In “The Ugly History of Beautiful Things,” Katy Kelleher considers her desire for rare or pretty objects, as both life-affirming and morally problematic. By Jennifer Szalai When you purchase an ...

What did the ancients use as deodorant? How did salsa become popular? The history of the everyday things we often take for granted is filled with happy accidents. Quinine, found in tonic water like ...

It can seem, these days, like we are meant to be constantly acquiring things while also constantly getting rid of them. Mass consumption is everywhere—endless online shopping; always a new iPhone or ...

What distinguishes toxic falsehoods from sustaining fictions? And which of the two flourishes in the wilds of the internet, where hoaxes thrive and doctored images abound? In “A History of Fake Things ...

"Desire and repulsion exist in tandem," Katy Kelleher writes at the start of her multifaceted debut, "The Ugly History of Beautiful Things." It's a lovely book but also, in chapters on perfume, silk, ...