Tale of Genji

Secret Knowledge

David Hockney delves into the question of how and why artists have used various gadgets--including mirrors and prisms and the camera lucida--to assist their art. Hockney finds evidence that artists have relied on such crutches since the 15th century,...

Brutal Imagination

Exactly who would the fictional African-American male perpetrator of the 1994 crime involving the death-by-drowning of Susan Smith`s two young sons be? The first section of this seventh collection by Eady, a previous recipient of the Academy of Ameri...

James Joyce

Edna O`Brien`s life of Joyce (which she distinguishes from a biography ) emphasizes his exile, his marriage, and the magic of his language. A lifelong admirer of Joyce and his work, O`Brien has written an accessible and informative study of the writ...

Half a Life

HALF A LIFE, another of Nobel laureate V. S. Naipaul`s highly autobiographical novels, is about Willie Chandran, who leaves his Indian family behind as he finds success in England as a writer. The trouble is that this new, assimilated life begins to ...

Savage Beauty

Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950) was something of Jazz Age celebrity, even outside the literary scene. Here, Milford, who was a Pulitzer Prize finalist, documents the poet`s amazing climb from poverty to Lost Generation darling. A New York Times N...

The No-Spin Zone

The popular broadcaster--and best-selling author--pulls no punches in his comments on the famous guests and the issues raised by their visits to his program. Visits from George W. Bush, Senator John McCain, Dan Rather, Al Sharpton, and others are cov...

Marie Antoinette

This biography of Marie Antoinette describes her royal upbringing, her arranged marriage, the difficulties she had getting accepted, her indiscretions, and the political turmoil--which her behavior helped stir up--that led to her death by guillotine ...

Islam

Religious historian Karen Armstrong explains, in short form for the Modern Library Chronicles Series, the story of Islam. Keeping her focus primarily on religious developments, she clarifies the largely misunderstood faith system and its history.

Living a Life That Matters

Rabbi Kushner talks about the ways in which we make our lives meaningful, from how we view ourselves, to whom we love, to our relationship with the world and with God.

Hidden Power

In this study of 12 presidential marriages of the 20th century, Kati Marton examines how the unique synergy brought about by these marriages substantially influenced presidential power. She also looks at the individual ways each presidential wife ex...