If You Want a Better World, Act Like You Live in It
We’ve had Henry David Thoreau the environmentalist, the libertarian, the life coach. To understand his influence, think of him first as a dissident.
Books
Introducing The Atlantic’s expanded books coverage: essays, criticism, fiction, poetry, and recommendations from our writers and editors
The Publishing Mystery That No One Wants to Talk About
A minimally speaking autistic man just wrote a best-selling book. Or did he?
The Paradox of Modern Medicine
Testing has become so advanced that doctors now miss important elements of diagnosis.
What Does Lena Dunham Want to Tell Us?
Her new memoir captures the cost of being an impossibly popular target.
The Eighth Deadly Sin
Humankind has devised a new form of debasement.
Six Books That Simply Must Be Talked About
These six books demand discussion—with a pal, a date, or a book club.
Nine Books to Reset Your View of the World
Each of these titles will widen your perspective, offering you original insight and vision.
Seven Books to Read When You Have No Time to Read
These titles are worth picking up, even if you have only a moment to spare.
Six Books You Can Get Lost In
These novels highlight the power—both good and bad—of unchecked fantasizing.
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The Books Briefing
Our culture editors’ weekly guide to the best in books.
Subject to The Atlantic's Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions
Fortunes
A short story
The Honor of the Layward Brothers
A short story
We Are Not One
A short story
Diseducators
A short story
The Poet Laureate of Madness
Why Alfred, Lord Tennyson feels so modern
The Novel as Extended Op-Ed
If anyone could write good fiction about immigration, it would probably be Lionel Shriver. Instead, her latest book goes off the rails.
Literary Theory
A poem
Deadlier Than Gettysburg
How the cruelty of the Confederacy’s prison camps gave rise to the rules of war
Reading Is a Practice, Not a Chore
Try an attitude shift that doesn’t force you to choose between setting strict reading goals and giving up altogether.
The Moral Cost of Living in an Unequal Society
In his new novel, Daniyal Mueenuddin attempts to bring together the stories of people whose lives rarely intersect in meaningful ways.
Seven Books to Read When You Have No Time to Read
These titles are worth picking up, even if you have only a moment to spare.
A Survivor Contestant’s Empathetic Reality-TV Novel
Stephen Fishbach mines the drama of competition shows to write a cautionary tale about trying to edit down the mess of life.
The Writer’s Magic Trick
Their job is to create living, three-dimensional people out of the ordinary stuff of ink and paper.
One of Our Own
A poem