Shanghai straddles the past and the future, a dizzying prism of many histories and cultures. The poet Sally Wen Mao shares books that illuminate this cosmopolitan city.

The former first lady’s new book shows that she still doesn’t care.

An attack on culture divides the very people who should be in direct dialogue, reading each other’s books. It cannot be that the solution to conflict is to read less, and not more.

The New York Times political correspondent discusses Donald Trump’s past, present and possible future.

The world is sending a message about its priorities, and they do not appear to include “Moby-Dick.”

When we all think we’re right, we stay perennially stuck in place.

Israel and its foes share one thing in common.

A new memoir by the onetime national security adviser shows how the former president’s insecurities and weaknesses harmed U.S. foreign policy.

In “Prisoner of Lies,” Barry Werth tells the story of a young C.I.A. operative who spent two decades waiting out the postwar era in a Chinese jail cell.