Jennifer Szalai is the nonfiction critic at ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''. Szalai was born in Canada and attended the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

, studying political science and peace and conflict. She also holds a master's degree in international relations from the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...

. During the 2000s, she was a senior editor for reviews at '' Harper's Magazine''. Her reviews have also appeared in the '' London Review of Books'', ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'', and many more publications. She started working as the nonfiction critic for the Times in January 2018, after having worked for four years as an editor for ''

The New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...

''. Szalai is one of the three professional critics who write for ''

'', together with Dwight Garner and

Parul Sehgal Parul Sehgal is an American literary critic based in New York, who publishes primarily in American venues. She is a former senior editor and columnist at ''The New York Times Book Review'', and was one of the team of book critics at ''The New Y ...

. Her reviews appear on Wednesdays. She is also a frequent contributor to The Book Review Podcast.

Frank Rich Frank Hart Rich Jr. (born 1949) is an American essayist and liberal op-ed columnist, who held various positions within ''The New York Times'' from 1980 to 2011. He has also produced television series and documentaries for HBO. Rich is curren ...

referred to Szalai's review of

Bob Woodward Robert Upshur Woodward (born March 26, 1943) is an American investigative journalist. He started working for '' The Washington Post'' as a reporter in 1971 and now holds the title of associate editor. While a young reporter for ''The Washingt ...

's book '' Rage'', about the

presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified b ...

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

, as a " Didion-worthy dissection". In February 2023, she wrote a similar review of ''

The Courage to Be Free ''The Courage to Be Free: Florida's Blueprint for America's Revival'' is a non-fiction book by politician Ron DeSantis and published by HarperCollins in 2023. A self-described memoir, ''The Courage to Be Free'' is DeSantis's second book, following ...

'' by

Ron DeSantis Ronald Dion DeSantis (; born September 14, 1978) is an American politician serving as the 46th governor of Florida since January 2019. A member of the Republican Party, DeSantis represented Florida's 6th district in the U.S. House of Repres ...

.Szalai, Jennifer,
Preaching Freedom, Ron DeSantis Leads By Cracking Down
', The New York Times, February 27, 2023

References

Living people Year of birth missing (living people) The New York Times people University of Toronto alumni Alumni of the London School of Economics {{US-writer-stub