TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT (June 25, 2025): In this week’s TLS , If all Russian writers are supposed to have come out of Gogol’s Overcoat, then “all American literature”, according to Ernest Hemingway, “comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn”. James Marcus reviews Ron Chernow’s 1,200-page biography of Twain – the Great American Novel seems fated to be twinned with the Great American Door-Stopper.
Inventing a history
How Stalin shaped the Soviet collective memory By Bryan Karetnyk
‘A dear little genius’
Mark Twain and the making of an American literary revolution By James Marcus
Triumph at Camp David, disaster in Iran
Jimmy Carter’s abrasive foreign policy adviser and rival to Henry Kissinger By Edward N. Luttwak
President Trump’s administration contradicted a preliminary report that suggested U.S. strikes did not significantly set back Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
Fanny Howe on the Art of Poetry: “If I could say I was assigned something at birth, it would be to keep the soul fresh and clean, and to not let anything bring it down.”
Marie NDiaye on the Art of Fiction: “Oh, no! Reading beautiful books can’t be traumatizing. Seeing awful things can be—but reading? I don’t believe in that at all.”
Prose by Anuk Arudpragasam, Tom Crewe, GauZ’, Zans Brady Krohn, and Joy Williams.
Poetry by Will Alexander, John Berryman, Yongyu Chen, Eugene Ostashevsky, Ricardo Reis, and Nell Wright.
Art by Anne Collier, Celia Paul, and Alessandro Teoldi; cover by Tyler Mitchell.
Tom Howells explores the mystery and magnetism of the thousands of ancient British monoliths and monuments, from Cornwall to the Orkneys
Going down in a blazer of glory
It is a favourite of royalty and rowers, worn from Augusta to the Oscars — can there be a more versatile jacket than the blazer, asks Harry Pearson
Country Life International
• Russell Higham uncovers the secret society of Cascais • Holly Kirkwood finds the age of chivalry alive and well in Valletta • Matthew Dennison searches for traces of the Venetian Empire in Greece • Tom Parker Bowles savours superb Spanish dishes • Eileen Reid tracks the influence of two intellectual giants of Avignon
Winging it
Mark Cocker welcomes the renaissance of the peregrine falcon, a raptor that stoops to conquer at up to 240mph
New series: Scale model
Overfishing threatens the very existence of the cod, but Gadus morhua remains a monster of the deep for David Profumo
Dick Bird’s favourite painting
The stage designer chooses a monumental example of early-19th-century political art
The virtues of history
John Goodall celebrates 100 years of the headquarters of the Worshipful Company of Ironmongers, one of London’s Great Twelve City Livery Companies
The legacy
Leslie Hore-Belisha created a beacon of hope for road users everywhere, finds Kate Green
Luxury
Anniversary jewels and Art Deco delights with Hetty Lintell, plus Willow Crossley’s favourite things
Interiors
Arabella Youens admires the kitchen of a house in the Scottish Borders and considers the earthly pleasures of terracotta
Laying ghosts to rest
A spectacular garden now graces the grounds of the old Somerset-shire Coal Canal Company HQ, as Caroline Donald discovers
Water, water everywhere
John Lewis-Stempel delves into the depths of a field pond, mesmerised by the seemingly endless variety of aquatic life
Arts & antiques
A quartet of journeys with The King raised the profile of plein-air artist Warwick Fuller, who talks Royal Tours with Carla Passino
Making an impression
French Impressionism was a slow burner in Britain as Monet and Pissarro gradually influenced our art scene, reveals Caroline Bugler
President Trump suggested that both countries had continued fighting despite a cease-fire. He warned Israel that further attacks would be a “major violation.”
Iran’s response to the attacks on its nuclear facilities killed no Americans and each nation has a victory narrative. But a cease-fire appeared tenuous on Tuesday.
It’s not easy to trust the President to make an optimal decision. For one thing, he is suspicious of nearly every source of information save his own instincts. By David Remnick
The DOGEfather Part II
Joe Gebbia, a RISD grad and an Airbnb billionaire, may soon lead the federal cost-cutting effort known as DOGE. Could there be clues to his methods in his art-school days? By Charles Bethea
How Donald Trump Got NATO to Pay Up
The Administration is strong-arming European nations to do more on behalf of their own defense. Is the strategy working? By Joshua Yaffa
Israel Pounds Tehran Amid Growing Calls for De-Escalation
Israel said it had targeted a paramilitary headquarters and a notorious prison in Tehran, along with access routes to the Fordo nuclear site. The strikes came as Iran’s foreign minister met with a key ally, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.
In “Everything Is Now,” J. Hoberman recreates the theater, film and music scenes that helped fuel the cultural storm of the ’60s.
The Book Cover Trend You’re Seeing Everywhere
Take a genteel painting, maybe featuring a swooning woman. Add iridescent neon type for a shock to the system. And thank (or blame) Ottessa Moshfegh for getting there early.
On the Silk Road, Traces of Once Bustling Intercontinental Trade
A new book of photographs captures the landscapes, buildings and faces along the route that once conveyed untold wealth between Europe and China.
U.S. Officials Say Strikes Caused ‘Severe Damage’ to Iranian Nuclear Sites
The Pentagon’s top leaders echoed President Trump’s claims of success but said it was too soon to say whether Iran still retains some nuclear capability. Iran condemned the strikes and has vowed to defend itself.
THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE: The 6.22.25 Issue features Kevin Roose and Casey Newton on everyone using A.I.; Susan Dominus on creating A.I. avatars of loved ones; Bill Wasik on how A.I. will change the way history is written; Robert Capps on the jobs for humans A.I. will create; Charley Locke on the patterns A.I. can see in human behavior; Kim Tingley on therapy chatbots; and more.
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