Books - The Daily Beast

The Slave Who Stole the Reb Codes

By Christopher Dickey

When three Confederate officers decided to go ashore for a night in Charleston, they left their gunboat in the hands of an enslaved pilot. It was a critical mistake.

Robert Smalls

iPhoto Illustration by The Daily Beast

Books

A Palestinian labourer works under a large wall painting by elusive British graffiti artist Banksy December 5, 2007 on a building wall in the biblical city of Bethlehem in the West Bank. The Bristol-born artist has adorned Israel's West Bank separation barrier and Bethlehem walls with new images, including one of a dove wearing a flak jacket and a soldier being frisked by a young girl. His works, along with those of other international artists, are part of an exhibition called Santa's Ghetto.

The New Cult of the Anonymous Artist

By Ted Gioia07.16.16

Sarah Shourd play interview

How Sarah Shourd Survived Solitary

By Emily Wilson07.11.16

Cassius Clay, 20 year old heavyweight contender from Louisville, Kentucky poses for the camera on May 17, 1962 in Long Island, New York.

The Miami Kid Who Became the Greatest

By Charles Farrell07.10.16

The Lost Generation and the Original Shakespeare & Company

The Lost Generation’s Lost Bookstore

By Erin Zaleski07.04.16

Norman Maclean on Fishing, Fire, and How ‘A River Runs Through It’ Got Pub

How Your Dad's Favorite Book Got Made

By Norman Maclean07.03.16

Pope Benedict XVI waves as he arrives to lead the Wednesday general audience in Saint Peter's square, at the Vatican October 24, 2012.

Ex-Pope Dishes on Vatican's Gay Lobby

By Barbie Latza Nadeau07.01.16

Father Suicide

A Dad’s Suicide Sets a Son Searching

By Chris Forhan06.19.16

Gordon Parks. Untitled (Harlem, New York), 1952. Anonymous gift. © The Gordon Parks Foundation.

When Two Artistic Giants Took on Harlem

By Nicolaus Mills06.19.16

E48EJM A US Marine crawls over a stone wall during the jungle endurance course at the Jungle Warfare Training Center at Camp Gonsalves June 20, 2014 in Okinawa, Japan.

Hearing Loss Is a Soldier’s Dire Enemy

By Mary Roach06.18.16

C97TAW James Joyce

How Judge Woolsey Set ‘Ulysses’ Free

By Ben Cosgrove06.16.16

Independent U.S. Senate candidate Greg Orman places his "I Voted" sticker on his shirt after voting near his home, in the U.S. midterm elections in Olathe, Kansas November 4, 2014. REUTERS/Orlin Wagner/Pool (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR4CTCT

The New American Crisis

By Greg Orman06.12.16

naughty Slang dictionary

The Web’s Naughtiest Slang Dictionary

By Chelsea G. Summers06.12.16

G153GP Harry Potter and the Cursed Child at Palace Theatre, London. Image shot 2016. Exact date unknown.

First Harry Potter Preview Is a Shocker

By Nico Hines06.07.16

FRANCE. Sunday on the banks of the River Seine. 1938.

How WWII Saved a Family Trip in France

By Thad Carhart06.04.16

Fort Wagner (also called Battery Wagner) was a fortification on Morris Island, South Carolina, that covered the southern approach to Charleston harbor. It was the site of two American Civil War battles in the campaign known as Operations Against the Defenses of Charleston in 1863. The first engagement, the Battle of Fort Wagner or the First Assault on Morris Island, occurred on July 11, 1863. Only 12 Confederate soldiers were killed, as opposed to the Union's 330 losses. The second engagement is better known. The Battle of Fort Wagner, Morris Island, was the Union attack on July 18, 1863, led by the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, one of the first major American military units made up of black soldiers.

100,000 From Dixie Fought for the North

By Kevin M. Levin05.30.16

USS Reuben shot by German torpedoes

The Secret War Before Pearl Harbor

By Marc Wortman05.29.16

A hand points out illustration of the devil in the Devil's Bible, the world's biggest manuscript, which is on display in Prague's Klementinum, Czech Republic, during a preview on Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2007. The world's largest manuscript is considered to be one of the most valuable medieval works that testify to the period level of knowledge. The Devil's Bible, or Codex Gigas in Latin, was created at the beginning of the 13th century in the Benedictine monastery in Podlazice, eastern Bohemia.

Did the Devil Really Write This Bible?

By Candida Moss05.29.16

Governor Horatio Seymour of New York Being Nominated for President at 1868 Democratic National Convention, Tammany Hall, New York, USA. (

When Political Rallies Were for Sex

By Jon Grinspan05.28.16

Southern GOP

How the GOP Went South

By Matt Lewis05.22.16

UNITED STATES - SEPTEMBER 01: Richard Nixon campaign (Photo by Arthur Schatz/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

Hillary Needs Her Inner Nixon to Win

By Michael Cohen05.20.16

Actress Lena Dunham poses at The Hollywood Reporter's Annual Women in Entertainment Breakfast in Los Angeles, California December 9, 2015.

Lena Dunham’s FU to Her Critics

By Lizzie Crocker05.19.16

Lady Mendl, the former Elsie de Wolfe, American-born Paris society woman is shown in Paris, France, Nov. 25, 1935. Lady Mendl was named the "Best Dressed Woman in the World" in an Associated Press poll of leading Paris dressmakers. (AP Photo)

The Woman Who Invented Interior Design

By Allison McNearney05.15.16

A Child's First Book of Trump

Inside Michael Ian Black’s Book of Trump

By Matt Wilstein05.13.16

The Spanish Steps are a set of steps in Rome, Italy, climbing a steep slope between the Piazza di Spagna at the base and Piazza Trinità dei Monti, dominated by the Trinità dei Monti church at the top.

U.S. Cities Need to Be More Like Europe

By George Packer05.12.16

Is It Time to Forgive Rudyard Kipling?

By Malcolm Jones05.01.16

Glenn Close (Norma Desmond)

Glenn Close Goes Full Diva

By Nico Hines04.24.16

ATP1MH The Hermes store on Broad Street opposite the New York Stock Exchange

Beast Fiction: Black Friday at Hermès

By Kashana Cauley04.24.16