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A Novel That Captures the Lives of the Illegals
Sam Sacks reviews “The Year of the Runaways” Sunjeev Sahota’s masterly immigrant saga.

From Review

Young Mice, Like Children, Can Grow Up Too Fast
We often act as if children should grow up as quickly as possible, says Alison Gopnik. But a full childhood is necessary, new research about young mice shows.
The Challenge of Easter
Whether you’re a believer or not, there is no way to ignore the radical claim of the Resurrection.
- More in Ideas
- A Happy Marriage Across Party Lines
- Young Mice, Like Children, Can Grow Up Too Fast
A Happy Marriage Across Party Lines
An ardent liberal and her conservative husband have learned to tolerate their political disagreements and to focus on the things that matter most.
The Elusive ‘Runner’s High’ Has Prehistoric Roots
A jog won’t do it; the powerful painkillers released during long-distance running let our ancestors chase prey for hours on end.
Behind the Trump-Cruz Duel Over ‘Spilled Beans’
When Donald Trump threatened to “spill the beans” on Ted Cruz’s wife, he used a phrase that stretches back to St. Louis horse-racing more than a century ago.
Why I Answered My Son’s Questions About Brussels
After another terrorist attack, a national security reporter and mother grapples with when to share and when to shield.
A New Source of Liquid Energy?
British scientists have produced a urine-powered fuel cell that is less than an inch square and costs between $1.50 and $3.
Wolfgang Puck’s Next Dish
At 66, one of the original celebrity chefs is still cooking up plans to expand his culinary empire.
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Americans, Fight for Your Regional Banalities
An encounter in rural Kansas with a cashier using corporate-speak spurs Joe Queenan to urge Americans to defend local parlance.
Asian Artists Take On Their Megacities
Ai Weiwei and 10 other artists depict Asian megacity life in an exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston that begins April 3.
- ‘Megacities Asia’
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Before Chocolate Bunnies: An Easter Season History of Cocoa
Amanda Foreman discusses chocolate’s bittersweet history in war, science and candy—just in time for Easter.
Novelist Kevin Barry on Patti Smith
Novelist Kevin Barry, the author of “Beatlebone,” talks about Patti Smith, “Because the Night” and finding inspiration in a graveyard.
Relics of Space Shots and Missiles in Photos
Photographer Roland Miller showcases images of NASA, from rockets to data-recording boards, as well as relics of missile defenses of decades past.
- ‘Abandoned in Place’
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A Conscience in Crisis
Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s ‘Crime and Punishment,’ 150 this year, revolves around a murder with a philosophic motive.
Weekly News Quiz
Test your knowledge of stories from this week’s Wall Street Journal
Varsity Math: Week 28
Now the team is prepping for one of its own biggest challenges, the annual Putnam Competition, a prestigious and famously challenging contest for undergraduate college students. Here are some sample practice problems.
Latin America Worries About ‘Trumpismo’
Donald Trump’s brand of authoritarian populism carries echoes of strongmen, such as Hugo Chávez and Juan Perón.
Sheila Nevins Gets Real
The HBO producer of “Citizenfour” and “Going Clear” on why documentaries are booming just now.
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The Misunderstood ‘Kamasutra’
Modern readers may be surprised that the ancient Indian text is, above all, a profound work of psychology.
Watch the Hype: Cancer Treatment Still Has Far to Go
Yes, there are exciting frontiers in fighting cancer. But the achievements in treatment so far seem numerically small. Melvin Konner on the challenges ahead.
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That Terrifying Moment When Browser Updates End
Google Chrome has said it would no longer support some older operating systems. Joe Queenan’s cry of dismay.
The Inside Story on Narrative Games
Two innovative recent board games—Pandemic Legacy and T.I.M.E. Stories—make narrative a central feature of their designs.
A Better Way to Rate Your Uber Driver?
Dan Ariely answers readers’ questions on incentives for service and tests for investments.
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With ‘Encryption,’ a Nazi-Era Term Moves to iPhones
‘Encryption,’ coined in World War II, is built on centuries of code-making and code-breaking.
Lynda Carter on Billie Holiday’s ‘You’ve Changed’
Billie Holiday’s “You’ve Changed” reminds singer-actor Lynda Carter of her mother’s anguish.
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The Man Who Took Landscape Painting Outside
Charles François Daubigny, an influence on Monet and van Gogh, gets a show of his own at Cincinnati’s Taft Museum.
Let Me Take You Down Creation’s Path
How the Beatles’ ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ found its enduring form.
Weekly News Quiz
Test your knowledge of stories from this week’s Wall Street Journal
Varsity Math: Week 27
This week, the team is helping out at a high-school math tournament, and a couple of problems caught their eye.
Mark Twain on the Reading List for WSJ Book Club
Writer Adam Hochschild, next up as host of The Wall Street Journal Book Club, chooses Mark Twain’s “Life on the Mississippi,” for our coming read--and the club’s first work of nonfiction.
Charlotte Brontë Turns 200
Publishers plan releases to honor the pioneering author.
Donor Beware: The New Realities of Philanthropy
Today’s big-name philanthropists should worry about how history will judge their gifts (and their fortunes). The rest of us may wonder why we subsidize their giving.
Jennifer Doudna: The Promise and Peril of Gene Editing
Geneticist Jennifer Doudna on the controversy about Crispr-Cas9, a technique that could potentially cure genetic diseases.
Real Fixes for Workplace Bias
To ensure that women get a fair shot at work, focus on how companies hire, evaluate and promote.
Syrian Firms Take Refuge Abroad—and Create Jobs
With the implosion of the Syrian economy, businesses have relocated to many of the same Middle Eastern countries to which their customers have fled in vast numbers, challenging the idea that Syrian refugees are a drain on host economies.
- Syria Truce Spurs Resumption of Peace Talks

Book Reviews

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The First Abolitionist President
Robert K. Landers reviews “John Quincy Adams: Militant Spirit” by James Traub.
Book Review: ‘The End of Karma’ by Somini Sengupta
Somini Sengupta puts faces to the world's largest democracy “through the stories of ordinary Indian men and women who represent the yearnings of India’s most transformative generation.”
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The Great Fall of China
The country has entered the ‘middle income trap.’ It can only escape by taking the lead in industries that depend on brains—not brawn. Jeffrey Wasserstrom reviews “China’s Future” by David Shambaugh.
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The Real Isabel Archer
In a largely masculine sphere, Constance Fenimore became one of her era’s most praised authors. Randall Fuller reviews “Constance Fenimore Woolson: Portrait of a Lady Novelist” by Anne Boyd Rioux.
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Henry James: The Man Who Went Without
An unmarried expat, James lived only to record in his art the victories
of spiritual decency over grossness, stupidity and wickedness. Joseph Epstein reviews “Autobiographies” by Henry James.
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Romanticizing the Spanish Civil War
Stanley G. Payne reviews “Spain in Our Hearts: Americans in the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939” by Adam Hochschild.
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Allan Massie on the Best New Historical Fiction
Allan Massie reviews “Scarpia,” a novel by Piers Paul Read.
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Learning to Look at Gravity
John Gribbin reviews “Black Hole Blues and Other Songs From Outer Space” by Janna Levin. It jiggled the Earth by less than the diameter of an atom.
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What Made Kevin, Kobe and LeBron Great
Will Leitch reviews “Boys Among Men: How the Prep-to-Pro Generation Redefined the NBA and Sparked a Basketball Revolution” by Jonathan Abrams.
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Helen Simonson Returns to Sussex
Joanne Kaufman reviews “The Summer Before the War,” a novel by Helen Simonson.
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Young India Is on the Move
Maxwell Carter reviews “The End of Karma: Hope and Fury Among India’s Young” by Somini Sengupta.
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Mandelstam Was the Modern Orpheus
Sam Sacks reviews “Voronezh Notebooks” by Osip Mandelstam.
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The Real Woodstock
Barry Mazor reviews “Small Town Talk: Bob Dylan, The Band, Van Morrison, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix & Friends in the Wild Years of Woodstock” by Barney Hoskyns.
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Meghan Cox Gurdon on the Best New Children’s Books
Meghan Cox Gurdon reviews “Summerlost” by Ally Condie; “Can I eat That” by Joshua David Stein; “Make Way for Ducklings” by Robert McCloskey; and “The Jungle Book: Mowgli’s Story” by Rudyard Kipling.
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Five Best: Ben Downing
The author of ‘Queen Bee of Tuscany: The Redoubtable Janet Ross’ on frauds, fantasists and shape-shifters.
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Women on the Verge of Enlightenment
Mara Hvistendahl reviews “In Search of Buddha’s Daughters: A Modern Journey Down Ancient Roads” by Christine Toomey.
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The Dangers of Abandoning Allies
H.R. McMaster reviews “The Unquiet Frontier: Rising Rivals, Vulnerable Allies, and the Crisis of American Power” by Jakub J. Grygiel & A. Wess Mitchell.
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Habits of Highly Productive People
Amy Dockser Marcus reviews “Smarter Faster Better: The Secrets of Being Productive in Life and Business” by Charles Duhigg.
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What’s the Difference Between a Brain and a Computer?
The feeling of being conscious varies from moment to moment and from person to person. Everyone has a distinctive “cognitive gait.” David Eagleman reviews “The Tides of Mind: Uncovering the Spectrum of Consciousness” by David Gelernter.
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The Right to ‘Mobocracy’
Many early Americans thought liberty was inextricably linked with property and thus wanted to restrict the vote to the well-to-do. Henry Olsen reviews “The Fight to Vote” by Michael Waldman.
Books to Read Before You Downsize
While three authors offer invaluable advice on downsizing and tidying up, another writer tests the wisdom in their books against her own experience.
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What Does It Mean to Have a Mind?
Agency is the ability to act purposefully. Adults and robots have it. Dogs and infants don’t. Daniel J. Levitin reviews “The Mind Club: Who Thinks, What Feels, and Why It Matters” by Daniel M. Wegner and Kurt Gray.
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The Fury of Charlotte Brontë—and Jane Eyre
‘Never was there a better hater,’ ended an early review of ‘Jane Eyre.’ ‘Every page burns with moral Jacobinism.’ Jonathan Rose reviews “Charlotte Brontë: A Life” by Claire Harman.
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The Strange Defeat of the Royal Navy
Despite its failure to prevent American independence the Royal Navy ended the conflict stronger than ever. Stephen Brumwell reviews “The Struggle for Sea Power: A Naval History of American Independence” by Sam Willis.
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How to Build a Baseball Dynasty
Paul Dickson reviews “Stealing Games: How John McGraw Transformed Baseball with the 1911 New York Giants” by Maury Klein.
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Selling Babe Ruth Made Sense
In 1920, Ruth smashed a previously unimaginable 54 home runs—and the Yankees were on the path to 27 world championships. Henry D. Fetter reviews “The Selling of the Babe: The Deal That Changed Baseball and Created a Legend” by Glenn Stout.
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The Hipster Odysseus
A Jewish jazzman’s talky, jive-inflected prose inspired the Beats. Martin Riker reviews “Really the Blues” by Mezz Mezzrow and Bernard Wolfe.
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Meghan Cox Gurdon on the Best New Children’s Books
Meghan Cox Gurdon reviews “You Never Heard of Casey Stengel?!” by Jonah Winter and Barry Blitt; and “The Kid From Diamond Street” by Audrey Vernick and Steven Salerno.
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The Incandescent Teresa Wright
In her screen debut, Wright held her own against Bette Davis and earned an Oscar nod. Scott Eyman reviews “A Girl’s Got To Breathe” by Donald Spoto.
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A Blood-Drenched Paradise
With women hitching up their saris to totter in the waves, and a gypsy’s monkey dressed as an Englishman, there is an Alice-in-Wonderland feel to John Gimlette’s “Elephant Complex: Travels in Sri Lanka.”
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An Ode to the Tomato Sandwich
Paeans to black-eyed peas, boiled peanuts and the neglected Slim Gaillard, who sang “Matzoh Balls.” Greg Curtis reviews “Save Room for Pie,” by Roy Blount Jr.
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Thoreau’s Favorite Flowers
He worked himself to exhaustion recording the flora and fauna around Concord. Danny Heitman reviews “Thoreau’s Wildflowers,” edited by Geoff Wisner and illustrated by Barry Moser.
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Five Best: Adam Sisman
The author of “John le Carré: The Biography” on biographies and memoirs.

WSJ Reading Group
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“What books are you reading now?”
—Join the Journal Community's WSJ Reading Group to discuss books and authors.

Food

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After 9/11, a Winemaker’s Journey Began
Uncorking the City’s Lettie Teague talks with Jonathan Hesford, who decided after the terrorist attacks of 2001 to change his career from information technology to winemaking. Today, the former New York resident and his wife own a winery in France.
Recipe for a Dream: Sweden’s Impossibly Airy Cookie
The Week’s Best Food Finds

Fashion

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Is Your Weekend Wardrobe Due for an Upgrade?
Retailers wish American men would dress with a little more panache outside the office and offer a few suggestions for easy substitutions to make your off-the-clock look sleeker.
Break the Fashion Rules in Clashing Patterns
Sign Up for a Coach’s Jacket

Travel

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How to Pack for a Humanitarian Mission
An International Rescue Committee regional director knows to plan ahead for trips to South Sudan or Somalia.
The Ski Vacation That Should Be on Your Adrenaline Bucket List
Escaping to Mexico’s Best-Kept-Secret Island

Autos

A Conversion Van Hears the Call of the Wild
How a Ford Econoline was made into a perfect home for a couple who really knows how to get away.
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Tough Markets Catch Up With 1956 Ferrari
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The Future Is Electric for BMW

Arts & Entertainment

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Audiard’s ‘Dheepan’ Wins Palme d’Or in Upset Cannes Finale
The 68th Cannes Film Festival was brought to a surprising close Sunday with Jacques Audiard’s Sri Lankan refugee film taking the festival’s coveted top honor, the Palme d’Or.
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Actress Anne Meara Dies at 85
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The Most Influential Man in Hip-Hop You’ve Never Heard Of

Sports

Syracuse: The Unsympathetic Underdog
NCAA sanctions and previous trips to the Final Four have overshadowed Syracuse’s surprising run this season.
Hockey-Crazed Detroit Dominates the World in Ice Dancing
U.S. Men’s Soccer Beats Guatemala

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Best-Selling Books List

Best-Selling Books, Week Ended March 20
Best-selling books for the week ended March 20, with data from Nielsen BookScan.
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“What books are you reading to help you through the financial crisis?”
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“At the heart of 'The Sellout' is its own irksome inquiry: Why did so many large and prestigious institutions make disastrous bets on American mortgages?”
—James Freeman on Charles Gasparino's new book about the fall of Wall Street

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