Bright Oblivion
Emily Wilson:A new translation of Sophocles' Ajax derives chilling power from its infidelity to the original text.
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The Creep of Things
Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow:Two new anthologies explore the virtues and occasional shortcomings of Bill McKibben's quest for environmental salvation.
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The James Gang
Brenda Wineapple:In Henry James and his family, biographers find a fascinating story of dynastic melodrama.
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Hello Cruel World
John Palattella : Non-Fiction
The narrative journalism of David Samuels finds conversation, color and conflict in the vortex of American life.
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The American Way of Spying
Spencer Ackerman : Non-Fiction
The history of American intelligence-gathering is rife with incompetence, dysfunction and contempt toward legislative oversight.
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Playing Politics for Laughs
Stuart Klawans : Film Reviews
Reviewing a homegrown war documentary, a portrait of Native American life and a pair of spy comedies.
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Arms and the Right
Daniel Lazare : Guns & Gun Control
Two books dissect the contentious, confusing debate over gun control and the frequently misinterpreted Second Amendment.
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The Novelist and the Murderers
Nathaniel Popper : Non-Fiction
Francisco Goldman's The Art of Political Murder sparks calls for accountability in Central America's "kingdom of impunity."
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Seeing Past the Gorgons
Barry Schwabsky : Books
The New Yorker's art critic turns his eye toward the cultural summits.
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The Long Life of the Frontier Mullah
Basharat Peer : Islam & Muslims
The history of Pakistan's border regions remains an unruly captive of the imperial "Great Game."
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Personal Histories
Benjamin Paloff : Poetry
New collections by Adam Zagajewski and Julia Hartwig suggest that postwar Polish verse can't be reduced to "poetry of witness."
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City of Fear
Jon Wiener : History
A new book explores the historical ties between African-American and Japanese-American communities in Los Angeles.
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Out of Place
Corey Robin : Conservatives & The American Right
How conservatives have turned a sense of exclusion into a powerful philosophy of self-styled truancy.
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Solemn, Expanded Time
Barry Schwabsky : Fine Art
An exhibition looks at the bits and pieces that made up some of the great artwork of Californian artist Jess.
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My So-Called Independents
Heather Hendershot : Television
Will TV's new world of branding and product integration destroy small independent productions?
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The Aesthetic Is the Personal
Barry Schwabsky: The Louise Bourgeois retrospective at the Guggenheim.
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It's About Freedom
Nick Stillman: Philip Guston at the Morgan Library.
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Strange Alchemy
Michael Kazin: In A Conservative History of the American Left, Daniel Flynn can't decide whether to ridicule the left or fear it.
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Back Talk: David Levine
Christine Smallwood: The longtime New York Review of Books illustrator discusses the delicate art of political cartooning.
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Back Talk: Billy Bragg
Christine Smallwood: British punk rocker and activist Billy Bragg talks about his new album and the politics and economics of free online music.
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Back Talk: Tod Papageorge
Christine Smallwood: Photographer Tod Papageorge reflects on the links between American sports and the Vietnam War.
This week: Can Barack Obama be a "People's President," or is his move to the center for good? Betsy Reed, Doug Henwood, Jo-Ann Mort, Ta-Nehisi Coates and Gary Younge debate. (13mb mp3)
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