He was was a self-made, blue-collar millionaire in Reagan’s America. But when Percy Ross decided to give away his fortune, he made things simple: all you had to do was ask for it.
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Posted inCommentary, Nonfiction, Reading List, Top 5
Longreads Best of 2016: Here Are All of Our No. 1 Story Picks from This Year
All through December, we’ll be featuring Longreads’ Best of 2016. To get you ready, here’s a list of every story that was chosen as No. 1 in our weekly Top 5 email.
Posted inEditor's Pick, Essays & Criticism, Nonfiction
I Want to Persuade You to Care About Other People
After changing her conservative grandfather’s mind about affirmative action, Danielle Tcholakian commits to trying to get through to people whose politics are very different from her own.
Posted inNonfiction, Story
Death by Fire
Forty years after his time with the U.S. Forest Service, a writer reflects on his years fighting fires out West, especially how fire shapes both forests and people.
Posted inEssays & Criticism, Nonfiction, Story
I Want to Persuade You to Care About Other People
After changing her conservative grandfather’s mind about affirmative action, Danielle Tcholakian commits to trying to get through to people whose politics are very different from her own.
Posted inNonfiction
Longreads Best of 2016: Investigative Reporting
We asked a few writers and editors to choose some of their favorite stories of the year in various categories. Here, the best in investigative reporting
Posted inNonfiction
Longreads Best of 2016: Under-Recognized Stories
We asked a few writers and editors to choose some of their favorite stories of the year in various categories. Here, the best in under-recognized stories.
Posted inBooks, Nonfiction
The Immigration-Obsessed, Polarized, Garbage-Fire Election of 1800
A madman versus a crook? Unexpected twists? Fake news? Welcome to the election of 1800.
Posted inBooks, Nonfiction
In 1971, the People Didn’t Just March on Washington — They Shut It Down
The most influential large-scale political action of the ’60s was actually in 1971, and you’ve never heard of it. It was called the Mayday action, and it provides invaluable lessons for today.
Posted inNonfiction, Reading List
The Good, the Bad, and the Highly Personal: A Reading List About Haircuts
Six stories about our relationships with our hair.
