Tales from the American West are marked by heroism, romance and plenty of cruelty. Among those stories, the saga of the Donner Party stands alone — a band of pioneers set out in covered wagons for California, and eventually, stranded, snowbound and starving, resorted to cannibalism.
You'll root for 13-year-old Mija at every step of this new Netflix film. And Okja, the huge, genetically modified pig, is among the most touching and realistic computer-generated characters ever made.
Since the 1990s, New York trumpet player Steven Bernstein has been the ringleader of this occasional quartet. This recent album was recorded at a home studio and its rough-hewn quality is just right.
Author James Ledbetter says many of the nation's worst economic catastrophes happened while on the gold standard. His new book traces the fascination with gold as a symbol of permanence and quality.
Berry, who died in March at the age of 90, left behind an album of new material, his first such collection since 1979. Rejecting nostalgia, Berry's last project is interesting and energetic.
In both of these period pieces — one set in the 1970s, the other in the 1980s — women have it tough, whether they're wrestling with their demons, or actually wrestling.
Wired's Andy Greenberg says Ukraine has been the victim of a "cyber-assault unlike any the world has ever seen." Cybersecurity experts think Russia is perfecting attacks that could be used on the U.S.
Comedian Kumail Nanjiani steps into the leading role in a semi-autobiographical love story. It's a quietly groundbreaking crowd-pleaser, though some characters aren't as fully dimensional as others.
Several years ago, when Garrett Graff was working at Washingtonian magazine, a coworker brought him a lost ID badge that he'd found on the floor of a parking garage.
On his first day in the seventh grade, Sherman Alexie opened up his school-assigned math book and found his mother's maiden name written in it. "I was looking at a 30-year-old math book," he says — and that was the moment he knew that he needed to leave his home.
Former Vice President Joe Biden has figured something out: "I learned how to become one of the most popular politicians in America," he says. "Announce that you are not running for president, and be authentic."
The title of Maile Meloy's new novel is misleading: Do Not Become Alarmed sounds like a suspense story. Granted, I did read it in two nights; but, while I'm a unapologetic fan of thrillers, Meloy's novel is something else, something trickier to characterize. I'd call it a very smart work of literary fiction that exposes how very thin the layer of good luck is that keeps most of us from falling into the abyss.
When it comes to comedy, Late Night host Seth Meyers is clear about what drew him in: "I got into it because it looked like the most fun job in the world," he says. "And it has not led me astray."
The only literary work about punctuation I'm aware of is an odd early story by Anton Chekhov called "The Exclamation Mark." After getting into an argument with a colleague about punctuation, a school inspector named Yefim Perekladin asks his wife what an exclamation point is for. She tells him it signifies delight, indignation, joy and rage. He realizes that in 40 years of writing official reports, he has never had the need to express any of those emotions.
Washington Post correspondent Souad Mekhennet has risked kidnapping and imprisonment to report on extremist groups, such as ISIS and the Taliban. Her new memoir is I Was Told to Come Alone.
Author Mark Bowden says the capture of Hue, Vietnam, was part of a wave of well-planned Communist attacks that shocked American commanders and helped turn U.S. public opinion against the war.
