El Lobo Returns Home
The battle over America’s wolves goes back centuries. In an excerpt from the forthcoming “Wolf Nation,” a journalist follows the release of a single family into the wild.
Excerpts
A collection of 14 issues
The Bill of the Century
The Civil Rights Act, which marks its 50th anniversary this year, changed the shape of American society. The story of how it finally passed is just as remarkable.
Existential Pornography
For a hopeful magazine editor stuck in the wrong career, when Playgirl comes a-calling, it looks like the answer to her prayers—but not everything is as it seems. An excerpt from the new memoir “How to Be a Playgirl.”
South by Midwest
Flash fiction—prairie-style—from novelists Jonathan Lethem and Aimee Bender, plus an interview with Jeff Martin, editor of the new collection Imaginary Oklahoma.
Ninety-Nine Bottles of Pee on the Wall
Everyone says they’ve got a book inside, but hundreds of people actually write them—and are preyed upon by scam artists. The greatest story of literary vigilantism ever told.
King of the Hyperpolyglots
On a quest to find the person who speaks the most languages on Earth, our correspondent encountered Emil Krebs, a German diplomat who knew, by some accounts, 65 of them—and happily swore in dozens.
How to Paint an Oak Tree
A man who spent three years painting the same English tree repeatedly—in all weather, day and night—explains how exactly, and why.
The Funny Man
When asked, focus groups describe the funny man as "untalented, successful, bad husband and father." He had been at the top, but is now heading toward the bottom. An excerpt from John Warner's forthcoming novel, The Funny Man, published by Soho Press.
Time Flies Like an Arrow, Fruit Flies Like a Banana
In an excerpt from John Pollacks forthcoming “The Pun Also Rises,” the author recalls his experience in the Pun-Off World Championships. (Hint: He talks quiply.)
Scribble
People’s bookcases say a lot about the tastes and beliefs—at least in interior decorating. Meeting a home library that isn’t up for loan.
The Thousand
An excerpt of Kevin Guilfoile's new novel, The Thousand, about a group of mavericks safeguarding and exploiting the secret teachings of Pythagoras.
The Report
An excerpt of Jessica Francis Kane's forthcoming novel, The Report, about London's Bethnal Green disaster, where 173 people died in WWII's largest civilian accident.
Breaking Bad Habits & Busting Balls
Another set of excerpts from a book whose author cannot be named for reasons apparent to anyone who has seen a Scorsese movie. This week: life lessons for children and meeting the don of the teacher's lounge.
How I Became a Teacher
Ron Clark may have cornered the market on strategies for classroom control, but it takes a different brand of strong-arming to really get results. The first installment of excerpts from a book whose author cannot be named for obvious reasons.