Philip Roth had an idyllic childhood. How did he become America’s greatest chronicler of malcontents?
Books
Book reviews and essays from the Washington Monthly on the new books shaping debates over politics, policy, history, and American democracy.
Posted inBooks, Featured, Health Care, Political Animal, Politics
Obamacare and Its Enemies
An insightful new history of the Affordable Care Act—and the fight to save it—points to a difficult road ahead for insuring Americans.
Posted inBooks, January/February/March 2021, Magazine, Main
The Flawed Superhero of Marvel Comics
A new book reveals the origin story of Stan Lee, the self-aggrandizing impresario of an entertainment empire.
Posted inBooks, January/February/March 2021, Magazine
The Brutality of Boyhood
Parenting in the age of #MeToo.
Posted inMagazine
The Master of (Self-inflicted) Disaster
Mike Nichols’s films about escaping catastrophe can guide us in the post-Trump era.
Posted inBooks, Magazine, November/December 2020
Lessons from the Last Living One-Term President
The triumphs, failures, and might-have-beens of Jimmy Carter.
Posted inBooks, Economy, November/December 2020, The Monopolized Economy
Monopolies Threaten Not Just Our Economy, But Our Liberty, Too.
A new book shows how the weapons that conquered the old trusts can be drawn on Big Tech today.
Posted inBooks, Magazine, November/December 2020
How Robots Will Make Our Work More Human
Automation is coming. It will improve your job.
Posted inBooks, Magazine, November/December 2020
Exile on K Street
After fleeing Greece, Elias Demetracopoulos fought against his home country’s junta from Washington—and nearly upended Richard Nixon’s presidency.
Posted inBooks, Magazine, September/October 2020
Ecology of the Indoors
Interior spaces deserve as much scientific inquiry as the wilderness.
