Daisy Banks interviews "Emma Rothschild on Economic History," The Browser, for her recommendation of five essential books on the subject.

Elaine Sciolino, "Leonardo Painting's Restoration Bitterly Divides Art Experts," NYT, 3 January, features the controversy among art historians over the restoration of Leonardo da Vinci's "Virgin and Child With Saint Anne."

Michael Kimmelman, "The Grid at 200: Lines That Shaped Manhattan," NYT, 2 January, reviews "The Greatest Grid: The Master Plan of Manhattan, 1811-2011," an exhibit at the Museum of the City of New York.

James Rosen reviews Carl T. Bogus's Buckley: William F. Buckley, Jr., and the Rise of American Conservatism for the Washington Post, 30 December. Kelefa Sanneh, "Bottle Rocket," New Yorker, 9 January, is perhaps the best piece of journalism on Newt Gingrich's candidacy for President.