Nonfiction

2 min

As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning

For those who enjoy the unconventional bildungsroman—or are thirsting for some adventure—read this memoir by Laurie Lee. Originally published in 1969, it recounts the poet's long walk across Spain in the 1930s.

20 min

The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story

"Shattering one-sided, romanticized stories of how this country came to be..." Carol Ann Wilson reviews The 1619 Project, created by Nikole Hannah-Jones.

5 min

So You Want to Talk About Race: Understanding Racism in America

So You Want to Talk About Race is a vital book in our divisive society, to help all of us understand what is racial oppression and why we need to talk about it.

7 min

Without You, There Is No Us: My Time with the Sons of North Korea’s Elite

In 2011, the Korean American writer and teacher Suki Kim taught English to the sons of North Korea’s elite. This book explores her experiences there and, as she writes, “My goal was to write a book that humanizes North Koreans.”

6 min

Native Country of the Heart: A Memoir

Native Country of the Heart was the right book at the right time. It read like a personal letter from Cherríe Moraga to me, and I will be forever grateful…

3 min

Sucking Up: A Brief Consideration of Sycophancy

Sycophancy (ˈsikəˌfan(t)sē) is the phenomenon known to most of us by alternative words or phrases such as sucking up, ass kissing, brown nosing, and bootlicking—words and terms that give sycophancy…

6 min

Tiger and Clay – Syria Fragments

“There are memories for which we can live more than a life time.” —Brother of Rana Abdulfattah Photographs over the past several years have shown migrants and refugees crossing the…

4 min

Hitler: Ascent, 1889–1939

Volker Ullrich Translated from the German by Jefferson Chase As the son of a WW II veteran who fought in the Battle of the Bulge, I grew up hearing stories…

17 min

No Enemies, No Hatred: Selected Essays and Poems

Liu Xiaobo is the author of hundreds of essays and seventeen books. Most of the essays in No Enemies, No Hatred are from the period between 2004 and 2008, and reflect, in the service of freedom of speech, how words followed by action can change the direction of a country.

10 min

The Fire Next Time

The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin was first published in 1963 during the emerging Civil Rights Movement and was an instant best seller. A brilliant social critic, public intellectual, and interpreter of racial myths and beliefs, Baldwin captured the zeitgeist of a country riven by race. Without prejudice or fear, he deconstructed the institution of racism in America.

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