Vanity Fair's Writers Reading

A family collapses emotionally after the death of their teenage son in Josephine Hart's new novel.

This historic journey of astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins is detailed in Craig Nelson's new book, Rocket Men: The Epic Story of the First Men on the Moon.

In his new novel, columnist Michael M. Thomas expounds on two of society’s most talked about topics.

Richard Brookhiser reads from his new book, Right Time, Right Place: Coming of Age with William F. Buckley Jr. and the Conservative Movement.

Editor Richard Todd reads from Robert Nylen's new book, Guts.

Upon publication of Thy Neighbor's Wife in 1981, Gay Talese was hailed as a pioneer of the study of sexuality, opening discussion on the previously taboo subjects of sex, swingers, and pornography.

In this compelling short story from Livability: Stories (Bloomsbury), writer Jon Raymond reveals a character grappling with change, disillusionment, and a friendship gone awry.

Journalist Tom Flynn decided to respond to the events of September 11, 2001, by writing an epic poem in which he recalled how, on that fateful day, he had hopped on his bicycle, braved the chaos, and headed down to the World Trade Center to cover the attacks for CBS News.

After 17 years, Jay McInerney revisits his classic New York couple, Russell and Corrine Calloway, in The March, a new short story from his forthcoming book, How it Ended. It is February 2003 and it is Corrine who has now had an affair. After a brief but poignant encounter with her former lover on the day of a violent anti-war demonstration, the author expounds on the many levels of loss.

In September 1997, in Amman, Jordan, members from Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency, attempted---and failed--to assassinate Khalid Missal, the new leader of Hamas. Their actions heightened tensions in an already unstable Middle East, and placed Jordan's King Hussein at the center of a high-stakes international negotiation, eventually involving direct intervention from President Bill Clinton. In this excerpt from his new book, Kill Khalid: The Failed Mossad Assassination of Khalid Mishal and the Rise of Hamas (March 24, The New Press/W.W. Norton), journalist Paul McGeough narrates the suspense-filled story of how Missal was spared--and Hamas emboldened.

For decades, Clarence King lived a charming, public life. The notable white geologist and writer, who had helped map the American West, divided his time between White House dinners and social gatherings at Manhattan's most elite clubs. But in this excerpt from the new book Passing Strange: A Gilded Age Tale of Love and Deception Across the Color Line (The Penguin Press), historian Martha A. Sandweiss reveals the riveting secret King kept from his family???and the world???and only disclosed on his deathbed in 1901: Clarence King lived a double life as a black man, James Todd. Passing Strange Captions and credits: 1. Passing Strange: A Gilded Age Tale of Love and Deception Across the Color Line will be published February 9 by the Penguin Press. 2. Clarence King as director of the United States Geological Survey, 1879. Courtesy of The U.S. Geological Survey Photographic Library. 3. Ada King, 91, poses in her Kalmia Avenue home with her granddaughter, Thelma, at a party in honor of Thelma's wedding in 1952. Courtesy of Patricia Chacon.

With Oscar Night only three weeks away, Vanity Fair has just published a film fanatics' dream--Vanity Fair's Tales of Hollywood (Penguin), edited by Graydon Carter--a rollicking new collection revealing the back stories behind the making of 13 iconic films. In this excerpt, the inimitable James Wolcott reveals the secrets of director Ken Russell's Tommy, the perverse 1975 big-screen adaptation of the Who's rock opera.

After Ramush Haradinaj led Kosovo's fight for independence from Serbia, becoming provisional prime minister, he was tried for war crimes by the U.N. tribunal in The Hague. In a clash of 21st-century justice and 15th-century laws, Haradinaj came out the winner.