NYT Books

R. Crumb’s underground comics were instrumental in shaping the counterculture of the 1960s and beyond, Dan Nadel shows in an exemplary new biography.

The stories in Marie-Helene Bertino’s new collection, “Exit Zero,” frolic in the nether zone between fantasy and reality.

In her sprightly new biography, “The Rebel Romanov,” Helen Rappaport introduces us to the enigmatic Julie of Saxe-Coburg.

Susannah Cahalan traces the life of Rosemary Woodruff Leary, who made her husband’s coffee, tripped with him and helped break him out of jail.

Louise Hegarty’s novel, “Fair Play,” nods to classic 1920s detective fiction, with a twist.

“Gabriële” considers a writer and pivotal figure of the 20th-century avant-garde who nurtured the talents of others.

In “Sister, Sinner,” Claire Hoffman tells the stranger-than-fiction story of Aimee Semple McPherson, whose mysterious life made headlines in the 1920s.

In a new collection, Lydia Millet casts a satirical eye on left-wing culture and its array of character types.

The romance author Beth O’Leary recommends books that show off the trope at its best — playful, knowing, original and deliciously satisfying.

In his paean to another age, David Denby studies four icons who defined American culture in the second half of the 20th century.