Gandhi and Churchill: The Epic Rivalry that Destroyed an Empire and Forged Our Age

A look at two of the most influential progeny of Britain?s imperial culture, and how they shaped a century. Read more...

The Return of History and the End of Dreams

An analysis of the global power struggles to come. Read more...

The Man Who Loved China

A life of the man who unveiled a great culture?s learning to the West. Read more...

A History of Histories: Epics, Chronicles, Romances and Inquiries from Herodotus and Thucydides to the Twentieth Century

Is the writing of history a science of precision, or the artful crafting of a tale? Read more...

After Tamerlane: The Global History of Empire since 1405

A scholar of empire examines the many civilizations that laid claim to global dominance. Read more...

God's Crucible: Islam and the Making of Europe, 570 to 1215

A new examination of the Islamic role in the evolution of Europe's identity. Read more...

About the Columnist
A. C. Grayling is an author, playwright, reviewer, cultural journalist, and professor of philosophy at London University. The most recent of his many books are Towards the Light of Liberty and The Choice of Hercules. His play Grace was recently performed in New York City.

May 24: Carson McCullers's The Ballad of the Sad Café and Other Works was published on this day in 1951. Included in this omnibus edition were most of the pieces upon which her reputation now stands, putting her in a rank…

Do you recall the tagline from the very first Superman movie? "You'll believe a man can fly!" Well, I'm tempted to craft such a hyperbolic assertion for China Miéville's…

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Books CDs, DVDs to know about now
Paris, I Love You but You're Bringing Me Down

When a job at a French ad agency landed in his lap, novelist Rosecrans Baldwin had the chance to fulfill a lifelong dream of living la vie Parisienne. And though cold réalité intruded -- in the form of financial struggles and the limits of his rudimentary Français -- the result was a more mature take on the city of his fantasies, flaws included.

Why Cats Land on Their Feet

The feline acrobatics and other mysteries of everyday physics that Mark Levi explores in this charming book are just the beginning. A fun and enlightening workout for your gray matter.

Dead Men

Scott's doomed Antartic expedition and the haunting mysteries surrounding its failure lead to obsession in Richard Pierce's debut novel. As painter Birdie Bowers pursues her fascination with the explorer and his death, she risks both her body and her heart for answers.