Deep dives on artistic creation, a soon-to-be-adapted classic rife with moral ambiguity, and more recommendations from the staff of Vanity Fair.

Short book reviews of Pretty Nearly All Natural by Genie Abrams; Fear No Pharoah: American Jews, the Civil War, and the Fight to End Slavery by Richard Kreitner; Taking Manhattan: The Extraordinary Events That Created New York and Shaped America by Russell Shorto;

New springtime books include historical fiction from World War II and the American South, an egg-related crime mystery, contemporary and futuristic fiction and sci-fi, and compelling memoirs from both a Canadian-Chinese daughter of immigrants and a Ukrainian soldier.