The Good Life and Its Discontents: The American Dream in the Age of Entitlement

Robert Samuelson. Vintage Books USA, $16 (352pp) ISBN 978-0-679-78152-3

The American dream has mutated into an expectation of security, leaving us suspicious of the government that fails to provide it. (Sept.)

Featured Nonfiction Reviews

Alex Green

Green, a Harvard lecturer on public policy, debuts with an enthralling biography of Walter E. Fernald (1859–1924), a controversial doctor who shaped much of 20th-century Continue reading »

Joe Dunthorne

In this riveting memoir, poet and novelist Dunthorne (Submarine) parses his family’s complicated legacy in WWII-era Europe. What begins as a study of his grandmother’s escape Continue reading »

Joe Kloc

Journalist Kloc debuts with an enthralling account of the anchor-outs, an impoverished boat-dwelling community in Sausalito, Calif., and their battle with the city’s wealthy Continue reading »

Jeanne Carstensen

Journalist Carstensen debuts with a riveting blow-by-blow account of the Oct. 28, 2015, sinking of a boat full of refugees near the Greek island of Lesbos. Nearly 300 passengers Continue reading »