An NYRB Classics Original Simon Leys is a Renaissance man for the era of globalization. A distinguished scholar of classical Chinese art and literature and one

Is uselessness a tool? The acquisition of tools is the secret to humankind’s success and what distinguishes us from animals. However, we also use tools to tel

A Puerto Rican student at a Paris university grapples with heartbreak and isolation in this compelling novel by the author of Simone. The streets of Paris at ni

A proposal for countering the futility of neoliberal existence to build an egalitarian, sustainable, and hopeful future. If maximizing utility leads to the grea

A short, provocative book about why "useless" science often leads to humanity's greatest technological breakthroughs A forty-year tightening of funding for scie