A candid critic's tribute to artifice-free art.

The novelist's essays take on the dangers of a networked world -- and the grief and anger left behind after a friend's death.

The author of Gilead and Home collects essays marked by the spirit of her Western upbringing.

A new collection highlights the Emersonian bent of a midwestern writer.

Essays from the novelist that explore "consciousness of many extraordinary kinds."

The author who believed that "the humanities and arts need repeated injections of amateurism" delivers another shot in the arm.

A new collection of essays on subjects ranging from reality television to Christian rock.

An Englishman transplanted to the American Northwest brings a unique perspective to familiar themes in this wide-reaching, satisfying collection of essays. 

A collection of essays marked by the author's voracious intellectual appetite and improvisatory charm.

The brawny eloquence and fistic wit of H. L. Mencken at his most intemperate.

Previously uncollected writings by one of the most eloquent of all 20th-century American writers illuminate politics, sport, culture—and the author himself.

The filmmaker and provocateur transforms a lifetime of fascinations into a memorable and moving set of essays.

What is it about Russian literature that seems to warp the lives of those who fall under its spell? Read more...