The New York Times Book Review

125 Years of Literary History

By: The New York Times, Tina Jordan - editor, Noor Qasim - editor

Narrated by: Robert Petkoff, Tina Jordan, Gary Shteyngart, Jodi Picoult, Junot Diaz, Sloane Crosley, Jenna Wortham, Tayari Jones, Roxane Gay, Sarah Weinman, Jericho Brown, Dominic Hoffman

From the longest-running, most influential book review in America, here is its best, funniest, strangest, and most memorable coverage over the past 125 years.

Since its first issue on October 10, 1896, The New York Times Book Review has brought the world of ideas to the reading public. It is the publication where authors have been made, and where readers first encountered the classics that have enriched their lives.

Now the editors have curated the Book Review’s dynamic 125-year history, which is essentially the story of modern American letters. Brimming with remarkable reportage, this book collects interesting reviews, never-before-heard anecdotes about famous writers, and spicy letter exchanges. Here are the first takes on novels we now consider masterpieces, including a long-forgotten pan of Anne of Green Gables and a rave of Mrs. Dalloway, along with reviews and essays by Langston Hughes, Eudora Welty, James Baldwin, Nora Ephron, and more.

Listeners will discover how literary tastes have shifted through the years—and how the Book Review’s coverage has shaped so much of what we read today.

Critic reviews

“A fascinating selection of reviews, letters, interviews, essays, announcements, book lists, bits of gossip and op-ed pieces published in the supplement since its first appearance on Oct. 10, 1896 . . . An ebullient celebration of literature.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“[A] meticulously crafted celebration of the written word . . . Each chapter is full of entertaining reviews and book covers, plus delightful photos. Literature lovers are in for a real treat.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)