John Singer Sargent's Madame X was not only a bold artistic statement but a pivotal point in the invention of the modern woman.

Sargent was one of the greatest painters of his time. I underestimated him. Now I am taking a fresh look at him - and my reactions to him.

This is an essay about being authentic, which is the alternative to living a falsified life. It is full of hope.

“Before I sought enlightenment, the mountains were mountains and the rivers were rivers. While I sought enlightenment, the mountains were...

I have decided to write another book, tentatively titled For the Love of Wisdom. It is going to be the sum of all my thinking about...

Following Ayn Rand too closely stranded me on a mountain peak. Here's how I came down.

Howard Roark is no statue. This is the story of his development as a human character.

I really enjoyed Greek mythology as a boy, but I was never much interested in Atlas. His brother Prometheus, who created humankind and...

Plato and Aristotle agreed that philosophy starts in wonder, but wonder is a much broader feeling than what they meant. There is...

How to become who you are naturally rather than by force.

Meet Beth Harmon. She is the Mozart of chess, but can she beat her demons?

The paradoxical characters of Oskar Schindler, Howard Roark and Shakespeare's Brutus

The name of one of music history's most most difficult sets of sonatas is unknown, but its beauty is evident.

These gangsters give you a lesson you can't refuse.

Architecture is the interface between man and nature. An opportunity for a theme!

Strong-willed industrialist meets empathetic idealist in the 1800s. Can they bridge the gap?

Despite the differences we are tending in the direction of Huxley's hedonistic dystopia.

Some characters are perfectly realized without being merely allegorical.

I am in love with texture. These five photos give the reader different experiences of it.

Essays on authenticity. And vampires. And hugs. And musicians.