How the Navy failed to stop—and Donald Trump championed—a murderous special operations leader.
Books
Book reviews and essays from the Washington Monthly on the new books shaping debates over politics, policy, history, and American democracy.
Posted inBooks, Magazine, September/October 2021
A Constitution of Our Own Making
Two hundred years of amendments have moved America’s founding document almost entirely in one direction: left.
Posted inBooks, Featured, Political Animal, Politics
Trapped in Quentin Tarantino’s Memory Palace
If you want to know what the 1960s looked like to a six year old, Once Upon A Time in Hollywood, the book, is for you.
Posted inBooks, July/August 2021, Magazine
The 20th Century Smut Shamer
The epic battle between Anthony Comstock—a self-appointed anti-vice crusader—and the feminists.
Posted inBooks, July/August 2021, Magazine
The Supreme Court Justice Who Stood Up in Plessy v. Ferguson
Appraising the racial legacy of Justice John Marshall Harlan, the Court’s famous civil rights dissenter.
Posted inBooks, July/August 2021, Magazine
What Tucker Carlson Learned from a Liberal Columnist
The fearsome mid-century journalist Drew Pearson often scooped the Washington press corps, but his worst reporting strategies have been adopted by the right.
Posted inBooks, Featured, Political Animal, Politics
The Chris Matthews Show
In his new book, the journalist, speechwriter, broadcaster, and force of nature recalls an astounding career.
Posted inApril/May/June 2021, Books, Magazine
Sickness in Health
A journalist’s fly-on-the-wall coverage of one small Ohio hospital reveals the deeper story of America’s broken medical system—and the heartland’s decline.
Posted inApril/May/June 2021, Books, Featured, Magazine
From Laundress to Business Mogul
A century after the Tulsa massacre, remembering Madam C. J. Walker, who relied on Black institutions and her own brazen determination to become one of the richest businesswomen in America.
Posted inApril/May/June 2021, Books, Magazine
Survival Instinct
Conservation movements have won in the past. Can they do it again?
