The @washingtonmonthly.bsky.social's Summer Reading Roundup, with a contribution by yours truly. washingtonmonthly.com/2026/08/02/g...

Get Smart: Our Summer Reading Roundup

Here are some of our editors’ and reviewers’ top picks so far this year for policy and political nonfiction.

washingtonmonthly.com

A reading recommendation for America‘s 250th: Ben Miller’s wild new novel, The Parade (April Gloaming). open.substack.com/pub/chrisirm...

Ben Miller's The Parade

Looking for a way to celebrate America’s 250th birthday but you’ve always hated parades?

open.substack.com

New essay on my Substack in memory of Matthew Spender (1945-2026), sculptor and writer extraordinaire. A great loss. open.substack.com/pub/chrisirm...

Matthew Spender (1945-2026)

A friend shared with me the sad news that Matthew Spender, the son of the poet Stephen Spender, died on May 31 at home in Chianti, Tuscany, in the farmhouse where he had lived with his artist-wife, Ma...

open.substack.com

This was a fun piece to write, because James McNeill Whistler is always excellent material. My review in The Art Newspaper: www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/06/02/m...

Mystery, controversy and the butterfly’s sting: James McNeill Whistler book aims to dispel the fog around his legacy

The unashamedly partisan book by Daniel E. Sutherland also looks at the science behind Whistler’s nocturnes

theartnewspaper.com

From my just-completed “non-memoir” Borrowed Lives: In 1929/30, Uncle Fred goes on a trip out West, hoping to find work. open.substack.com/pub/chrisirm...

A Road Trip

From my "non-memoir" Borrowed Lives (now completed).

open.substack.com

My new review in the great @washingtonmonthly.bsky.social!

Washington Monthly@washingtonmonthly.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Long before the Southern Poverty Law Center, non-government organizations ran undercover operations against American fascists. @chrisirmscher.bsky.social reviews @steven ross Steven J. Ross's new book, "The Secret War Against Hate" from @bloomsburybooksus.bsky.social.

I've spent so much of my career arguing that "illustrations" are art, so reviewing a book that makes precisely that point was a welcome assignment. My review of D.B. Dowd, "Reading Pictures" (Princeton UP) in this month's @theartnewspaper.com.web.brid.gy . www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/05/05/p...

Pleasure, parody and propaganda: rethinking the art of illustration in a new history of the genre

From a ninth-century Chinese frontispiece to Marxist magazine covers, this rich tome explores the power of illustration and the ways in which we read such images

theartnewspaper.com

Louise Bourgeois had to wait till she was 70 to get a major retrospective. She never gave up; her quirky, provocative installations continue to inspire today. She fully deserves this major biography, "Knife-Woman," by Marie-Laure Bernadac. My review for The Art Newspaper.

New biography offers well-crafted story of Louise Bourgeois’s rich life

Knife-Woman is the fullest account to date of the life of one of the most influential artists of the last century

theartnewspaper.com

Included in the excellent new issue of @washingtonmonthly.com!

Washington Monthly@washingtonmonthly.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Plus, book reviews by @davidaustinwalsh.bsky.social, @chrisirmscher.bsky.social, @garrettepps.bsky.social, @nberlat.bsky.social, and more. Read the editor's note and explore the whole issue: washingtonmonthly.com/2026/02/03/a...

Very pleased to be published in @washingtonmonthly.com today! And —“Bernie for Burlington”…what a fabulous biography!

Washington Monthly@washingtonmonthly.bsky.social · 6mo ago

The young Bernie Sanders was an oddball and a perennial candidate. But even then, he saw a reality other politicians ignored. @chrisirmscher.bsky.social reviews "Bernie for Burlington" by @dchiasso.bsky.social washingtonmonthly.com/2026/02/02/b...

A terrific experience to chair the @bookcritics.bsky.social nonfiction committee, with the amazing @gwinnma.bsky.social, @michaelschaub.bsky.social, Jacob Appel, Colette Bancroft, Iris Dunkle, Jonathan Leal. Congrats to all longlisted authors and all writers whose work we read during the last year!

National Book Critics Circle@bookcritics.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Announcing the National Book Critics Circle 2025 Longlist for Nonfiction

This was a fun committee to serve on. Congratulations to all the winners—and, really, everyone who published a biography last year. I read so many books I loved, but we were only able to pick 10 for the longlist, alas! Many of your books I will carry with me for a while. Thank you!

National Book Critics Circle@bookcritics.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Announcing the National Book Critics Circle 2025 Longlist for Biography

Congratulations to these amazing writers! As a member of the @bookcritics.bsky.social fiction committee, I’ve felt so privileged to read your work!

National Book Critics Circle@bookcritics.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Announcing the National Book Critics Circle 2025 Longlist for Fiction

My new review in @washingtonmonthly.com of Brian Soucek’s brilliant “The Opinionated University” published by @uchicagopress.bsky.social. All the arguments you need next time your administration decides to remain silent.

Anne S Kim@anne-s-kim.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Fascinating piece by Kukula Award winner @chrisirmscher.bsky.social @washingtonmonthly.com on the trap of "viewpoint diversity" increasingly adopted by US colleges in a vain attempt to stay out of Trump's crosshairs. washingtonmonthly.com/2025/12/11/t...

A fun crash course in art history in the guise of a novel: Thomas Schlesser's "Mona's Eyes" from @europaeditions.bsky.social. My review in @theartnewspaper.bsky.social: www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/12/02/f...

French novel explores art as seen through the eyes of a young girl

The book provides a fresh—and refreshing—perspectives on famous works by the likes of Georgia O’Keeffe, Van Gogh and Goya

theartnewspaper.com

A new book on the Vorticists finally puts the female artists front and center. My review of James King's "Our Little Gang" (@reaktionbools.co.uk) in @theartnewspapwr.bsky.social): www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/10/31/n...

New book highlights Vorticism’s toxic side—and puts its women pioneers back in the frame

James King’s study places Jessica Dismorr and Helen Saunders at the centre of the movement

theartnewspaper.com

Such a pleasure to speak with Anne Kim of @washingtonmonthly.com about the art of book reviewing.

Longtail News@longtail-news.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Feed: "Washington Monthly" By: Anne Kim on Thursday, October 9, 2025

Laurent Binet's brilliant art historical whodunnit "Perspectives" (@fsgbooks.bsky.social, @penguinbooksuk.bsky.social) makes the world of 16th-century Florence come alive. My review in The Art Newspaper: www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/10/01/p...

Pontormo, Vasari and Michelangelo take leading roles in this 16th-century whodunnit

Novelist Laurent Binet weaves a compelling tale of Renaissance Italy with this art historical murder mystery

theartnewspaper.com

New review in this week's @wsj.com of Henry Wiencek's "Stan and Gus" (@fsgbooks.bsky.social), a dual bio of Augustus Saint-Gaudens and the notorious Stanford White. Find out why I think a crab is the fitting symbol of their friendship: www.wsj.com/arts-culture...

‘Stan and Gus’ Review: Monsters and Monuments

Stanford White and Augustus Saint-Gaudens had ambitious visions for New York City—and towering egos to match.

wsj.com

My take on Jonathan Aaron’s wonderful “Just About Anything” @cmupress.bsky.social in @ronslate.bsky.social’s “On the Seawall”: “Aaron’s poetry, for the length of a few lines, a handful of pages, persuades us that things or people that are gone aren’t, in fact, lost.” www.ronslate.com/on-just-abou...

My new review in @wsj.com--"The Shape of Wonder," @pantheonbooks.bsky.social, a very readable book, by astrophysicist Alan Lightman and abstronomer Martin Rees. Felt compelled to put in a reminder at the end that the humanities and arts are kind of cool, too: www.wsj.com/arts-culture...

‘The Shape of Wonder’ Review: Loving Their Lab Lives

The pursuit of scientific knowledge through experiment demands training, rigor and precision. For some it is a deep source of joy.

wsj.com

If you‘re curious about what‘s happening to higher ed in my state (Indiana), here‘s an indispensable analysis, with plenty of evidence, by my colleague Purnima Bose: againstthecurrent.org/atc238/india...

Indiana’s Assault on Public Education

Godfather of Trump University, Trump is insisting on his rules for private and public U.S. universities. RIGHT-WING AUTHORITARIANS such as Donald Trump and his MAGA minions drive their ideological …

againstthecurrent.org

I am so thrilled to have won one of the two 2025 Kukula awards, and congratulations to all the finalists and fellow award winner Ian Johnson. My deep gratitude to @washingtonmonthly.com for making this award possible—and to Kukula Kapoor Glastris, too, for her work. What a legacy!

Washington Monthly@washingtonmonthly.bsky.social · 12mo ago

The Washington Monthly’s annual award celebrates the best in nonfiction book reviewing and honors the memory of Kukula Kapoor Glastris, the magazine’s beloved books editor. Read online about this year's winners: washingtonmonthly.com/2025/08/20/t...

Audubon is usually associated with largeness—here’s my view of him as a miniaturist, published in @engelsbergideas.bsky.social. engelsbergideas.com/essays/when-...

When nature took flight

In The Birds of America, a monumental achievement in every sense, John James Audubon wanted more than to illustrate nature. He made it come alive in his art, humbling mankind in the process.

engelsbergideas.com

Very happy to be a finalist. Book reviewers often work in obscurity—it’s so great of @washingtonmonthly.com to recognize our work. Congratulations to all the other finalists!

Washington Monthly@washingtonmonthly.bsky.social · 12mo ago

The Washington Monthly proudly announces the finalists of the 2025 Kukula Award for Excellence in Nonfiction Book Reviewing:

Congrats to all the poetry finalists of @bookcritics.bsky.social! It has been such an honor to serve on this committee!

National Book Critics Circle@bookcritics.bsky.social · 2y ago

We're excited to announce the shortlist for the 2024 NBCC Award for Poetry! Congratulations to all of the finalists.

What a delight to serve on the autobiography committee of @bookcritics.bsky.social! Congrats to all our finalists!

National Book Critics Circle@bookcritics.bsky.social · 2y ago

We're excited to announce the shortlist for the 2024 NBCC Award for Autobiography! Congratulations to all of the finalists.

It has been such an honor to serve on the biography committee of @bookcritics.bsky.social. Check out our excellent finalists below!

National Book Critics Circle@bookcritics.bsky.social · 2y ago

We're excited to announce the shortlist for the 2024 NBCC Award for Biography! Congratulations to all of the finalists.

We're excited to announce the shortlist for the 2024 John Leonard Prize, given to an outstanding first book in any genre! Congratulations to all of the finalists.

Congratulations to Lori Lynn Turner, the winner of the 2024 NBCC Service Award!