A date in Ben Meer’s early 20s turned into an assessment of everything he was doing wrong. “You dress in baggy clothes,” his date, a Dutch woman, told him. “You eat too fast. You walk without grace. You don’t speak a second language. You can’t cook …” Her list of his shortcomings “was longer than … Read more
There are few things stranger than reading a highly anticipated new book — in this case, Tracy Daugherty’s biography “Cormac McCarthy: A Legacy Revisited” (St. Martin’s Press, Oct. 6) — only to find yourself cited in it. My admittedly slight contribution to the afterlife of McCarthy was to have written an article in 2024 that … Read more
Dating, sex, bad marriages and even stealing pepper mills. Life after 60 is hardly boring as portrayed in the short story anthology “20 Over 60” (Regal House, Oct. 6). In a counterpoint to today’s media obsession with longevity and youth, the collection offers lively snapshots of later life from literary heavy hitters, such as Paul … Read more
We live in a time of dizzying change. Our society is polarized by warring political and cultural beliefs. Violence stalks our streets and even our schools. It feels like we are at the edge of a precipice. But we have been there before. One hundred and seventy years ago, San Francisco, the epicenter of today’s … Read more
It was the role of his lifetime. In the late 1980s, New York prosecutor Edward McDonald was an informal advisor on “Goodfellas.” He told director Martin Scorsese’s team about his work, in real life, with mobster Henry Hill — the protagonist in the film who is played by Ray Liotta — and helped them get … Read more
Thirty-five years ago, a film crew descended on my high school, Worcester Academy. Trailers filled with cameras and costumes arrived at the end of the summer before my sophomore year to shoot a movie about a prep school set in the 1950s. Apparently, our gym and pool, unrenovated for decades, were perfect for the vibe. … Read more
Do the crossword every day. Exercise 150 minutes per week. Follow the Mediterranean diet. While for most people these commandments of healthy living lower the risk of developing dementia with advancing age, in some individuals cognitive decline is unrelated to what they do, or fail to do. It is coded in their DNA, tied to … Read more
Beginning on Valentine’s Day of 1989, the Booker Prize winning author Salman Rushdie had a sword hanging over his head. For a period of time, threats of death followed him everywhere. The bloody culmination of his life spent alternately on the run and in public — with near-lethal consequences — is captured in “Knife: The … Read more
For a movie about people who live to party, the set of the 2003 comedy classic “Old School” practiced what it preached. In his new book, “Funny Business: The Old-School Wedding Crashers and Knocked-Up Virgins Who Changed Comedy Forever,” (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, Oct. 6), Matt Singer writes of how, between takes on “Old School,” Snoop … Read more
Jack Forbes/NY Post Design Robert Harris (Doubleday)The author of “Conclave” and “The Cicero Trilogy” returns to Ancient Rome with a book focusing on Emperor Augustus’ right-hand man, Agrippa. Out now Marlon James (Riverhead Books)The recipient of breathless reviews and long-listed for the Booker Prize, this crime story is set in Kingston, Jamaica, in the late … Read more
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
The ticks got an early start this year, and they’ve been busy. In April, 105 of every 100,000 emergency-room visits nationwide involved a tick bite, up 52% from the year before. In May, that number reached 112. The CDC has been tracking these visits since 2017, and this spring brought the highest early-season numbers it’s … 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
In 1985, when South Africa was still under apartheid, a car drove into the black township of Soweto with an unusual passenger — one of the world’s most famous singer/songwriters — concealed in the back seat. Paul Simon had been invited to Soweto by Sipho “Hotstix” Mabuse, a black South African pop star at the … Read more