Blood and Leviathan
A Stanford historian thinks war is the engine that drives civilization. Is he right?
A Stanford historian thinks war is the engine that drives civilization. Is he right?
First season of show about strangers with mysterious mental connections debuts on Netflix.
The Fountainhead? More like The Open Conspiracy crossed with "The Gernsback Continuum."
Is director Brad Bird's film an "insidiously political" argument for the value of individual achievement?
The individualistic works and lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley
Gay rights, black neighborhoods, and how reformers paved the way for Eric Garner
A former drug czar's dazed and confused defense of marijuana prohibition
Harlan Ellison to get Hall of Fame award for classic short story "'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman."
How the president's signature law came into effect, and what might come next
We didn't learn the lessons of the last crisis. Does that mean we're doomed to repeat it?
"Serious" foreign policy minds care about everything but citizens' lives.
Two Firesign Theater veterans recut some ancient movie serials into a conspiracy comedy.
12 new books of potential interest to libertarians
His role on Star Trek paved the way for decades of geek culture.
A blast of techo-utopianism from 1929
A new book offers a powerful dissection of contemporary end-of-life care, yet misses the underlying problem.
Self-interest, sex, snakes, and the making of our political preferences
Foundation for a Drug-Free World was previously kicked out of San Francisco schools for promoting "bogus science."
A history of Abraham Lincoln's critics would be improved if the author weren't so smitten with Lincoln himself.
A biography offers fresh insights on one of history's bloodiest dictators.
A Washington, D.C., readathon reminds us that the left once hated this anti-totalitarian classic.
Wall Street Journal review of the new book, Drugs Unlimited: The Web Revolution That's Changing How the World Gets High, by Mike Power
A surprising new history about race and prison
Our staff recommends some of the best books, movies, and music of 2014.
Why the PayPal founder and early Facebook investor loves monopolies, the Founding Fathers, and Lady Gaga.
Brian Aitken's memoirs show the dark side of a liberal desire to make the world safer.
Despite steep regulatory barriers, researchers are exploring the therapeutic possibilities of ecstasy, acid, and mushrooms.