It’s Hard to Be the Brother of a Genius Who Died Young

In “Ira Gershwin: A Life in Words,” Michael Owen offers a sympathetic portrait of the lyricist, overshadowed in a life that had him tending the legacy of his younger sibling George.

Alexandra Jacobs | NYTimes Books | Disclosure

S.E. Hinton Leans on Dave Barry for Post-Election Comfort

“You can’t read a page without laughing,” says the author of “The Outsiders,” who’s watched the stage musical of the novel become a Tony Award-winning hit this year.

Unknown Author | NYTimes Books | Disclosure

Thomas J. McCormack Dies at 92; Transformed St. Martin’s Press

He turned “an insignificant trade house” into a powerhouse, publishing best sellers like “The Silence of the Lambs” and “All Creatures Great and Small.”

Sam Roberts | NYTimes Books | Disclosure

Judi Dench’s Eyesight Keeps Her From Reading, but Not From Books

“They’re snapshots of the past: first-night gifts, holidays abroad, memories of lost friends and loved ones,” the award-winning actress says. Her latest, written with Brendan O’Hea, is “Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent.”

Unknown Author | NYTimes Books | Disclosure

Read Your Way Through Madrid

Like many who call Madrid home, Elena Medel was born elsewhere, but forged her identity in the Spanish capital. Here, she recommends books about this city that “refuses to be reduced to an ideal.”

Elena Medel | NYTimes Books | Disclosure

You Had to Be There. ‘Encounterism’ Argues You Still Do.

Conceived before the pandemic, Andy Field’s ode to sharing space in person glosses over the ways our everyday habits seem to have changed for good.

Laura Collins-Hughes | NYTimes Books | Disclosure

A Cockeyed Optimist: Oscar Hammerstein Was No Stephen Sondheim

Laurie Winer’s new book, “Oscar Hammerstein II and the Invention of the Musical,” takes the measure of Sondheim’s mentor and spiritual godfather.

BY BRAD LEITHAUSER | NYTimes Books | Disclosure

The Outer Limits

In “The Shores of Bohemia,” John Taylor Williams explores 50 years in the iconoclastic summer colonies of Cape Cod.

By ANDREW SULLIVAN | NYTimes Books | Disclosure

Terry Teachout, Arts Critic With a Wide Range, Is Dead at 65

BY CLAY RISEN | NYTimes Books | Disclosure

Billy Porter’s New Book Isn’t Just a Memoir; It’s a Testimony

BY R. ERIC THOMAS | NYTimes Books | Disclosure

Why David Hare Loves Oscar Wilde

BY DAVID HARE | NYTimes Books | Disclosure

Always Leave Them Smiling: The Art of Al Hirschfeld

BY BRUCE MCCALL | NYTimes Books | Disclosure

In Covid’s Early Days, Her Loss Resonated. She Hopes Her Hope Does, Too.

BY KATHERINE ROSMAN | NYTimes Books | Disclosure

The Brief, Brilliant and Radical Life of Lorraine Hansberry

BY PARUL SEHGAL | NYTimes Books | Disclosure

‘Tom Stoppard’ Tells of an Enormous Life Spent in Constant Motion

BY DWIGHT GARNER | NYTimes Books | Disclosure

In ‘Tom Stoppard,’ Hermione Lee Takes On a New Challenge: a Living Subject

BY CHARLES MCGRATH | NYTimes Books | Disclosure

‘Mike Nichols’ Captures a Star-Studded Life That Shuttled Between Broadway and Hollywood

BY DWIGHT GARNER via NYTimes Books | Disclosure

The Director André Gregory Has Written a Memoir, but He Says He Hasn’t

BY PHILLIP LOPATE via NYTimes Books | Disclosure

Razzle Dazzle, Part 2: Broadway Triumphs Again

BY HELEN SHAW via NYTimes Books | Disclosure

Bruce Jay Friedman, 90, Author With a Darkly Comic Worldview, Dies

BY BRUCE WEBER via NYTimes Books | Disclosure