Genevieve Valentine

Disney's new live-action extravaganza is just the latest retelling of this classic fairy tale. But why do Beauty and her Beast have such a hold on us? And why are there so many versions of their tale?

Kim Stanley Robinson envisions a future that's closer than we like to think in New York 2140. Sea levels 50 feet higher have swamped Manhattan, but there's a tiny thread of hope that we might float.

Lydia Edwards gives a knowledgeable introduction to Western European dresses. It feels bare at times but Edwards is more interested in providing insights rather than an extensive history.

Glenn Frankel's new book about the making of the classic Western sets its tumultuous production against the backdrop of the Hollywood "Red Scare," drawing parallels between celluloid and reality.

Artist Joe Ollman's new The Abominable Mr. Seabrook is a biography of the Lost Generation travel writer (and sadist, alcoholic and cannibal) William Seabrook. But how much Seabrook can you stand?

Women's contributions to scientific progress are often ignored — but two new books, Dava Sobel's The Glass Universe and Margot Lee Shetterly's Hidden Figures are out to remedy that oversight.

Therese Oneill's new Unmentionable is a snarkily informal history of the difficulty of being a woman in the Victorian Era, hemmed in from head to toe with countless rules about dress and manners.

A new translation of the 14th century Egyptian scholar Shihab al-Din al-Nuwayri's magnum opus, The Ultimate Ambition in the Arts of Erudition, is a priceless glimpse at the medieval Muslim world.

State Department veteran Mary Thompson-Jones sifts through a few choice WikiLeaks cables and parses them for a lay audience in To The Secretary, a fascinating primer on a complex and difficult field.

Lucy Sussex's new book is a history of 1886's runaway best-seller, The Mystery of a Hansom Cab. Why was it such a hit? Who was involved with it? And why was author Fergus Hume left without a dime?