The rebellious teen narrating J.D. Salinger’s classic novel of arrested development still speaks to us. But should we be listening?
Books + Ideas – Articles, Analysis, Comment
Displaying 1 - 25 of 1654 articles
In Mine, Adam Ouston reveals the contradictions between Tasmania’s conception of itself and its history of human and environmental devastation.
Libraries are turning to social media to connect with their communities – with brilliant, often hilarious results. On the way, they’ve launched some unlikely stars.
The latest literary AI scandal forces us to question what we expect of writers. Some French authors argue AI is now part of our lives – and authorship is evolving.
In The Twilight Before the Storm, global strategist Viktor Shvets charts the shift from the fractured 1930s to today’s crisis culture.
The Broad Bean Sermon, while not his best-known poem, shows why Les Murray is considered by some to be Australia’s preeminent poet.
Charles Spencer’s book is as much about him as about the sister he claims to speak for. Beneath the score-settling, it’s a story of a brother still grieving.
Terry Denton was wickedly funny, unpretentious and won multiple awards for his illustrations – and sold millions with Andy Griffiths. He will be dreadfully missed.
Psychologist Steve Stewart-Williams’ third book about evolutionary psychology is A Billion Years of Sex Differences: How Evolution Shaped the Minds of Men and Women.
Ahead of the release of Charles Spencer’s controversial memoir, Dennis Altman picks 5 reads shedding light on the British monarchy.
There is a ‘deep disquiet’ within liberal democracies: a feeling, manifested on both sides of politics, that the conventional order has failed and is beyond reform.
Neha Kale’s A Foreign Return: on art and habitation is an unusual blend of memoir and art criticism, spanning continents and time.
Emily St John Mandel’s new novel presents divergent visions of our world and future – particularly of the US as a state at a crossroads.
Foreign ‘invasion plots’ have featured in Australian literature for more than a century. Though critiqued by some authors, fears of white erasure endure.
Two new books, End Times Fascism and Nerd Reich, take a hard look at fascism today – and its intersections with big tech.
Amid news that 500 jobs will go at the Whyalla steelworks, once owned by Gupta’s GFG Alliance, The Big Steal is a powerful – and timely – work of journalism.
Young poets are performing at poetry slams, pop-up events and salons around Australia – and publishing, too. Who are they – and why is poetry so popular?
New books by George Megalogenis and Paul Strangio consider 21st century Australia: a time of rapid social change with many politicians stuck ‘in a white-bloke past’.
Alice Duncan-Kemp’s books drew on a childhood in intimate contact with Mithaka people. Historian Tom Griffiths’ book, Alice’s dreaming, reminds us of her work.
Jon Ronson’s new book on the masculinity crisis was sparked by his son’s strange journey to a castle in upstate New York and a series of late-night text messages.
The winners of this year’s Prime Minister’s Literary Awards have been announced. Together, they question, subvert and explore Australian identity.
A new book examines the outsized influence of one man on the pivotal 1984 election which ushered in a new New Zealand.
We’ve been telling stories about 9/11 since it happened. The really great ones helped shape how we feel about the attacks and their aftermath.
Grand Ambition: Paul Keating’s Global Vision for Australia is based on deep archival research – and author James Curran’s access to Keating, with his personal papers.
Democracy demands that citizens are treated equally under the law. The tax avoidance practices of the ultra-rich violate that principle, a new book argues.