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A British-captured German trench, the Somme, July 1916. (Photo from the collections of the Imperial War Museums)

Ten great books about World War I

The war to end all wars

There have been more books about World War I than any other world conflict — and some mighty fine books, too. Here is my list of ten favorites that should whet your appetite.

Armen Pandola

Aug 23, 2014 Articles 5 minute read

Raging id: Brad Pitt as Tyler Durden in “Fight Club” (© 1999 - 20th Century Fox)

Chuck Palahniuk's planned 'Fight Club' sequel

I know this because Tyler knows this: ‘Fight Club’ doesn’t need a sequel

Fight Club allegorized Generation X’s bone-deep dissatisfaction with ourselves. We never thought we’d buy into the Ikea lifestyle, but we have, hook, line, and sinker.

Paula Berman

Aug 19, 2014 Articles 5 minute read

(Thomas W. Benson Political Protest Collection, Pennsylvania State University)

Allen Ginsberg, 'Selected Poems'

Best of the Beats

It is fashionable and therefore easy to appreciate "Howl," but this volume, however inconsistent, is filled with gems that belong in the western canon.

Michael Lawrence

Jul 27, 2014 Articles 3 minute read

Paul Auster’s ‘Report from the Interior’

Is autobiography actually possible?

Paul Auster’s new volume of memoirs raises the question of whether one can know one’s own self — and whether there is actually a self to be known.

Robert Zaller

Jun 30, 2014 Articles 5 minute read

James Joyce with Sylvia Beach at Shakespeare & Co., Paris, 1920.

Kevin Birmingham and Maya Lang at the Free Library

Celebrating Bloomsday and all things 'Ulysses'

Two authors and the most conflicted fans in literature celebrate James Joyce's Ulysses.

John Simons

Jun 30, 2014 Articles 3 minute read

Unfortunately, the signposts aren't always clear in dealing with the elderly. (Photo by The_Other_Dan, via Flickr/Creative Commons)

Linda Brendle's 'Long and Winding Road'

When reality is more inspiring than "reality"

Everyone seems to write a memoir these days, and the authors are often famous entertainers or the survivors of a well-publicized crisis. Linda Brendle is an “ordinary” person, which is part of the reason her book resonates so deeply.

Maria Thompson Corley

Jun 29, 2014 Articles 4 minute read

A boy and his tiger. (Image © Bill Watterson)

Bill Watterson: An introvert's appreciation

Happy birthday, Mr. Watterson, wherever you are

When Bill Watterson worked on Calvin and Hobbes, he had no need (and even less desire) to leave the house seeking acclaim or inspiration. Everything he needed was inside his own head.

Roz Warren

Jun 14, 2014 Articles 3 minute read

Andrew J. Bacevich's 'Breach of Trust'

The great betrayal

In Breach of Trust, career officer turned political scientist Andrew J. Bacevich traces the woes of today’s military, and much of our politics as well, to the volunteer army instituted after Vietnam. Is a return to the draft a solution?

Robert Zaller

Jun 07, 2014 Articles 6 minute read

"The Traitor: The Degradation of Alfred Dreyfus." Henri Meyer: Le Petit Journal, January 13, 1895.

'An Officer and a Spy' by Robert Harris

A retelling of the Dreyfus affair

The Dreyfus affair, as presented by novelist Robert Harris in An Officer and a Spy, raises issues around secrecy and spying that still resonate today.