Mark Twain and the limits of biography
The great American writer witnessed the forging of his nation – but Ron Chernow’s portrait cannot see beyond its subject.
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Reviewing politics
and culture since 1913
The great American writer witnessed the forging of his nation – but Ron Chernow’s portrait cannot see beyond its subject.
By Erica Wagner
Two new books show that the female appetite remains a source of danger and shame.
By Erica Wagner
Adam Higginbotham’s Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space is a gripping and…
By Erica Wagner
Kevin Barry’s new novel The Heart in Winter sets passion against violence on the brutal American frontier.
By Erica Wagner
The American writer’s knowledge of war’s random violence did not prepare him for a profound encounter with mortality.
By Erica Wagner
The novelist, who has died at the age of 77 in Brooklyn, leaves behind a body of work haunted…
By Erica Wagner
The novelist on the threat to free speech, facing his attacker, and why writing Knife gave him back “the…
By Erica Wagner
In Rachel Cockerell’s Melting Point, the forgotten story of America’s Jewish homeland sheds light on the tragedies of the…
By Erica Wagner
Both playful and serious, and more European than British, her work made me determined to be a novelist.
By Erica Wagner