James Wilson, later a Supreme Court justice, signed the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. He presaged Lincoln by insisting the former owed much to the latter.
Books
Book reviews and essays from the Washington Monthly on the new books shaping debates over politics, policy, history, and American democracy.
Posted inBooks
When America’s Culture Wars Were Fought in Art Galleries
Late 20th-century battles over artists like Robert Mapplethorpe and Andres Serrano set the stage for the transgressive Age of Trump.
Posted inBooks
The 2026 Kukula Award Winners
The Washington Monthly’s annual award celebrates the best in nonfiction book reviewing and honors the memory of Kukula Kapoor Glastris, the magazine’s beloved books editor.
Posted inBooks
Are the Elderly Holding America Back?
A new book treats old age, or ‘gerontocracy,’ as the central crisis of modern politics. The framing obscures more than it explains.
Posted inBooks
The Return of the Native
Nicholas Lemann’s family history illuminates what it means to be Jewish in America and explains how we choose our religious and ethnic identities.
Posted inBooks
The Washington Monthly Announces Finalists for 2026 Kukula Award Book Review Prize
One-of-a-kind journalism prize, named in honor of the late Monthly book editor, honors exemplary nonfiction book reviewing that elucidates key issues of our times.
Posted inBooks
Mary Todd Lincoln Reconsidered
Abraham Lincoln’s widow has been lampooned as a narcissistic nut job, but her life of pain and loss was far more nuanced.
Posted inBooks
The First American Nazi Infiltrators
Long before the Southern Poverty Law Center, non-government organizations ran undercover operations against American fascists.
Posted inBooks
Fear and Loathing in Palo Alto
Theo Baker’s debut book is a film-worthy investigation of Stanford’s culture of fraud. But his disdain for the tech bros keeps him from understanding them.
Posted inBooks
The Affordability Crisis Is a Wage Crisis
An economist’s answer for why you deserve a raise and why a higher minimum wage won’t hurt the economy.
