Crossing the River on Horseback in the Night
One slave’s escape
Lowering the Temperature
The threat of terrorism is real, but America’s response to it is dangerously counterproductive, writes Penn political-science professor Ian Lustick in this excerpt from his new book, Trapped in the War on Terror.
“Heaven is a Mixed Neighborhood”
In this excerpt from his new book, Metropolitan Philadelphia, the author describes “the closest thing I have known to a peaceable kingdom.”
Talking Back, Getting Hitched, Speaking Out
In an excerpt from her new memoir, alumna Andrea Mitchell recounts her dustups with power—and love in the time of politics.
What’s Next?
“This is a book about land, and about how land, like us, changes over time.” An excerpt from Ghosts in the Garden.
Writing For Her Life
Stephanie Williams C’92 was determined to fulfill her ambition to write and publish a novel before cancer killed her. With some help from her friends, she succeeded.
Coming Home
Searching for the China of her childhood.
What Happens to the Mail
“A reader of other people’s mail wants a challenge”
The University as Discourse Community
In this essay from the book, Public Discourse in America, Penn’s president lays out a vision of universities as “exemplars of a new kind of thoughtful civic engagement and robust public discourse.”
First Fictions
First time novelists Robert Cort, Caren Lissner, and Lisa Tucker talk about themselves and their writing, accompanied by excerpts from their work.
Sheldon Hackney’s “Spring-From-Hell”
Penn’s former president recalls the “water buffalo incident” and its role in his stormy confirmation as chair of the NEH.