James Boswell is a hard act to follow. His Life of Johnson, written at close range after more hours in pubs and miles of travel with his eccentric subject than most could have withstood, is detailed, ...

David Nokes, a prominent scholar of 18th-century English literature, takes a fresh look at Samuel Johnson, the man known as the creator of the dictionary. In doing so, Nokes shows a very human side of ...

“Samuel Johnson: A Life” by David Nokes (Henry Holt and Company, 432 pgs., $30) David Nokes, a prominent scholar of 18th-century English literature, takes a fresh look at Samuel Johnson, the man known ...

If you survey the geography of modern letters, three books stand out as signposts marking the beginning of paths that lead decisively away from all that went before. Augustine’s “Confessions,” the ...