Genevieve Valentine

Lydia Edwards gives a knowledgeable introduction to Western European dresses. It feels bare at times but Edwards is more interested in providing insights rather than an extensive history.

Glenn Frankel's new book about the making of the classic Western sets its tumultuous production against the backdrop of the Hollywood "Red Scare," drawing parallels between celluloid and reality.

Artist Joe Ollman's new The Abominable Mr. Seabrook is a biography of the Lost Generation travel writer (and sadist, alcoholic and cannibal) William Seabrook. But how much Seabrook can you stand?

Women's contributions to scientific progress are often ignored — but two new books, Dava Sobel's The Glass Universe and Margot Lee Shetterly's Hidden Figures are out to remedy that oversight.

Before modern fan fiction, there were the Whitman Authorized Editions — a series of mystery novels from the 1940s and 50s that "starred" real movie stars, like Ginger Rogers and Gene Tierney.

Tepper wrote several classics of '80s sci-fi, but she's curiously unknown today. Her work is didactic and often uncomfortable, mixing eco-feminist politics with gripping characters and world-building.

Therese Oneill's new Unmentionable is a snarkily informal history of the difficulty of being a woman in the Victorian Era, hemmed in from head to toe with countless rules about dress and manners.

The future of the smash-hit baking competition is in question after a move from the BBC to independent broadcaster Channel 4 prompted beloved hosts Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins to step down.

A new translation of the 14th century Egyptian scholar Shihab al-Din al-Nuwayri's magnum opus, The Ultimate Ambition in the Arts of Erudition, is a priceless glimpse at the medieval Muslim world.

Elizabeth Greenwood thought about faking her own death to get out of massive student debt — but decided instead to write a book about all the ways people try (and usually fail) to disappear.

Humans have always been curious about the natural world; nature provides enough order to soothe and enough wildness to escape. We've got a roundup of great nature writing from all over the world.

State Department veteran Mary Thompson-Jones sifts through a few choice WikiLeaks cables and parses them for a lay audience in To The Secretary, a fascinating primer on a complex and difficult field.

Lucy Sussex's new book is a history of 1886's runaway best-seller, The Mystery of a Hansom Cab. Why was it such a hit? Who was involved with it? And why was author Fergus Hume left without a dime?

Art crime expert Erin Thompson digs into the dirt around antiquities in her new book — what motivates collectors, what justifications they give and the politics around their acquisitions.

Andrés Reséndez' new book is a careful and scholarly examination of the enslavement of indigenous people in the Americas. It lays bare a shameful chapter of history, with a clear line to the present.

A young nobleman leaves home and ends up joining a group of outlaws — sound familiar? No, it's not Robin Hood, it's the iconic Korean hero Hong Gildong, and it's time the rest of the world met him.

Of the many problems facing dictionary authors past and present, the most predatory of them seem to be — in order — time, politics, and ghost words. And if you're already pulling up a tab to Google "ghost words," You Could Look it Up is written just for you. A ...

Sometimes you want your history close to home. It's a good thing, then, that Ruth Goodman seriously commits to her research. In How to Be a Tudor, billed as "a dawn-to-dusk guide to Tudor life," she recounts her experiences with lower- and middle-class daily habits, including Elizabethan hygiene regimens (not ...

Reading The Tale of Tales, Giambattisa Basile's 17th-century book of fairy stories, is both exhilarating and exhausting. If that sounds like a warning, it is. If that sounds like a promise, well, good news.

Perhaps most importantly, the book's an erstwhile history course, and for those who enjoy a sense ...

"It was hard — terrible, sometimes — but that's life, real life! Know what I'm saying?"

There's something both handy and unfortunate about a classic novel brought into a new market after a major motion picture with the same general concept. "It's like Inception" is the quickest, cleanest way to ...