Books

This is the first image of Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy, captured by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) and released in 2022.

This Comprehensive Guide Will Answer the Questions You Have About Black Holes—and Spark Some New Ones

In a new book release, two scientists combine forces to explain the discoveries, developments and theories made in the realm of the densest objects in space

Harper Lee on the porch of her parents' home in Monroeville, Alabama, in 1961

Eight Never-Before-Seen Short Stories by 'To Kill a Mockingbird' Author Harper Lee Will Be Published This Year

After Lee's death in 2016, typescripts of her early fiction were discovered in her New York apartment. The previously unseen drafts offer new insights into her creative development

Historian Martha S. Jones (bottom left) turned to ledgers, deeds, census records and government documents to unravel her family's story.

How a Leading Black Historian Uncovered Her Own Family's Painful Past—and Why Her Ancestors' Stories Give Her Hope

Martha S. Jones' new memoir draws on genealogical research and memories shared by relatives

Some authors say that reading piles of books just to write blurbs for friends and colleagues is an overly time-consuming process that adds little value.

Are 'Gripping,' 'Brilliant' Book Blurbs on Their Way Out?

In a provocative essay, a major publisher announced that its authors will no longer be required to solicit glowing reviews for their book jackets, arguing that blurbs don't reflect a title's true merit

Josephine Baker performs at the Folies Bergère, c. 1925.

Josephine Baker's Memoir Is Now Being Published for the First Time in English

A newly available memoir reveals a tender, private side of the global celebrity

Herbert O. Yardley claimed that the Black Chamber deciphered more than 45,000 diplomatic code and cipher telegrams of foreign governments between 1917 and 1929.

The Spy Who Exposed the Secrets of the Black Chamber, One of America's First Code-Breaking Organizations

In 1931, Herbert O. Yardley published a tell-all book about his experiences leading a covert government agency called the Cipher Bureau

A recently discovered trove of Winnie-the-Pooh materials found new homes in the United States and the United Kingdom after selling at auction.

Man Finds Rare Trove of Winnie-the-Pooh Drawings and Manuscripts in His Father's Attic

The papers connected to author A.A. Milne—including original drafts, illustrations, letters, poems and corrected proofs—sold at auction for more than $118,000

A 1937 photograph of Frances Perkins, the first female cabinet secretary in American history

How the Nation's First 'Madam Secretary' Fought to Save Jewish Refugees Fleeing From Nazi Germany

A new book spotlights Frances Perkins' efforts to challenge the United States' restrictive immigration policies as President Franklin D. Roosevelt's secretary of labor

Zora Neale Hurston wanted to tell the world about the "real ... historical Herod, instead of the deliberately folklore Herod."

Why Was Zora Neale Hurston So Obsessed With the Biblical Villain Herod the Great?

The Harlem Renaissance author spent her last years writing about the ancient king. Six decades after her death, her unfinished novel has finally been published for the first time

The eye on the coin does not have lashes and is designed to resemble a camera lens.

George Orwell Gets His Own £2 Coin Featuring an All-Seeing Eye

Inscribed with quotes from "Nineteen Eighty-Four," the Royal Mint's latest release honors the author on the 75th anniversary of his death

The Charles Dickens Museum is celebrating its anniversary by displaying rare books, artworks, letters, artifacts and other unique historical objects connected to the 19th-century author.

See Charles Dickens' Rare Manuscripts, Teenage Love Letters and a Copy of 'David Copperfield' That Traveled to Antarctica

To celebrate its 100th anniversary, the Charles Dickens Museum in London is staging an exhibition of historic objects that shed light on the writer’s life and legacy

An 1889 photograph of author Horatio Alger (right)

This Author, Famous for His Rags-to-Riches Stories, Forever Shaped How We Talk About the American Dream

Horatio Alger's repetitive stories reached their true popularity and became synonymous with social mobility largely thanks to retellings after the writer's death

Two women follow along during the Moby Dick reading marathon at the New Bedford Whaling Museum.

Thousands of Book Lovers Gather for a 25-Hour-Long 'Moby Dick' Reading Marathon

The annual event takes place in the Massachusetts town of New Bedford, which is where Herman Melville's celebrated 1851 novel opens

Portrait of Thomas Paine by Laurent Dabos

America’s First ‘Viral’ Post Was Published on This Day in 1776, When Thomas Paine’s ‘Common Sense’ Sparked a Revolution

The Englishman’s pamphlet helped spur the 13 colonies to declare independence from Britain

“In postwar America, fast food was seen as a ladder to the middle class,” says journalist and author Adam Chandler. “If you were part of a familiar chain, banks were willing to lend you money, and people would come to your establishment right away because you were a proven entity.”

The Roots of U.S. Work Culture—and Why the American Dream Is So Difficult to Achieve Today

A new book examines the evolution of the American workplace, interrogating the idea that hard work is enough to ensure success

A sketch of Solomon Northup from his memoir, Twelve Years a Slave

Solomon Northup's 'Twelve Years a Slave' Came to an End as He Regained His Long-Awaited Freedom on This Day in 1853

Northup’s memoir told the story of his kidnapping and years of enslavement in Louisiana. The book became a national best seller and inspired an Oscar-winning film

Charles M. Schulz, creator of the "Peanuts" comic strip, at his studio drawing table with a picture of his character Charlie Brown and some awards behind him in 1978

Why the ‘Peanuts’ Characters Still Thrive 25 Years After the Last Original Comic Strip Was Published

In the decades since the end of the cherished newspaper strip, audiences continue to find reasons to chuckle and cheer over Charlie Brown’s gang

Illustration from a 16th-century Falnama, or Persian Book of Omens

How People of the Past Predicted the Future, From Spider Divination to Bibliomancy

A new exhibition spotlights the ways in which cultures around the world have sought answers in the face of uncertainty

An Olivetti Studio 46 typewriter that belonged to Octavia E. Butler. As the author recalled: "I wrote my first ten books on a manual typewriter."

In Her Inventive and Prescient Stories, Octavia Butler Wrote Herself Into the Science Fiction Canon

On her beloved typewriters, the literary legend mapped out a course for the future of the genre

Works entering the public domain include The Sound and the Fury, the first recordings of Rhapsody in Blue, Popeye, Tintin and The Broadway Melody.

Happy Public Domain Day! Popeye, 'Rhapsody in Blue,' 'The Sound and the Fury' and Thousands of Other Captivating Creations Are Finally Free for Everyone to Use

On January 1, 2025, copyrights will expire for books, films, comic strips, musical compositions and other creative works from 1929, as well as sound recordings from 1924

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