Before Freddie Mercury put a gun against a man’s head and pulled the trigger, he considered sending him off to war. An early draft of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the 1975 hit that would define the band, included the verse, “Mama, there’s a war began / I’ve got to leave tonight,” according to “A Life in … Read more
In 2001, Richard Clarke was perhaps the most experienced person working in the White House. A member of the National Security Council, Clarke had spent 23 years in the executive branch and repeatedly warned about the risk of an attack on US soil by Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda. In June of that year, Clarke sent … Read more
In late 2022, as the fentanyl drug overdose epidemic raged across America, police officers making street busts of the synthetic opioid began experiencing what they believed were “life-threatening” reactions. In Florida, an officer lost consciousness after touching a powder she thought was fentanyl. She felt “light-headed … I was choking. I couldn’t breathe,” the officer … Read more
It’s an unlikely thing to wait in line for. Head down a side street, in through an anonymous door, and you’ll join a long line people waiting to go upstairs. Open a spiked metal gate at the top, and there you have it: the university jail. I’m in Heidelberg, visiting a series of small rooms … Read more
Attorney Thomas Kenniff, 51 — who along with his law partner Steven Raiser succcessfully defended subway Samaritan Daniel Penny in a sensational trial that captivated the nation in late 2024 — is adding another chapter to his career: author. His debut novel “Tuxedo Park” (Post Hill Press) was released this past Tuesday. The legal thriller, … Read more
One morning in October 2024, the writer Julie Summers received a call at her home in Oxford conveying astonishing news. A boot containing the remains of a human foot had been found on the north flank of Mount Everest. A woolen sock tucked into the boot bore a white name tape, with red letters spelling … Read more
In 2001, writer Jeff Miller walked into a Massachusetts DMV to transfer his driver’s license and walked out as a convicted felon. At least according to the government. Miller had never been arrested. But as journalist Annie Lowrey explains in her new book, “The Time Tax: How the Government Wastes Our Time — and How … Read more
It was the Sunday before Christmas, 1975, and Vienna was covered by a foot of snow. Just before 11:30a.m., six strangers stepped off a red tram outside the headquarters of OPEC, the world’s most powerful oil cartel, “their long coats and heavy bags casting dark shadows against the snow,” writes Joby Warrick in his new … Read more
It pays to serve. Eligible veterans can score up to $1,000 every year in extra cash under a newly updated Post-9/11 GI Bill — an education benefit program run by the US Department of Veterans Affairs. The Post-9/11 GI Bill helps veterans, service members, and eligible family members pay for college, graduate school, and vocational … Read more
I love porn — or so I’m told. I’m crazy about a popular literary genre known in polite company as ‘romantasy’ — or a blend of romance and fantasy. Think slutty female dragonslayers, studly time-traveling Vikings, all the smut you can handle — these spicy titles are taking over, enabled by politicians, celebrities and social media, where millions … Read more
WASHINGTON — Former President Barack Obama will front a new podcast beginning next month that focuses on six “great” books as he and wife Michelle continue to expand their post-White House media ventures. The 44th president described the forthcoming “A Great Book With Barack Obama” pod as a way of trying to reintroduce Americans to … Read more
It’s the bar tale that’s got Angeleno bookworms buzzing. “The Regulars,” a novel written by well-known voice-over artist Johnny Cosmo, is Los Angeles’ hottest read, telling the story of Jimmy Ruggiero, an East Coaster who finds himself in Hollywood after breaking up with his girlfriend in Boston. Every night, he escapes to a mysterious dive … Read more
It’s a trad, trad world. Tradwives abound not just on social media — baking up their own sourdough and homeschooling half a dozen children — but also at the bookstore, where titles about women Instagramming their supposedly traditional lives are filling up shelves. Caro Claire Burke’s novel “Yesteryear,” about a modern tradwife who wakes up … Read more
America: the land of the free (and the home of the brave). The land of opportunity. A nation of immigrants. A country built on life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. A country built on slavery. Democratic. Republican. Once great. Still great. Great again. Never great. United. Divided. Under threat. Stronger than ever. An ideal. A … Read more
A book on Greek antiquities has been returned to an Australian public library about 150 years late, with water damage from years bricked into a fireplace. The book was returned to the library in the seaside town of Kiama last week by a local Ross Simmons who had found it during recent home renovations inside a tea crate bricked … Read more
In 2016, DJ DiDonna was, by all accounts, riding high. The fintech company he co-founded, EFL Global, was growing at a fast clip. He had given a speech at the United Nations about how to empower entrepreneurs through access to finance, and the startup had landed a feature in The New York Times. Then came … Read more
All among the living and undead know Count Dracula. But vampires have a long and more established pedigree than readers of Bram Stoker may recognize. These bloodsuckers have even made their ways to American shores. In his new book, “Exhumed: Unearthing the History of the American Vampire” (Running Press), Aaron Mahnke starts with the “vampire … Read more
A 1992 guide to building sheds and barns has become an unlikely hit. Thanks to a handful of BookTokers — influencers who review and recommend titles on the platform — Monte Burch’s “How to Build Small Barns & Outbuildings” is having a moment. Sales of the book, published by Hachette Book Group’s Storey Publishing imprint, … Read more
“My fiancé died a month before our wedding, and now I’m going on our honeymoon alone to see if life is worth living.” That’s how Laura Murphy introduced herself in a TikTok post that went viral. The video — posted Aug. 25, 2024 — swiftly surpassed 1 million views and now boasts more than 4 … Read more
Paul Skalnik had a strange gift for being in jail when accused murderers suddenly felt the urge to spill their secrets. Skalnik was a petty con artist with a grimly reliable routine, writes Pamela Colloff in her riveting new book, “Catch the Devil: A True Story of Murder, Deception, and Injustice on the Gulf Coast.” … Read more