I was fascinated by William Glaberson's dramatic front page New York Times coverage of the battle between two of C.C. Wang's children over his formidable -- and newsworthy -- estate, said to be the greatest collection of ancient Chinese art in the West. C.C. Wang had already donated...

Last Tuesday's New York Times included a piece by Tara Parker-Pope on research that points out the perils of performance reviews, a commonly used tool of human-resources departments. She reports that Samuel A. Culbert argues in his new book, Get Rid of Performance Reviews that "annual reviews not...

I've been in the book business since 1962, longer than most of you have been alive. As an editor, I have been honored to publish many terrific books -- some of them successful -- and I have enjoyed working with literally hundreds of publishing colleagues. I know the ropes....

Tuesday's New York Times carried the obituary of Alice Miller, the Swiss psychoanalyst and author. Of her life story, the Times said, she was not forthcoming. This much was known: she lived in Warsaw during the war and studied there. Alice Miller's fame in America began with the publication of...

If you're looking for criticism of this book, you might look elsewhere. I'm writing about my son's newest volume, published today by the Penguin Press, and I won't surprise you with negativity. I will tell you what the book is and the effect it had on me.

MOM presents bits...

Last week, scientist Joanne Malkus Simpson died at the age of 86. A pioneer in the study of clouds and hurricanes, she is considered to be one of the most important meteorologists of the 20th century. She worked at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center for the last 30 years of...

The news is on my nerves. I'm feeling sad for the world, and for my country. By now the sights that emerge around the clock from Haiti don't teach me anything more than I already know about the suffering; the only thing they do is drive up my anxiety level....

I live on 96th Street and Madison Avenue in New York City. I often take a walk down one side of Madison, and up the other. Every rooftop, every store, every corner has a memory for me, and I sometimes imagine myself as Mrs. Dalloway, and Madison Avenue as my...

If you used to read Ramparts, raise your hand. You probably would enjoy A Bomb in Every Issue, Peter Richardson's biography of Ramparts magazine. If you hated Ramparts, don't bother; this book will probably raise your blood pressure. If you never read Ramparts, read this book, because it tells the...

My name is Jane and I'm a Kindle addict. I spent over forty years as an editor, and I love the feel of books, the look of books, and even the smell of books. I'm a speed-reader with a taste for mysteries, and I used to gobble up the freebies...