Books
On Campus
The most popular McGill News stories of 2025
The McGill alum who went from organizing Frosh Week parties to producing The White Lotus. The two sets of twins currently studying medicine at McGill. The tiny bookstore that has been loved by generations of McGillians. These were some of the most-read McGill News stories from last year.
Culture
Holiday reading options
Looking for a good book or two to enjoy over the holidays? Here are some recent books by (or about) McGill grads for you to consider.
Discovery
A journey into the past – through menus
Food historian Nathalie Cooke sees menus as more than simply guides for ordering burgers or burritos. They offer invaluable clues about the dining cultures of past eras. She explores a wide range of menus from different time periods in her new book Tastes and Traditions: A Journey through Menu History.
Culture
From the printed page to the big screen
McGill professor Alain Farah is one of Quebec’s most prominent authors. His award-winning novel Mille secrets mille dangers prompted an unexpected offer from celebrated filmmaker Philippe Falardeau (Monsieur Lazhar) – to work together to transform the novel into a movie.
Culture
A little bookstore that’s had a big impact
For generations of McGill students, The Word Bookstore on Milton Street has been almost as familiar a landmark as the Roddick Gates or the Redpath Museum. As The Word marks its 50th anniversary, Adrian King-Edwards, BA’71, the bookshop’s co-founder and owner, shares some memories.
Discovery
A Nobel laureate on the possibility of life on other planets
In his recent book Is Earth Exceptional?, Jack Szostak, BSc’72, DSc’11, the director of the University of Chicago’s Center for the Origins of Life, examines the latest research on how life started – and whether it could exist anywhere else in the universe.
Discovery
Sharing the stories of those left behind
In his new book Gone Gone, McGill professor Todd Meyers goes beyond the headlines about the opioid crisis to movingly convey the grief felt by those who have lost loved ones to overdose deaths.
Culture
Looking for a holiday read?
The holidays are almost upon us and (hopefully) that means you’ll soon be able to spend some quality time with a good book or two. Here are some possibilities for you to consider – all written by McGill alums.
Culture
One of the Big Apple’s best booksellers
Sarah McNally, BA’98, is the driving force behind McNally Jackson Books in New York. Her chain of independent bookstores has managed to thrive in challenging times. Both Vogue and The New Yorker recently included McNally Jackson’s shops on their lists of New York’s finest bookstores.
Culture
Championing Quebec culture
As the president and director general of the Société de développement des entreprises culturelles (SODEC), Louise Lantagne, BA’77, plays a crucial role in supporting Quebec culture – both inside the province and around the world. (Cet article est disponible en français.)
Society
Telling the whole story
Yale historian Ned Blackhawk, BA’92, believes that too many accounts of U.S. history pay little attention to the pivotal role that the country’s Native Americans played in that history. His recent book, The Rediscovery of America, winner of the U.S. National Book Award for Nonfiction, serves as a corrective.
Society
The final frontier… for law
The rise of space tourism, an increase in potentially dangerous space debris, the possibility of asteroid mining – as the technologies associated with space exploration continue to advance, an award-winning book by legal scholar Michael Byers asks if international law is keeping pace.