Our latest Exclusive is a new essay by Anna Vodicka about the island of Peleliu, which was home to one of World War II’s bloodiest battles.
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Posted inNonfiction
Longreads Best of 2015: Here Are All of Our No. 1 Story Picks from This Year
All through December, we’ll be featuring Longreads’ Best of 2015. To get you ready, here’s a list of every story that was chosen as No. 1 in our weekly Top 5 email.
Posted inBooks, Nonfiction
When the Messiah Came to America, She Was a Woman
On the rise and fall of American utopia.
Posted inNonfiction, Reading List
Trauma and Joy: Four Stories About Adoption
The stories of adoptees are not open-and-shut case files—they are complex and messy. In these particular stories, you’ll meet a young woman who fought for her three brothers, a group of stridently anti-adoption adoptees, an eager couple waiting by the phone, and another couple coping with the myth of post-racism.
Posted inNonfiction
The Fullness of a Moment
Half a century ago, the Hall of New York State Environment in the American Museum of Natural History was not only the future of museum design, but also, one man hoped, the future of democracy itself.
Posted inBooks, Fiction, Profiles & Interviews, Story
‘The Truth of Life’: Paula Fox on the Re- (Re-) Release of Her 1970 Novel
Sari Botton talks to Paula Fox about Fox’s 1970 novel “Desperate Characters.”
Posted inNonfiction, Story
Narcissiana: On Collecting
An entomologist reflects on fly-hunting, an outhouse of distinguished provenance, and the narcissism of collectors.
Posted inNonfiction, Reading List
Meals Behind Bars: A Reading List
Three of these pieces look at what mealtime is like on the inside, from an examination of chow hall food to stories of inmates’ ad-hoc cell-made meals to an in-depth look at a commissary food that’s both dietary supplement and currency for thousands of inmates. A fourth adds a different dimension, revealing how some of the foods on our own tables are the product of prison labor.
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
What de Blasio and Uruguay’s José Mujica Have In Common
I showed the group a Guardian article calling [Uruguay’s President] Mujica “the world’s most radical president.” They burst into contemptuous groans. Last January, Bill de Blasio took over as mayor of New York City. The election was a landslide; the hopes invested in him near messianic. “When New York City Democrats head to the polls […]
