“A source of bad conscience” says the author, “is the knowledge that my way of life, austere though it may appear to the richer folk, is still ruinously exploitive of nature.” This is food for thought for anyone considering the... Read More

“The object of your mission is to explore the Missouri River and such principal stream of it as… may offer the most direct and practicable water communication across the continent, for the purpose of commerce,” instructed President... Read More

Two things stand out in Stevenson’s phenomenal but short life: the amount of time he was seriously ill and the amazing amount of travel he undertook in an age long before automobiles and airplanes. Stevenson wasn’t simply prone to... Read More

Darning the wardrobes of our unwitting psyches with glittering threads of enlightenment, while sparing the pierce of a clinical needle, The Drama of Everyday Life intelligently illuminates the cast of characters who roam the arena of our... Read More

Motown Records is an American success story and an African American triumph. To Smith, however, the fabled enterprise symbolizes a great deal more. The assistant professor of history at George Mason University argues that Motown not only... Read More

Lovers of de Beauvoir will adore A Transatlantic Love Affair, a compilation of the philosopher’s love letters to writer Nelson Algren spanning nearly twenty years, with a preface by her adopted daughter, Sylvie Le Bon de Beauvoir. The... Read More