The Marginalian
The Marginalian

Reads tagged with “history”

A Graphic Biography of Warhol
A Graphic Biography of Warhol

Who shot Marilyn, and other illustrated anecdotes of Warhol’s fallible humanity.

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David Bowie Narrates the Pioneering Soviet Children’s Symphony “Peter and the Wolf”
David Bowie Narrates the Pioneering Soviet Children’s Symphony “Peter and the Wolf”

How the clarinet cat and the oboe duck lifted the Iron Curtain for a magical performance.

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Zelda Fitzgerald’s Little-Known Art
Zelda Fitzgerald’s Little-Known Art

From Alice in Wonderland to Times Square, a delicate dance of the imagination.

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Young Hans Christian Andersen’s Breathtaking Account of Climbing Mount Vesuvius During an Eruption
Young Hans Christian Andersen’s Breathtaking Account of Climbing Mount Vesuvius During an Eruption

“The sea raised its great wings, coal black smoke arose from Vesuvius into the blue sky…”

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Why Look at Animals: John Berger on What Our Relationship with Our Fellow Beings Reveals About Us
Why Look at Animals: John Berger on What Our Relationship with Our Fellow Beings Reveals About Us

“[Animals] are the objects of our ever-extending knowledge.”

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Ten Days at the Mad-House: How Nellie Bly Posed as Insane in 1887 in Her Brave Exposé of Asylum Abuse
Ten Days at the Mad-House: How Nellie Bly Posed as Insane in 1887 in Her Brave Exposé of Asylum Abuse

A timeless and sobering reminder that the true measure of power is not how deftly we can assert our authority but how much kindness and compassion we can show others in their greatest moments of vulnerability.

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What Girls Are Good For: 20-Year-Old Nellie Bly’s 1885 Response to a Patronizing Chauvinist
What Girls Are Good For: 20-Year-Old Nellie Bly’s 1885 Response to a Patronizing Chauvinist

How the trailblazing female journalist got her start at speaking truth to power.

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The Adulterous Society: How John Updike Made Suburban Sex Sexy
The Adulterous Society: How John Updike Made Suburban Sex Sexy

“There is no such thing as static happiness. Happiness is a mixed thing, a thing compounded of sacrifices, and losses, and betrayals.”

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From the Gold Rush to Silicon Valley: How Mark Twain Became the Steve Jobs of His Day
From the Gold Rush to Silicon Valley: How Mark Twain Became the Steve Jobs of His Day

The power of mischief, timing, and typography.

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The Evolutionary Mystery of Left-Handedness and What It Reveals About How the Brain Works
The Evolutionary Mystery of Left-Handedness and What It Reveals About How the Brain Works

From Medieval sword-fighters to Broca’s brains, or why the hand may hold the key to the link between creativity and mental illness.

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