Front Table

On This Week's Front Table, sift through complex histories of Black queer history makers Bayard Rustin and iconic jazz musician Billy Strayhorn, to a memoir rich in psychological research and moving detail about the connection to a person's native language and what it means to learn a language later in life, to a comprehensive history and defense of the essential food assistance program SNAP, to a queer and feminist retelling of the famous story of Hercules. 

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On This Week's Front Table, question the border between fantasy and reality with a quartet of electric fiction including Zadie Smith's new historical novel, Adam Levin on a Chicago apocalypse, and short story collections from Ling Ma and Yiyun Li; also trace the long arc of American antisemitism, investigate the political intrigue behind the critical 1968 election, and contemplate the lives and careers of four prominent 20th-century philosophers, all women, as they navigate the maelstrom of the Second World War. 

The Fraud
(Penguin Press)
Zadie Smith

It is 1873. Mrs. Eliza Touchet is the Scottish housekeeper—and cousin by marriage—of a once-famous...

On This Week's Front Table, we delve into the spiritual essence of art, embark on soul-enriching quests for personal and collective growth, and heed the urgent calls to community-based action: A look at a Manhattan street which was once the vibrant epicenter of the art world, tracing the evolution of literary criticism, envisioning the future of bookselling, and an immersion of a sweeping collection of poems that intricately narrate the complex history of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Additionally, a critical exploration of the Supreme Court, a captivating epic narrative of a mother driven to perilous extremes, and a thought-provoking collection of essays showcasing the lesser-known non-fiction contributions of the influential late Randall Kenan. Discover these titles and more at...

On This Week's Front Table, examine the interplay of past, present, and future from the desert to the city, and settle into the last weeks of summer with dynamic fiction focused on family, friendship, and the buried past. 

Facing the Sea of Sand: The Sahara and the Peoples of Northern Africa
(Oxford University Press)
Barry Cunliffe

Northern Africa is dominated by the Sahara Desert, stretching across the continent from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea. But the Sahara has not always been a desert.

From about 9000 BC the region began to enjoy a warm, humid period allowing vegetation to flourish and wild animals to move in....