Hunter-Blatherer: On Jared Diamond Hunter-Blatherer: On Jared Diamond
An unreliable anthropologist of traditional societies is a no less dubious diagnostician of the contemporary world.
Apr 3, 2013 / Books & the Arts / Stephen Wertheim
The Minutemen and the Mainstream Media The Minutemen and the Mainstream Media
A new book argues that the media failed to grasp the frightening extremism of the anti-immigrant border patrols of a few years ago—and wraps it in a thrilling true-crime tale...
Apr 3, 2013 / Books & the Arts / Rick Perlstein
The Doomsday Prepper Caucus The Doomsday Prepper Caucus
Prophecies of government tyranny, financial meltdown and violent anarchy featured on Doomsday Preppers are being absorbed into contemporary conservatism.
Apr 2, 2013 / Books & the Arts / Reed Richardson
Made in the USA? Letter From London Made in the USA? Letter From London
Books about London in its Olympic year and after see Americanization eroding the city’s gift for democratic gradualism.
Mar 27, 2013 / Books & the Arts / Leo Robson
Shelf Life Shelf Life
Paul Hoover’s second edition of Postmodern American Poetry: A Norton Anthology.
Mar 27, 2013 / Books & the Arts / Ange Mlinko
Man in the Middle: On Philip Glass Man in the Middle: On Philip Glass
Philip Glass’s new opera, The Perfect American, is a mix of bluster and inspiration.
Mar 27, 2013 / Books & the Arts / Jonathan Blitzer
30 Seconds Over Toledo: How Political Ads Spell Trouble for TV News and Democracy 30 Seconds Over Toledo: How Political Ads Spell Trouble for TV News and Democracy
In the wake of Citizens United, big campaign donors are buying off not only politicians, but also the local news networks that cover them.
Mar 21, 2013 / Books & the Arts / Eric Alterman and Reed Richardson
On the Politics of ‘Scandal’ On the Politics of ‘Scandal’
ABC’s hit show, created by Shonda Rhimes and starring Kerry Washington, is a truly original political soap opera.
Mar 21, 2013 / Books & the Arts / Ken Tucker
Unreal Choices: On The Feminine Mystique Unreal Choices: On The Feminine Mystique
For Betty Friedan, feminism was humanism: a question of growth, maturation and identity.
Mar 20, 2013 / Books & the Arts / Julia M. Klein
Neighborhood Neighborhood
Our brick houses had one floor, storm windows to install in October, heavy brass doorknockers, screened-in patios, lawn jockeys, and front porches with wrought iron railings. The rusty bicycles flopped on the driveways, the smell of peat moss in wheelbarrows, the hum of fans from Sears Roebuck, sidewalks turning the color of grocery bags when wet. The luck of a clover with one appended leaf. We had board games like Monopoly shared by three families, the little green hotels disappearing just like the old market and the Bargain Center. The braided oaks with crooked tree houses, the burnt leaves, black fish swimming in air. And on an unseasonably sunny day in late October, I found my mother's floral umbrella and went strolling into the breeze under its spinning canopy, sucking a lemon.
Mar 20, 2013 / Books & the Arts / Judith Harris