WSJ.com: Books

Discovering Herta M üller

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:30:06 EST

This year's Nobel laureate in literature is preoccupied with oppression and the struggle to escape it.

A Producer Gets His Close-Up

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:34:17 EST

Mark Vieira's biography of Irving Thalberg captures the genius of the man who transformed movies from mere escapist ephemera into something capable of nuanced expression and deep feeling.

Private Equity, Debt Worries

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:51:40 EST

Randall Smith reviews Josh Kosman's 'The Buyout of America,' a warning that the heavy debt entailed by private-equity buyouts could lead to 'the next great credit crisis' when companies start failing.

How to Write a Great Novel

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:19:04 EST

From writing in the bathroom to dressing in character, top authors share their methods for getting the story on the page.

Drama King

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:00:29 EST

John Heilpern reviews "Free for All," an oral history of mercurial theater impresario Joseph Papp.

Children's Books: 'Catch Picasso's Rooster'

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:10:37 EST

Meghan Cox Gurdon reviews Julie Appel and Amy Guglielmo's "Catch Picasso the Rooster."

'Precious' Little of Value in Ghetto Lit

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:45:07 EST

Books about gangster violence and depraved sexuality are finding a big audience among middle-class blacks.

How the West Was Won

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:16:56 EST

James Polk had a sharp mind and a dogged determination to make the U.S. a transcontinental giant. In "A Country of Vast Designs," Robert Merry offers an authoritative biography of this major—yet too little remembered—president.

The Great Disruption

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:02:47 EST

Thanks to a sharp eye and unusual access to the company, Ken Auletta in "Googled" offers new details about Google and assesses its effects—both good and bad—on all sorts of businesses and industries.

China's Mystery Lady

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:21:27 EST

In "The Last Empress," Hannah Pakula describes the troubled times and varied ambitions of Madame Chiang Kai-shek.

Matron for a Nation

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:30:55 EDT

Martin Rubin reviews William Shawcross's authorized biography of Queen Elizabeth -- Britain's beloved queen mum, who died in 2002 at age 101.

Profiting From the Crash

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:14:36 EDT

In "The Greatest Trade Ever," Gregory Zuckerman details how John Paulson took home $10 million a day as others lost big in 2007.

The Bonhomie of Buying

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 18:53:20 EST

In "Shoptimism," Lee Eisenberg surveys American shopping habits—not to scold us for consuming too much but to figure out why shopping is so important to a sense of well-being.

Let Them Eat Dog

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:19:14 EDT

Novelist Jonathan Safran Foer's modest proposal for tossing Fido in the oven.

A Writer's Toughest Character

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:59:18 EDT

For Mary Karr, author of "The Liars' Club," it turned out to be herself. How she hit the wall with her third memoir, "Lit."

The Tycoon's Companion

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:39:10 EST

Meet Pat Hobby, down-at-heels Hollywood scriptwriter. F. Scott Fitzgerald created him as a way to express an alternative view of Tinseltown.

Forty Years of 'Civilisation'

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:11:54 EDT

The PBS classic hosted by Kenneth Clark reminds us of a time when Western culture wasn't considered comical or contemptible, says Terry Teachout.

Gastronomy: 'Eating: A Memoir'

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 21:19:56 EDT

Aram Bakshian Jr. reviews "Eating: A Memoir," by the distinguished literary editor Jason Epstein.

Book Price War Leads to Rationing

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:39:41 EST

Walmart, Amazon and Target are limiting online sales of certain steeply discounted books, preventing small bookshops from taking advantage of a price war to stock their own shelves.

Why Worry?

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:57:06 EDT

In "Atomic Obsession," author John Mueller argues that our fear of nuclear weapons—and of hostile countries possessing them—is exaggerated.

A Chilling Fiction

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:35:43 EDT

She defined the genre of haunted-house novels, even winning over such masters as Stephen King. A look at Shirley Jackson's classic, "The Haunting of Hill House."

The School of Athens

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:29:57 EDT

Donald Kagan, a veteran historian of the ancient world, revisits the Peloponnesian War and re-reads Thucydides, the Athenian whose famous account of the war may not be as disinterested and "rational" as it is often claimed to be.

Freaked Out Over SuperFreakonomics

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:51:21 EDT

Global warming might be solved with a helium balloon and a few miles of garden hose.

'Window' Into the Wine World

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 23:31:56 EDT

Kevin Zraly offers tips on navigating the changing world of wine with the 25th anniversary of his renowned guidebook, "Windows on the World Complete Wine Course."