Last year, The New Yorker published “The Plague Year”, a very long piece by Lawrence Wright about the U.S. response to the coronavirus pandemic. Which made me wonder: Is this the longest New Yorker article since I started reading the magazine in 2009? When did the magazine last run an article this long? What are some other long articles from the magazine? The answers are: Yes, 2004, and the following list.

Programming notes: Articles have got shorter over time, so the word count needed to get on this list increases as we get further into the past. Word counts for properly digitised articles are given to the nearest thousand words; word counts for other articles are roughly estimated from the page count in the magazine – I hope these might often be accurate to within 10%. I’ve tried not to miss any post-1970 articles, but I’ve surely failed; no attempt at completeness before 1970 has been made. Sometimes the distinction between “an article” and “a series of articles” is unclear, so I made a knee-jerk decision.

David Remnick editorship (1998–)

The Plague Year by Lawrence Wright (2021, 29k words). On the coronavirus pandemic. Expanded into the book of the same title.

Man Without a Country by Raffi Khatchadourian (2017, 22k words). A profile of Julian Assange.

The Apostate by Lawrence Wright (2011, 24k words). On Paul Haggis and his departure from the Church of Scientology. Became part of the book “Going Clear”.

Iphigenia in Forest Hills by Janet Malcolm (2010, 24k words). On a murder trial. Book of the same title.

Travels in Siberia—I and II by Ian Frazier (2009, two parts, 25k words). On a journey across Siberia. Part of the book of the same title.

The Climate of Man—I, II and III by Elizabeth Kolbert (2005, three parts, 28k words). On climate change. Expanded into the book “Field Notes from a Catastrophe”.

Three Stories: “Chance,” “Soon,” and “Silence” by Alice Munro (2004, 31k words). Three interconnected short stories, which became the basis for the film “Julieta”. Collected in the book “Runaway”.

The Man Behind Bin Laden by Lawrence Wright (2002, 22k words). On the first anniversary of 9/11, a profile of Ayman al-Zawahiri, Al Qaeda’s number two. This material was used in the book “The Looming Tower” and the article was republished in the collection “The Terror Years”.

Eight Years by Joe Klein (2001, 24k words). Looking back on the Clinton presidency.

“Nelson and Annabelle” by John Updike (2000, two parts, 27k words). An epilogue to the author’s “Rabbit Angstrom” tetralogy. Excerpted from the novella “Rabbit Remembered” collected in the book “Licks of Love”.

Overwhelming Force by Seymour M. Hersh (2000, 25k words). On an alleged U.S. war crime during the Gulf War.

Tina Brown editorship (1992–98)

Oswald in the U.S.S.R. by Norman Mailer (1995, 34k words). On the background of Lee Harvey Oswald, assassin of John F. Kennedy. Excerpted from the book “Oswald’s Tale”.

Hillary the Pol by Connie Bruck (1994, 32k words). On Hillary Clinton as First Lady and healthcare reformer.

The Truth of El Mozote by Mark Danner (1993, 41k words). On a massacre in El Salvador and its cover-up. Book: “The Massacre at El Mozote”.

The Silent Woman by Janet Malcolm (1992, 58k words). On the biographical legacy of Sylvia Plath. Book of the same title.

Remembering Satan—I and II by Lawrence Wright (1992, two parts, 34k words). On an accusation of satantic ritual abuse. Book of the same title.

A Lost Childhood and A Lost Motherhood by Susan Sheehan (1992, two parts, 47k words). On a young mother in foster care. Book: “Life for Me Ain’t Been No Crystal Stair”.

Robert Gottlieb editorship (1987–92)

Serving the President: The Truman Years (two parts, 50k words) and The Vietnam Years (three parts, 73k words) by Clark Clifford with Richard Holbrooke (1991). Memoirs of a Democratic political insider. Excerpted form the book “Counsel to the President”.

Three articles under the rubric Journals: From the Late Forties and Fifties (1990, two parts, 44k words), From the Sixties (1991, two parts, 42k words), and From the Seventies and Early Eighties (1991, two parts, 38k words) by John Cheever. Diaries of the short story writer. Book: “The Journals of John Cheever”.

The Johnson Years: A Congressman Goes to War (1989, 22k words), The Johnson Years: Buying and Selling (1989, 19k words), and The Johnson Years: The Old and the New (1990, four parts, 120k words) by Robert A. Caro. On Lyndon Johnson from 1941 to 1948. Excerpted from the book “Means of Ascent”.

An American Soldier in Vietnam by Neil Sheehan (1988, four parts, 80k words). On U.S. Army Lt. Col. John Paul Vann and the Vietnam war. Excerpted from the book “A Bright Shining Lie”.

William Shawn editorship from 1970 (1970–87)

The Asbestos Industry on Trial by Paul Brodeur (1985, four parts, 123k words) On the health dangers of asbestos and its legal ramifications. Book: “Outrageous Misconduct”.

A Secular Faith by Daniel J. Kevles (1984, four parts, 87k words). On the history of eugenics. Book: “In the Name of Eugenics”.

Weapons and Hope by Freeman Dyson (1984, four parts, 91k words). On nuclear weapons and avoiding nuclear war. Book of the same title.

A Sporty Game by John Newhouse (1982, four parts, 101k words). On the business of manufacturing airliners. Book: “The Sporty Game”.

The Fate of the Earth by Jonathan Schell (1982, three parts, 80k words). On the consequences of nuclear war. Book of the same title.

Harlem by Jervis Anderson (1981, four parts, 83k words). A history of Black Americans in Harlem, New York, to 1950. Book: “This Was Harlem”.

The Patient by Susan Sheehan (1981, four parts, 106k words). On a sometime-patient of a psychiatric hospital. Book: “Is There No Place on Earth for Me?”.

A Prison and a Prisoner by Susan Sheehan (1977, three parts, 85k words). On a prisoner and the New York state prison system. Book of the same title.

Coming into the Country by John McPhee (1977, four parts, 78k words). On the Yukon region of Alaska. Part of the book of the same title.

Mahatma Gandhi and His Apostles by Ved Mehta (1976, three parts, 90k words). On the Indian leader and those who followed him. Book of the same title.

The Time of Illusion by Jonathan Schell (1975, six parts, 125k words). Reflections on the Nixon years. Book of the same title.

The Power Broker by Robert A. Caro (1974, four parts, 79k words). On the New York urban planner Robert Moses. Excerpt from the book of the same title.

The Megamachine by Lewis Mumford (1970, four parts, 84k words). Essay on science and technological process. Excerpt from the book “The Myth of the Machine: The Pentagon of Power”.

Pre-1970

Before 1970, The New Yorker didn’t have a a proper Table of Contents, which means finding long articles quickly is prohibitively difficult. I did happen to come across the following long articles, but I make absolutely no claims of completeness for this list.

In Cold Blood: I—The Last to See Them Alive, II—Persons Unknown, III—Answers, and IV—the Corner by Truman Capote (1965, four parts, 110k words). On the murder of a family in rural Kansas. Book of the same title.

Eichmann in Jerusalem—I, II, III, IV, and V by Hannah Arendt (1963, five parts, 86k words). On the trial, in Israel, of the Nazi Adolf Eichmann. Book of the same title.

The Super-American State by John Bainbridge (1961, seven parts, 98k words). On Texas. Book: “The Super-Americans”.

Conversation with Max by S. N. Behrman (1960, seven parts, 97k words). Profile of the writer Max Beerbohm. Book of the same title.

No. 1512 by Lillian Ross (1952, five parts, 76k words). On the making of the film “The Red Badge of Courage”. Book: “Picture”.

Bonus: Some articles I didn’t count

Some of my own favourite post-2009 articles (that’s when I started reading the magazine) that are pretty long but not long enough to make this list:

  • The White Darkness by David Grann (2018, 21k words) on a polar explorer (book of the same title);
  • The Future is Texas by Lawrence Wright (2017, 19k words) on Texas politics (book: “God Save Texas”);
  • Five Hostages by Lawrence Wright (2015, 20k words) on a civilian hostage rescue project (collected in “The Terror Years”);
  • The Transition by Robert A. Caro (2012, 16k words) on the day J.F.K. was assasinated (excerpt from “The Passage of Power”);
  • The Mark of a Masterpiece by David Grann (2010, 16k words) on an art authenticator;
  • The Pink Panthers by David Samuels (2010, 16k words) on a gang of jewel thieves;
  • The Hunted by Jeffrey Goldberg (2010, 17k words) on a killing in a wildlife conservation reserve;
  • Eight Days by James B. Stewart (2009, 18k words) on the collapse of Lehman Brothers;
  • Trial by Fire by David Grann (2009, 16k words) on a possible wrongful state execution (collected in “The Devil and Sherlock Holmes”).

Some New Yorker “classics” not long enough to make the list:

  • The End of Nature by Bill McKibben (1989, 29k words) on the consequences of global warming (book of the same title);
  • The Journalist and the Murderer by Janet Malcolm (1989, two parts, 39k words) on a murder case and the journalist who wrote about it (book of the same title);
  • Great Plains by Ian Frazier (1989, three parts, 62k words) on the area of the central US (book of the same title);
  • Trouble in the Archives by Janet Malcolm (1983, two parts, 45k words) on a dispute among Freud scholars (book: “In the Freud Archives”);
  • Within the Context of No Context by George W. S. Trow (1980, 22k words) reflections on contemporary culture (book of same title);
  • The Snow Leopard by Peter Matthiessen (1978, two parts, 34k words) on a journey through nepal (book of the same title);
  • Vietnam by Frances FitzGerald (1972, five parts, 53k words) on this history and culture of Vietnam up to the Vietnam war (book: “Fire in the Lake”);
  • Raising Kane—I and II by Pauline Kael (1971, two parts, 46k) on the making of “Citizen Kane” (book: “The Citizen Kane Book”);
  • Joe Gould’s Secret—I and II by Joseph Mitchell (1964, two parts, 39k words) on a New York City eccentric (book of the same title);
  • Silent Spring—I, II, and III by Rachel Carson (1962, three parts, 52k words) on the environmental effects of pesticides (book of the same title);
  • Letter from a Region in My Mind by James Baldwin (1962, 22k words) reflections on race and religion (book: “The Fire Next Time”);
  • The Great State by A. J. Liebling (1960, three parts, 36k words) on Governor Earl Long and Louisiana politics (book: “The Earl of Louisiana”);
  • Hiroshima by John Hersey (1946, 30k words) report from the dropping of the atomic bomb (book of the same title).

I didn’t count John McPhee’s Annals of the Former World series on the geology of the United States: Basin and Range (1980, two parts, 45k words), In Suspect Terrain (1982, three parts, 48k words), Rising from the Plains (1986, three parts, 53k words), and Assembling California (1992, three parts, 69k words). (Four individual books of the same titles, then collected together as “Annals of the Former World”.)

I didn’t count Ved Mehta’s immense autobiographical series, known, in its book form, as “Continents of Exile” (1972–93, 13 articles, 23 parts, must be nearly half a million words?, books: “Daddyji,” “Mamaji,” “Vedi,” “The Ledge Between the Streams,” “Sound-Shadows of the New World,” “The Stolen Light,” “Up at Oxford”).

I didn’t count any of Elizabeth Drew’s series of political dispatches, starting with the 1974 run under the rubric A Reporter in Washington D.C. on the downfall of Nixon (two articles, five parts, 138k, book: “Washington Journal”), through to Clinton’s election in 1992. (Other books: “American Journal,” “Portrait of an Election,” “Campaign Journal,” “Election Journal”.)

Some long fiction (again, highly incomplete before 1970):

The longest poem I found was John Betjeman’s autobiographical poem “Summoned by Bells” (1960, 1250 lines, book of the same title).