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Are you still writing?” he asked. “I am,” I answered. “What are you working on at the moment?” “An autobiography,” I said. “Interesting,” he replied. “Whose?” The implication here,...

Rescuing Socrates: How the Great Books Changed My Life and Why They Matter for a New Generationby Roosevelt MontásPrinceton, 248 pages, $24.95 Plutarch tells us that Gaius Gracchus (154–121...

Philip and Alexander:Kings and Conquerorsby adrian goldsworthy basic, 608 pages, $35 An immensely successful father poses a problem for a son. The son may follow in his father’s footsteps,...

Writing cannot be taught, as I came to realize after attempting to teach it for thirty years to university students, but it can be learned. One can only teach...

Some people acquire foreign languages more easily than others. I, alas, am one of those others. I cannot truly say that I have possession of any foreign language. I...

I am not altogether incurious, but one entity about which I have over the years felt little curiosity is my own body. Until recently, I could not have told...

The Collected Novellas of Stefan Zweigby stefan zweigtranslated by anthea bellpushkin, 384 pages, $30 The Collected Stories of Stefan Zweigby stefan zweig translated by anthea bell pushkin, 720 pages,...

James Boswell, who knew a thing or two about hero worship, called Julius Caesar “the greatest man of any age.” Alexander Hamilton told Thomas Jefferson that Caesar was “the...

Edward Shils in Heaven Dear Edward, sleepless, lonely, I think of you tonight In Heaven, out for a leisurely stroll, yet ready for a fight. Before illogic, false sentiment,...