Bucharest Spring: Extract from ‘The Black Envelope’ by Norman Manea (part 1)
The Black Envelope is a novel by Jewish Romanian novelist Norman Manea, and has recently been published in…
Extracts
Virginia Woolf’s Soho: Extract from ‘Nights Out’ by Judith Walkowitz
Judith Walkowitz, author of Nights Out, a new book on the history of Soho, discusses Virginia Woolf’s interactions…
The Real Shostakovich? Extract from ‘Music for Silenced Voices’ by Wendy Lesser
Music for Silenced Voices by Wendy Lesser, published in paperback this month, is a biography of Shostakovich that views him…
The Rise of the Digital Madison Avenue: Extract from ‘The Daily You’ by John Turow
The Daily You by John Turow documents the new media marketing revolution, showing how advertisers are stealthily defining…
The life of a chameleon: Extract from Nigel Smith’s acclaimed biography of poet Andrew Marvell
Nigel Smith’s critically acclaimed biography Andrew Marvell: The Chameleon has just been published in paperback. Drawing on exhaustive archival research,…
Sign of the Times: Extract from ‘The Hollywood Sign’ by Leo Braudy
Published in paperback this month The Hollywood Sign by Leo Braudy (part of Yale’s Icons of America series) is…
Ancient Olympic Boxing, A Sickening Spectacle: Neil Faulkner reads from ‘A Visitor’s Guide to the Ancient Olympics’
Were the ancient Olympic games anything like the competitions we know today? Neil Faulkner’s A Visitor’s Guide to the…
A History of Israeli Visual Art: Extract from ‘Israel: An Introduction’ by Barry Rubin
Last month Yale published Israel: An Introduction, a uniquely wide-ranging portrait of the country, covering important topics such as…
The Human Cost: Extract from ‘Southern Africa’ by Stephen Chan
Southern Africa: Old Treacheries and New Deceits by Stephen Chan (out now in paperback) explores the political landscape of southern Africa,…
More than just a Gunboat Diplomat: Extract from David Brown’s biography of Lord Palmerston
Palmerston: A Biography was widely acclaimed upon its publication in 2010, for being the first comprehensive biography of the…
Hard Times Man: Extract from Randy Roberts’ biography of boxer Joe Louis
Joe Louis: Hard Times Man (now published in paperback) is the definitive biography of the most famous African American of…
A Model Millionaire: Extract from ‘A Genius for Money’ by Caroline Dakers
Yesterday, as part of our Dickens at 200 blog, we took a brief look at A Genius for…
The Life of a Failed Prophet: Extract from ‘Savonarola’ by Donald Weinstein
Donald Weinstein’s new biography of Girolamo Savonarola, the visionary Dominican friar, provides the first truly satisfying account of his…
The Evolution of the Book Trade: Extract from ‘The Book in the Renaissance’ by Andrew Pettegree
The Book in the Renaissance by Andrew Pettegree is a groundbreaking study of the fascinating, yet largely unknown world of books…
The Discovery of An American Icon: Extract from ‘Jackson Pollock’ by Evelyn Toynton
Jackson Pollock’s revolutionary ‘drip paintings’ put American art on the map, representing the first real break with the…