication of his groundbreaking first book, Malcolm Gladwell returns with a brand-new volume that reframes the lessons of The Tipping Point in a startling and revealing light.

Instant New York Times Bestseller

Like David Grann and Stacy Schiff, Matthew Pearl unveils one of the most incredible yet little-known historical true stories, and the only known instance in history of an actual family of castaways. Save Our Souls asks us to consider who we might become if we found ourselves trapped on a deserted island.

International Bestseller

A critical reassessment of historic preservation policies in the United States, Second-Order Preservation brings needed attention to the hierarchical underpinnings and effects of established preservation frameworks. Questioning the criteria by which value is ascribed to historic buildings and neighborhoods, Erica Avrami works to elucidate and transform how—and which—claims to place become codified in and reinforced through public policy.

From the bestselling author of The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace, a powerful portrayal of American homelessness that follows a single mother of six in Los Angeles courageously struggling to keep her family together and her children in school amidst the devastating housing crisis.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Braiding Sweetgrass, a bold and inspiring vision for how to orient our lives around gratitude, reciprocity, and community, based on the lessons of the natural world.

A stunning, complex narrative about the fractured legacy of a decades-old double murder in rural West Virginia—and the writer determined to put the pieces back together.

One of the New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2020

One of hip-hop’s greatest MCs, unpacking his harrowing, remarkable journey in his own words, with enough insights for two lifetimes.”—Lin-Manuel Miranda, award-winning songwriter, producer, director, and creator of In the Heights and Hamilton

From an award-winning historian, an alternative model of feminism driven by the legacy of Black women who took justice into their own hands 

In this unique book offering personal, spiritual, and historical reflections—some never shared before—His Holiness the Dalai Lama tells the full story of his struggle with China to save Tibet and its people for nearly seventy-five years.