Four authors grapple with the fight over American identity, from the colonial era to the modern day. By Alexis Coe In “Up on Cove Mountain” Earl Swift confronts a place — and a tragedy — that haunts ...

Reading recommendations from critics and editors at The New York Times. In Kurt Andersen’s new novel, “The Breakup,” a family navigates a nation ruptured by civil war. By Jonathan Dee In “Up on Cove ...