Recently, I was invited to the Dalkey Book Festival, in Ireland, to speak at a session titled “Books That Changed the World.” I assumed that, as a Shakespeare scholar, I was expected to talk about the ...

This is an edition of the Books Briefing, our editors’ weekly guide to the best in books. Sign up for it here. As a Soviet Jewish immigrant, the son of Reagan-loving anti-Communists, I grew up in a ...

What is America? As noted in my first article, a prior question needs to be asked: what was America intended to be by its Founders? CNN’s Dana Bash, upset by a comment from President Trump, announced, ...

Over 3,700 unique books were banned during the 2024-2025 school year, more than double the number of titles PEN America tracked in the 2021-2022 school year when it began counting. The nonprofit, ...