Mark Twain

On reckoning with a fraught literary history.

Americans tend to see their country as a nation-state, not an imperial power.

Locomotives. Not trains. Locomotives.

Our identity is mapped at our fingertips, but also, maybe, our individual fate.

David Blight reviews Ron Chernow's biography of Ulysses S. Grant.

Longtime tenant in the 165-year-old St. Denis building in New York City reflects on the building's history.

That's the conclusion of a psychology study published in the journal Sciece.

Tesla created inventions that continue to alter our daily lives, but he died nearly penniless.

An enigmatic 1898 work about the progress of man.

Ron Chernow’s biography reminds our 21st-century selves of the distinction between character and personality.

The great short story writer and poet wrote many a book review.

After gunning down his wife's lover in broad daylight, Daniel Sickles tried to escape the gallows by claiming he was out of his mind.

How America's persistent preference for brash boys over "sivilizing" women fueled the candidacy of Donald Trump.

Before the word processor, perfect copy was the domain of the typist—not the literary genius.

Ross Bullen explores the curious case of Prince George Washington, a 19th-century Siamese prince.

Imported from Europe, the custom of leaving gratuities began spreading in the U.S. post-Civil War. It was loathed as a master-serf custom.

James Gordon Bennett Jr.'s most eccentric public service announcement.

The incredible story of how a disgraced Civil War general became one of the best-selling novelists in American history.

The rise and fall of the Post Office from Tocqueville to Fred Rogers.

Ulysses S. Grant was overlooked by historians and underestimated by contemporaries. H.W. Brands reevaluates Grant’s presidency.