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Recent Reviews
How to use journalists to maximum effect
“The Bully Pulpit” looks at Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft and their relations with the press.
A rare chance to see the Main Reading Room of the Library of Congress
The public is welcome on Veterans Day
The National Gallery’s evolution, and the man behind it
A biography of J. Carter Brown, the late, former director of the National Gallery of Art by Neil Harris.
Bad Sex Award finalists announced
A list of the crudest, most perfunctory uses of sexual description in a literary novel.
Exciting new science fiction is skeptical of science
Mira Grant, Wolfgang Jeschke and David Barnett imagine worlds in peril.
The rise and fall of America’s rise and fall
In ‘The Myth of America’s Decline,’ Josef Joffe asks why the United States is so down on itself.
Who was Ben Franklin’s sister Jane?
“Book of Ages” is a beautiful portrait of a forgotten woman, whose importance lies in her ordinariness.
Once upon a time, the speaker and president could agree
“Tip and the Gipper” is about the political relationship between Ronald Reagan and Speaker Tip O’Neill.
Do many worldwide want to eliminate Israel and the Jews?
“The Devil That Never Dies” is a study of modern anti-Semitism around the world.
The author of ‘Bel Canto’ chooses herself as her subject
‘This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage’ is a discursive collection of essays by Ann Patchett
The human connection to music
In “Imperfect Harmony,” Stacy Horn asks: why do we love singing so much so much?
‘Brave Genius’ review: A gripping portrait of two heroes
Sean B. Carroll uses his multiple threads to build suspense and keep the reader turning the pages.
Bolz-Weber talks in Washington about Christianity and Oprah
Washington got a taste of the closest thing liberal Christianity has to a star when weightlifter-comic-pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber came to town Tuesday night.
‘I Would Die 4 U: Why Prince Became an Icon,’ by Touré
A new book examines Prince’s relationship with Gen X, the group most responsible for his rise to fame.
YA fiction: ‘Counting by 7s,’ by Holly Goldberg Sloan
When 12-year-old Willow is orphaned, she finds a new home with a scrappy teen friend from school.
Book World: Amy Tan’s ‘The Valley of Amazement’
In the early 20th century, an American girl is sold into the elegant-seeming world of Shanghai prostitution.
Comics review: ‘The Best of Milligan & McCarthy’
From “The Electrick Hoax” to “Rogan Gosh” in one oversized volume.
Three steam-powered children’s books about trains
“Train,” “Steam Train, Dream Train” and “How to Train a Train” celebrate the locomotive.
‘The Animal Book,’ Steve Jenkins
The fastest, fiercest, toughest, cleverest, shyest — and most surprising — animals on Earth.
Gish Jen stirs up anger in Boston
Her reflective essay about the Red Sox inspires an ugly response from some residents.
Book World: ‘The House of Journalists’ by Tim Finch
When the reader becomes a character, it should be easier to remain intrigued.
Fiction: ‘The Abominable,’ by Dan Simmons
Three men race to reach the summit of Mount Everest — and to escape something terrifying.
Fiction: ‘Nostalgia,’ by Dennis McFarland
A young man leaves his loving home to fight in the Civil War, but finds himself in a Union hospital.
How women succumb to alcohol addiction
Ann Dowsett Johnston warns that women are increasingly succumbing to the dark side of alcohol.
The broad reach of slavery and freedom in Virginia
Pulitzer winner Alan Taylor examines the tumultuous history of Virginia slavery from 1812 to the Civil War
Heeeeere’s Johnny!
Henry Bushkin, Johnny Carson’s lawyer, gives an insider’s look at the high-maintenance Tonight Show host
The laws passed by a congress that worked
A replica of George Washington’s bound copy of the laws passed by the first Congress in 1789
Love and family in frolicsome Wodehouse fashion
An extensive hardcover reissuance of P.G. Wodehouse classics continues with two more books
New Amazon program offers books a month before publication
Prime members can choose one book a month for free.
Historical fiction: ‘The Big Crowd,’ by Kevin Baker
Charlie O’Kane rises from a poor Irish immigrant to the mayor of New York — but the mob wants to destroy him.
Minute by minute in the Bush White House
Peter Baker’s ‘Days of Fire’ chronicles the George W. Bush years.
Scary writers’ plans for Halloween
Some will wear imaginative costumes. Some will stay home with a spooky DVD.
Fiction: ‘The Daylight Gate,’ by Jeanette Winterson
This tale of 17th-century witchcraft is utterly spellbinding, says Michael Dirda.
Scary writers’ plans for Halloween
If you spend all year conjuring up vampires, zombies and werewolves, what do you do on Oct. 31?
Q&A with author Chuck Palahniuk
The author of “Fight Club” discusses God, Woodstock, being uncool and sleepovers.
Fiction: ‘We Are Water,’ by Wally Lamb
A mother’s impending wedding to a woman stirs up a flood of old and new traumas.
Terror: ‘The Sleep Room,’ by F. R. Tallis
What’s terrorizing this prestigious psychiatric hospital — ghosts or madmen?
Washington Post Bestsellers Nov. 3
The books Washington has been reading.
Washington: From cover to cover
From novels to history to cooking and ghost stories, Post editors and critics offer introduction to capital.
Book World: Amy Tan’s ‘The Valley of Amazement’
In the early 20th century, an American girl is sold into the elegant-seeming world of Shanghai prostitution.
Scary writers’ plans for Halloween
Some will wear imaginative costumes. Some will stay home with a spooky DVD.
Fiction: ‘We Are Water,’ by Wally Lamb
A mother’s impending wedding to a woman stirs up a flood of old and new traumas.
‘Brave Genius’ review: A gripping portrait of two heroes
Sean B. Carroll uses his multiple threads to build suspense and keep the reader turning the pages.
Fiction: ‘The Daylight Gate,’ by Jeanette Winterson
This tale of 17th-century witchcraft is utterly spellbinding, says Michael Dirda.
An adventure to last a lifetime
“Patrick Leigh Fermor,” by Artemis Cooper, is a biography of one of the greatest travel writers of all time.
The author of ‘Bel Canto’ chooses herself as her subject
‘This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage’ is a discursive collection of essays by Ann Patchett
Love and family in frolicsome Wodehouse fashion
An extensive hardcover reissuance of P.G. Wodehouse classics continues with two more books
One family’s tale of fate and misfortune in 20th century
David Laskin traces his family’s 20th journey, through czarist pogroms, the Holocaust and the founding of Israel.
Literary Calendar
Going Out Guide: Upcoming events
Get the latest on readings, signings and author appearances in the D.C. area.
Elsewhere in Entertainment
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