Defanged — National Review, February 8, 2010
Once upon a time, the living dead were scary.
http://www.heymiller.com/?p=1078

Sherlock Holmes — Wall Street Journal, December 23, 2009
The invention and reinvention of literature’s most famous detective.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704240504574585840677394758.html

Elmer Kelton — Wall Street Journal, November 24, 2009
This Texas author didn’t write Westerns, he wrote Western lit.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704013004574517491968701418.html

Shirley Jackson — Wall Street Journal, October 29, 2009
The Haunting of Hill House is the best haunted-house story ever written.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703298004574455551864001062.html

John Brown’s Body — Wall Street Journal, October 15, 2009
Stephen Vincent Benét’s poem on the 150th anniversary of the Harpers Ferry raid.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704471504574447301692263392.html

Harold Lamb — Wall Street Journal, August 27, 2009
A once-popular writer of adventure fiction is rediscovered.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204409904574350983611946784.html

Bruce Catton — Traverse, June 2009
In books known for their meticulous research and narrative flair, Bruce Catton established himself as one of the great historians of the Civil War.
http://www.mynorth.com/My-North/June-2009/He-Rewrote-History/

L’Amour & Reagan — National Review, May 4, 2009
Western novelist Louis L’Amour was Ronald Reagan’s favorite writer. Here’s why.
http://www.heymiller.com/?p=190

Dickens & Drood — Wall Street Journal, March 17, 2009
Charles Dickens died before finishing his last novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Ever since, other writers have tried to complete the story for him.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123724169319547649.html

Poe at 200 — Wall Street Journal, January 15, 2009
Two centuries after his birth, Edgar Allan Poe remains one of America’s eeriest writers.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123197476396583373.html

Michael Crichton, RIP — Wall Street Journal, November 11, 2008
The author of Jurassic Park was a public intellectual who wrote potboilers.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122635800348015413.html

Dracula — Wall Street Journal, October 28, 2008
An annotated edition of Bram Stoker’s classic novel finds a way to make the old and familiar seem new and exotic.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122514491757273633.html

Ernest Hemingway in Michigan — Wall Street Journal, August 14, 2008
The short story “Big Two-Hearted River” is Hemingway’s first great contribution to literature. But where did the author really go fishing?
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121867901295739435.html

Dungeons & Dragons in a Digital World — Wall Street Journal, July 1, 2008
With a set of revised rules, a classic 1980s game tries to survive in an age of pixels.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121487030020517745.html

Dean Koontz — National Review, June 2, 2008
His best-selling books take on utilitarian bioethics, the nature of freedom, and the reality of evil.
http://www.heymiller.com/?p=282

Arthur C. Clarke, RIP — Wall Street Journal, March 20, 2008
A blend of science and mysticism distinguished his best books.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120597453581750513.html

Five for Fighting — National Review, March 10, 2008
John Ondrasik, the man behind FFF, supports the troops in song and deed.
http://www.heymiller.com/?p=323

David Gemmell — Wall Street Journal, January 28, 2008
The late fantasy author wrote stories of imperfect men and women who perform feats of martial courage in the face of long odds.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120105682970108777.html

Beowulf — Wall Street Journal, November 13, 2007
It’s a small miracle that this Anglo-Saxon epic has survived the ravages of time and now flourishes in the 21st century.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119491508641690678.html

Arthur Machen — Wall Street Journal, October 30, 2007
Horror aficionados esteem him as a weird-fiction pioneer for his ability to locate bizarre terrors in what appear to be ordinary surroundings.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119370123965475629.html

Jules Verne — Wall Street Journal, September 18, 2007
We’re in the midst of a Verne renaissance brought on by new manuscripts, improved translations, and scholarly reassessments.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119007144221930439.html

Robert A. Heinlein — National Review, July 9, 2007
The preeminent science-fiction author of the 20th century was a man of the Right. Also includes a short list of conservative SF titles.
http://www.heymiller.com/?p=253

The Purpose of Libraries — Wall Street Journal, January 3, 2007
Should libraries be cultural storehouses or more like actual stores that stock best-selling books for readers who’d rather not buy them?
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116778551807865463.html

Robert E. Howard’s Conan — Wall Street Journal, December 13, 2006
Before the films, comics, and games, the barbarian from Cimmeria was a character in literature.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/la/?id=110009378

M.R. James — Wall Street Journal, October 31, 2006
The late, great king of the English ghost story.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116224994933808196.html

Stephen Coonts — Wall Street Journal, October 24, 2006
“Yeah, I’ve killed Castro two times,” says the author of military thrillers such as Flight of the Intruder. “Anything worth doing once is worth doing twice.”
http://online.wsj.com/public/article_print/SB116164141198601339.html

Yevgeny Zamyatin’s We — Wall Street Journal, July 26, 2006
This ur-text of science-fiction dystopias inspired Aldous Huxley and George Orwell.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115386876403917142.html?mod=djemITP

Rockin’ the Right — National Review Online, May 26, 2006
The 50 greatest conservative rock songs.
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NzZkNDU5MmViNzVjNzkzMDE3NzNlN2MyZjRjYTk4YjE=

The Wizard of Oz — Wall Street Journal, May 11, 2006
L. Frank Baum’s iconic book is one of the most overinterpreted stories of all time.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/la/?id=110008361

The Da Vinci Code at the Movies — Wall Street Journal, April 28, 2006
Some religious leaders plan to use the movie to teach about their faith.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114619281766538463.html

The Screwtape Letters — National Review Online, April 20, 2006
The C.S. Lewis masterpiece, on stage and page.
http://www.nationalreview.com/miller/miller200604200601.asp

Some Additions to the Menu — Wall Street Journal, March 3, 2006
Why it’s okay to eat certain rodents for Lent.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/taste/?id=110008041

Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle — Wall Street Journal, February 23, 2006
The book is a flamboyantly negative portrayal of immigrant aspiration and American opportunity.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114064649306180521.html

Curious George — Wall Street Journal, February 2, 2006
The legend of the mischief-making monkey.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113883544357862588.html

Stone-Age Throwing Sticks — Wall Street Journal, January 18, 2006
Enthusiasts rediscover an ancient weapon called an atlatl.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113754248755849050-email.html

H.G. Wells — Wall Street Journal, June 21, 2005
The author of The War of the Worlds was wrong about a lot.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB111931115139664650.html

Exorcism: The Comeback — Wall Street Journal, June 3, 2005
There’s a revival movement.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/taste/?id=110006775

H.P. Lovecraft — Wall Street Journal, March 15, 2005
The influential afterlife of a horror-fiction pioneer.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/la/?id=110006424

St. Brendan — Wall Street Journal, March 11, 2005
The best saint for Irish America.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/taste/?id=110006405

I Was a Teenage Half-Orc — National Review Online, October 15, 2004
D&D lives on, after all these years.
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ZmYzZDFmNWI5MTg1N2FmY2E4MTdlMWU5YzBjZjI1ODM=

Gilgamesh — The New Criterion, October 2004
The world’s first great story.
http://www.newcriterion.com/articles.cfm/the-worlds-first-story-1139

Iron Maiden — National Review Online, September 15, 2004
My favorite heavy-metal album, Powerslave.
http://www.nationalreview.com/miller/miller200409150615.asp

Vinland Map — Wall Street Journal, July 6, 2004
It’s probably a forgery, but the story behind it fascinates.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB108906753621155540.html

Code Breakers — Wall Street Journal, April 23, 2004
The Da Vinci Code and its discontents.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/taste/?id=110004994

Oxcellent! — National Review Online, December 12, 2003
My favorite reference works: the Oxford Companion series.
http://www.nationalreview.com/miller/miller200312120900.asp

America’s Birth Certificate — Wall Street Journal, July 25, 2003
The Library of Congress buys the Waldseemuller map.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/taste/?id=110003795

Fahrenheit 451 — Wall Street Journal, May 14, 2003
A conversation with Ray Bradbury on the 50th anniversary of his classic novel.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/la/?id=110003492

Russell Kirk’s Ghost Stories — National Review Online, January 23, 2003
The author of The Conservative Mind wrote about apparitions.
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=OGMxNzdiOTk3ZTdhNDlmMzYyZGUwYjRiMTEwNWE3ZTI=

Myth at the Multiplex — Wall Street Journal, December 6, 2002
J.R.R. Tolkien poured Christian values into a pagan world.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/taste/?id=110002732

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight — The New Criterion, December 2002
The meaning of a great Middle English poem.
http://www.newcriterion.com/articles.cfm/gawain-miller-1862

In the Line of Duty — National Review Online, October 25, 2002
The DC sniper’s last victim: Virginia State Trooper Mark Cosslett.
http://www.nationalreview.com/miller/miller102502.asp

Louis L’Amour — Wall Street Journal, May 3, 2002
Why he endures.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/taste/?id=105002019

Language Extinction — Wall Street Journal, March 8, 2002
When languages die, should we care?
http://www.opinionjournal.com/taste/?id=105001735

The Stalinist and the Stamp — Wall Street Journal, July 6, 2001
Why is the Post Office honoring Frida Kahlo, a foreign Communist?
http://www.opinionjournal.com/taste/?id=95000768

The Fierce People — National Review, November 20, 2000
Napoleon Chagnon and the wages of anthropological incorrectness.
http://www.heymiller.com/?p=292

Reviving The Exorcist — Weekly Standard, September 25, 2000
A reconsideration of the classic horror movie.
http://www.heymiller.com/?p=624

Edgar Rice Burroughs & Tarzan — Reason, August/September 1999
The literary entrepreneur and his iconic action hero.
http://www.reason.com/news/show/31079.html