D. T. Max on a study of insomnia, written by one of its sufferers.
Susan Jacoby's new book on American unreason, says Wendy Kaminer, might be viewed as a kind of sequel to Richard Hofstadter's 1963 classic, Anti-Intellectualism in American Life.
Matthew Battles examines Alberto Manguel's rumination about libraries, the "product of a mind made by reading."
Colin Fleming looks at historian Eric D. Weitz's book, which makes the case that Weimar Germany's fragmentation was the source of its cultural bounty.
Steven Lagerfeld reviews Daniel Walker Howe's study of the era usually referred to as "Jacksonian," but which Howe says owed little to Old Hickory.
Tim Morris reviews Kitchen Literacy, which explores what we know—and don't know—about the food we eat.
Aviya Kushner looks at an intimate portrait by Mimi Schwartz of her father's life in Benheim, Germany, during World War II, and finds it "a beautiful read by a charming writer."
Barbara Walraff says that Joshua Kendall's biography of Peter Mark Roget is "an absorbing account of a remarkable man."
David Robinson assesses Lee Siegel’s Against the Machine; its thesis is that blogs, YouTube, Wikipedia, and other recent upsurges of so-called user-generated content are culturally harmful.
Christopher Merrill appreciates the "intimate writings" of Greek diplomat George Seferis, whose Levant Journal offers "a portrait not only of critical moments in places that continue to make headlines, but also of a singularly talented writer whose grasp of contemporary issues...was informed by his historical sensibility."