NYT Books

In “Ours Was the Shining Future,” the New York Times writer David Leonhardt dissects the country’s record on prosperity, arguing that progressive policies are best suited for achieving our ideals.

The third book by K-Ming Chang is a coming-of-age story mired in body horror, feminism, rot and decay.

Authorized by the Orwell estate, “Julia,” by Sandra Newman, revisits the events of the dystopian classic, this time as seen by Winston Smith’s love interest.

Michael MacCambridge’s “The Big Time” rewinds to the ’70s, when showy personalities and compelling rivalries turned sports into mass entertainment.

Tim O’Brien’s manic satire follows a disgraced journalist on a criminal road trip through a myth-addled nation.

In “Endangered Eating,” the food historian Sarah Lohman explores the onetime staples disappearing from our tables.

In “Opposable Thumbs,” Matt Singer recalls the risky business of putting newspaper movie critics on TV — and the “combustible chemistry” that made it a hit.

Collections by Vauhini Vara, Shannon Sanders and LaToya Watkins feature characters caught in the challenges and contradictions of being alive.

In “Judgment at Tokyo,” the political scholar Gary J. Bass examines the post-World War II prosecution of Japanese military atrocities and makes the case for the real efficacy of international law.

Access to the late rapper’s journals gives Staci Robinson’s authorized biography a rare intimacy, without delving deeply into his music.