A feature story on the University homepage spotlights publications from Princeton professors in humanities and social sciences that have been selected for inclusion in 2025 year-end “best of” lists — in some cases, multiple lists. The accolades celebrate faculty novels and short stories, memoirs, poetry, and nonfiction.
Books from humanities faculty include:
- The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) exhibition catalog “Ruth Asawa: Retrospective,” featuring contributions from Anne Cheng (English), is included in Hyperallergic’s 15 Art Books to Gift This Holiday Season.
- “What Is Free Speech? The History of a Dangerous Idea” by Fara Dabhoiwala (History) is included in The Guardian’s Best History and Politics Books of 2025 and History Today’s Best Books of 2025.
- “Terms of Respect: How Colleges Get Free Speech Right” by Princeton University President Christopher L. Eisgruber (SPIA and UCHV) is included among other books of note in Forbes’ Best Higher Education Books of 2025.
- “Fail Better: Reckonings with Artists and Critics” by Hal Foster (Art & Archaeology) is included in The Brooklyn Rail’s “The Best Art Books of 2025.” Read a Q&A about the book with Foster on the Humanities Council’s Faculty Bookshelf.
- “On Bullshit: Anniversary Edition” by the late Harry G. Frankfurt (Philosophy, emeritus) is included in The Telegraph’s Greatest Books of 2025.
- “Sex Is a Spectrum: The Biological Limits of the Binary” by Agustín Fuentes (Anthropology) is included in Nature’s Best Books of 2025.
- “Things in Nature Merely Grow” by Yiyun Li (Lewis Center for the Arts) is included in The New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2025, New Yorker Best Books of 2025, TIME 100 Must-Read Books of 2025, The Washington Post 50 Notable Works of Nonfiction from 2025, NPR Books We Love 2025, and The Guardian’s Best Memoirs and Biographies of 2025, among others.
- “In Covid’s Wake: How Our Politics Failed Us” by Stephen Macedo (Politics and UCHV) and Frances Lee (Politics and SPIA) is included in The Economist Best Books of 2025, The New Yorker Best Books of 2025 and The Wall Street Journal 10 Best Books of 2025.
- “Fox” by Joyce Carol Oates (Lewis Center for the Arts, emeritus) is included in Harper’s Bazaar’s 10 Best Books of 2025 and Publishers Weekly Best Books 2025: Fiction.
- “Miracles and Wonder: The Historical Mystery of Jesus” by Elaine Pagels (Religion, emeritus) is included in The New Yorker Best Books of 2025, the California Review of Books’ 10 Best Books of 2025, History.com 2025’s Best New History Books, and on Princeton Public Library’s 2025 Top Checked Out Adult Nonfiction.
- “An Oral History of Atlantis: Stories” by Ed Park (Lewis Center for the Arts) is included in TIME 100 Must-Read Books of 2025 and NPR Books We Love 2025.
- “Mother Emanuel: Two Centuries of Race, Resistance, and Forgiveness in One Charleston Church” by Kevin Sack (Journalism) is included in The New York Times 10 Best Books of 2025, NPR Books We Love 2025 and Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Books of the Year.
- “The Intentions of Thunder: New and Selected Poems” by Patricia Smith (Lewis Center for the Arts) is included in Publishers Weekly Best Books 2025: Poetry and NPR Books We Love 2025.
- “The Float Test” by Lynn Steger Strong (Lewis Center for the Arts) is included in The New Yorker Best Books of 2025.
- “Black Religion in the Madhouse: Race and Psychiatry in Slavery’s Wake” by Judith Weisenfeld (Religion) is included in Science News’ Top Reads of 2025. Read a Q&A about the book with Weisenfeld on the Humanities Council’s Faculty Bookshelf.
- “The Loves of My Life: A Sex Memoir” by the late Edmund White (Lewis Center for the Arts, emeritus) is included in The Sunday Times’ Best Books of 2025 and Vulture’s Best Books of 2025.
- “In Defense of Partisanship” by Julian E. Zelizer (History and SPIA) is included in The New Yorker Best Books of 2025.
Throughout the year, the Humanities Council Faculty Bookshelf highlights humanities scholarship. The Lewis Center for the Arts also recognizes new works of creative writing on its Featured Faculty Publications.
